Is "surreal" the most overused word in America? I've been journalizing about the experience of having my daughter and I was thinking back to the day she was born and my drive from work to the hospital. The first word I thought to use to describe how I felt was "surreal." But then I was thinking, "man, that is a played-out word." So I went out of my way not to use it. I came up with something like this: On the way to the hospital, I was feeling very strange; it was a tangled mix of very intense, heightened emotions; anxious, fearful, stressed, and most importantly, excited; excited to finally meet YOU!" Not much better. Maybe it would be better to use other words we associate with "surreal." Maybe "Dali?" The birth of my daughter was so Dali it felt like an out-of-body experience.
Nah--doesn't work--guess we're stuck with "surreal."
Reminds me of this conversation I had with a bunch of coworkers about the movie Brazil. I maintained that it was a shitty movie and everyone just went into attack-mode; "What?! That movie's brilliant; it should be a litmus test;" "C'mon, Porter, don't you get it? That movie is surreal." You remember that Jayson Matthews? That story was for you!
4 comments:
I like "Dali" more than "surreal." Very nice photo by the way. Very artistic and complex.
When I saw the topic "Surreal" and looked at that image, I immediately thought of Salvador Dalí before I read your post. There it is... you talking about Dali before I knew you were about to say anything about Dali. As if you're reading my mind before I read your post. Now THAT'S surreal!
glad you like it, df--now use it instead of surreal--and the same for no worries--use no vexations instead!
that proves my point, WW--Dali could very easily supplant Surreal--they're interchangeable. Only problem is it's a noun--maybe if we change it to "Dalieal" it would sound better.
Post a Comment