Comments on: Significant Objects

By: Kenny Easwaran

Kenny Easwaran — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:16:46 +0000

Ginger Yellow – you’re not making the use-mention distinction!

By: Ginger Yellow

Ginger Yellow — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:43:28 +0000

In this case they are the same, so despite the (probable) lack of any actual usage to refer to, ‘ae’ would be the thing

It’s not too hard to come up with a usage. A Latin textual commentary on the Aeneid, for instance. “There are 62 Aeneases in Book I, 53 Trojans, 41 sons of Anchises…”

By: Ray Davis

Ray Davis — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:24:53 +0000

Cory's "Craphound" would be the definitive text here, wouldn't it? (I'm a proud owner of one of the tie-in giveaway paper bags.)

By: Billikin

Billikin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:14:06 +0000

@LM

Josh Glenn is a cultural semiotics analyst. Now, a cultural semiotics analyst is a wonderful thing, but it is not a scientist.

By: Tim Wilkinson

Tim Wilkinson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:47:06 +0000

1. ‘Aeneases’ rendered in Latin would probably be Aeneae – Greek 1st I think kinda becomes Latin 1st, though Greek endings were used too. In this case they are the same, so despite the (probable) lack of any actual usage to refer to, ‘ae’ would be the thing. But importing the name into English then applying English pluralisation seems a more sensible course. And you wouldn’t want to be caught out taking a less-than-sensible course in a matter like this, would you.

2. (UK) All this talk of semi-complicity in fictional provenances reminds me of the single – and just about sufficient – reason to watch Antiques Roadshow, which is the straight-faced offer and acceptance of a story of the the amazingly common form “my [deceased relative] did some [manual work] on a stately home, and the owner said he could take an object of his choosing, and he chose this.” Hilarious. It’s best if you can convince yourself that the person relating the story has always successfully repressed all doubt, and the refained, solicitously nodding expert is (almost) perfectly concealing his matter-of-course disbelief.

Fuck fuck fuck I’m wasting time. Must have a deadline. Ah, yes. And it’s nearly ripe (why must deadlines be like pears and not apples)?

By: Henri Vieuxtemps

Henri Vieuxtemps — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:03:05 +0000

This reminds me of the J. Peterman catalog from Seinfeld. And apparently it exists in real life too.

By: Zamfir

Zamfir — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:33:55 +0000

isn’t it to be a test to determine how a story attached to an object makes the object somehow more valuable? But isn’t that test nullified by the very publicity the “project” received, and the public’s desire to “support” the project – i.e. by bidding on these items?
But at one level deeper, the aim of the project is to get attention for the people involved and raise money for the project.

By: Aulus Gellius

Aulus Gellius — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:35:47 +0000

acme: a similarly bizarre example is the statue of Rocky outside the Philadelphia Museum of art. I’m not sure if it’s the actual prop from Rocky III, or just a statue of a fictional statue.

By: ejh

ejh — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:02:04 +0000

Who is Significant and to what does he object?

By: LM

LM — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:40:46 +0000

This “project” confuses me somewhat – isn’t it to be a test to determine how a story attached to an object makes the object somehow more valuable? But isn’t that test nullified by the very publicity the “project” received, and the public’s desire to “support” the project – i.e. by bidding on these items? If you look at the feedback received by the group’s Ebay account, it is clear that buyers were buying to “support” the project. This makes it impossible to determine the degree to which the story actually adds value to the object.

By: bad Jim

bad Jim — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:08:26 +0000

A parking lot in Copenhagen, next door to Tivoli, an array of American muscle cars from the 60’s and 70’s, around which Europeans wandered admiringly. My reaction was to wonder how we ever put up with this crap. It put me in mind of a Jaguar E-type abandoned in front of my workplace one year which went from wonder to eyesore in next to no time and was towed away.

Objects of desire, reeking of testosterone, have a short life in the real world but live forever in imagination. A couple of nephews bought classic cars but balked at the prospect of keeping them running. We uncles were less than supportive. Some of us had the tools and the skills to keep a VW running, but a Mustang or a Cadillac? Are you serious? Kids: there’s a reason we drive Hondas and Toyotas.

By: Keir

Keir — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:04:11 +0000

The boats from Swallows & Amazons seem somehow appropriate here.

Also, downcycling & the anti-functionalism of this whole thing.

By: acme

acme — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:33:10 +0000

I’ve always been fascinated by the Dickens museum in Doughty Street where real objects (like The little Midshipman from Dombey and Son) are kept because of their significance in a fictional world.

By: John Holbo

John Holbo — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:22:04 +0000

I would agree that, as science, it pretty much sucks.

By: Billikin

Billikin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:09:53 +0000

Aside from the basic question of distinguishing objective value from subjective value, this experiment seems pretty weak on controls. Here is a thought, off the top of my head. After the stories are written, mix some of them up (half of them, for instance) so that they do not appear with their “significant object”, but with another one. Then the experimental question becomes whether the objects paired with their own stories sell better than the objects paired with other stories. :)