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Monday 3 August 2009

The abnormality of being normal…


Once more I have been blessed by the Ellora’s Cave cover gods with a beaut cover for Pet Me. It’s exactly – right down to the splashing goldfish in the bowl - what I asked for. Ask – specifically – and you generally get what you want in covers. What I love most about this cover are the smiles. They are just perfect for this story. It’s about a couple who meet and fight over a goldfish called Arthur. Why? It’s involved and kind of silly. What happens? Lot’s of stuff. It’s due out in April next year.

I did get a couple of comments about the man’s body – specifically his chest. One comment was “my boobs aren’t that big”. And the other “that’s not normal for a man.” Ah, I love it when people try to argue the perception of ‘normal’ with me. What is normal? Stuff all#. Are we all supposed to look the same? Have the same chest, boobage and arse per square inch? I don’t want to look like every other bugger^ on the planet. I’ve lived hard, messy and enjoyably to get this body. I don’t want to be perceived as normal. How bloody boring. “Normal” to me means that you are so preoccupied with worrying about fitting in and not thinking outside the box that you become boring. Hence – normal = boring. I have this bizarre notion that we should view people as actual people and not replicas of what we think is 'normal'. And, just throwing this out there, but we should also consider focusing on someone’s words or eyes or smile and not worry if they are a size 4 or have a body that every clone has.

Speaking of bodies and perceptions, I showed the Lickety Split cover – eyes left, pan down - to a male acquaintance. The model has a gorgeous body which I am sure he worked his arse off to get. Anyway this male said to me ‘that’s the body I want’ - no, not in a sexual way – in a way that only a dreamer does. Now, I don’t want to call him superficial – he is – but his life revolves around the way people look. How tiring is that? And the chances of him getting to look like Mr Lickety Split by wishing are Buckley’s* and none. It scares me what twaddle comes out of people’s mouths. Why wish for something that is not going to happen? Be happy that you’re healthy and employed and can put food on the table and pay the bills. A lot of people can’t and I bet they’re not worrying about how their body looks.

So, in summary – be abnormal and enjoy it. All the best people do.


# Stuff all = nothing
^ Bugger = in this case means person – though it is an amazingly flexible word that can mean almost anything in Aussie-speak.
*Buckley’s – Aussie expression – meaning Buckley’s Chance - meaning no chance. Who was Buckley?
William Buckley (1780-1856), a convict who escaped in Victoria in 1803 and lived among the Aborigines there for 30 years (survival in the bush was reckoned no chance).
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Buckley's_chance


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1 comments:

Sandra Cox said...

'Be abnormal and enjoy it.' I like it!:) Also enjoyed the aussie dictionary. Have a good, or should I say quick, day, Amarinda.