ULTRA-HARRIER TONY’S CHAIN LETTER · TO THE
SWARTHMORONS
The path of art for art’s sakeCreate the appearance of irony
Chapter 14
If this is a path that appeals to you, then listen closely,
2lFor, as I have said, there are certain guidelines that make it easier to follow this path,
3mAnd life is too short to ruin it with a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering.
4Remember then these words of wisdom about the path of art for art’s sake:
5The most powerful tool at your disposal is irony,
6Or the appearance of irony,
7Or the faintest glimmering shadow of irony,
8Whether you have found anything truly ironic or not.
9It is better, of course, not to search for irony through the medium of thought,
10For thought is hard,
11And can be depressing,
12nGiven that it always leads eventually to confrontation with the imminence of doom,
13oAnd the impossibility of justice or meaning or redemption.
14aRather, learn to create the appearance of irony,
15Which is achieved through the simplest of juxtapositions,
16bAnd can be done almost at random.
17For example, you can load up on coxymorons,
18Which don’t ever have to mean anything,
19dBut only have to seem like they might mean something,
20eTo people who won’t think about them anyway,
21Except to admire you for whatever it is you must have meant,
22Even if they haven’t got a clue what that might be.
23Nor are oxymorons the only kind of juxtapositions you can use.
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Chapter 14 / 38