TAO LIN | BLOG

7/25/10

gawker published a 'piece' by me

re being arrested at nyu's bookstore for 'trespassing'

31 Comments:

dottie kee bones said...: i don't really understand all the negative comments below the article. this made me laugh out loud.; 4:07 PM
stephen said...: this made me laugh a lot, especially the part about the calvin klein model bro saluting; 4:25 PM
imelectricnow said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5:59 PM
forest said...: i think that people who write negative comments on articles by tao lin just make me like him even more. i sort of feel like people either hate him or like him for the same reasons.

(sorry for the possibly bad wording here); 6:34 PM
Colin said...: I feel like comments on the internet are a poor indicator of quality.; 6:36 PM
Justin R. Morris said...: Sorry to burst your brolloon, but some of the comments were inspired and made me col ("chortle out loud"). I might have half-grinned while reading the actual article itself.

But, whatever, there is probably some sort of unexplainable qualia, or some phenomenal properties, or some intangible about-ness to the article which might account for the lack of overt humour in the article; or, more accurately, might explain why my neurons didn't smack against each other like the neurons in the author's brain smacked against each other as he wrote it. It's really a question of neurons getting pruned, I think, and might have to do with the integrity of my synapses which—as far as I can tell—are deteriorating rapidly, even though I supplement with phosphatidylserine.; 7:07 PM
my lonely journal said...: SO MANY NEGATIVE COMMENTS THAT I TRIED TO LEAVE GAWKER A PICTURE (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l164/slateloose/blogger/ohhhsnap.jpg) BUT GAWKER IS AGAINST MY PICTURE.

Seriously: if these people have nothing better to do than throw rotten fruit and use words like asshat (WHO SAYS THAT?) (whereas I have nothing better to do than visually oppose their fruit throwing, blahdity blah, touche) then maybe they ARE ROTTEN FRUIT.

They're jealous writers. That's what they are. And they don't have any conception of "style" and "voice." And they probably read Nora Roberts. And they probably don't realize how much flack innovative writers like Joyce and Kerouac got in their day. And how we now laugh at the people who laughed at Joyce. And how we are now laughing at the people who laugh at Tao Lin.; 1:05 AM
Anonymous said...: mad hits there tao. good look.; 1:10 AM
Justin R. Morris said...: @my lonely journal: Bro . . . you're comparing Lin to the likes of Joyce and Kerouac? Bro . . .
I like Lin's writing but hot-damn that's some hyperbolic shit right there.; 1:15 AM
Andrew James Weatherhead said...: is my name/a link to my blog in the article or comments section at all?

it's coming up in statcounter like there is, but i can't seem to figure out why/how; 1:16 AM
Tao Lin said...: @andrew i'm not sure, i commented a link to your blog 3-4 times re 'photo credit' but i don't see it; 1:18 AM
mario russeau said...: "He is an awful human being and an awful writer. I only made it through half of whatever this article was but I now know the reason why I can't completely object to police brutality (despite being mistreated by police in my younger years) because if we eliminate police brutality, then any chance that this smug, moronic, not-nearly-as-smart-as-he-thinks-he-is fail of a human being will someday deservingly get the shit beat out of him to some cop he sasses, goes out the window. Fuck you Tao, you asshole. You are everything people outside of NYC hate about NYC."

bro.; 1:21 AM
my lonely journal said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1:31 AM
sara said...: WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH 'BRO'

CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS.

damnhell.; 1:32 AM
my lonely journal said...: JUSTIN. Hi. No, I am actually not "comparing Lin to the likes of Joyce and Kerouac." Not in the way you seem to be suggesting -- i.e. in terms of the nature or quality of the work itself. I'm comparing them (this seems weirdly obvious?) in terms of being innovative and getting flack. Lots of flack. For being innovative. It's like all people can see is the difference of his style -- punctuation, tone, whatever -- and are refusing to even treat the work as fiction (or in the case of this piece, narrative nonfiction). I don't see anyone talking about plot. Or pacing. Or imagery. Instead everyone is like, "Is this supposed to be funny? Because it's not." Or, "Why the weird quotation marks? I want to kill myself!" And that makes them ... redundant ... freaking morons. Anti-intellectuals of um ... almost the highest order. "Bro."; 1:34 AM
chris said...: one of these days you'll get arrested for a "real" crime and then you'll be waiting 3 months to post to your blog and eating ramen noodles 4 times a day won't seem as "cool"

just saying; 2:32 AM
Anonymous said...: lolin @ all the 'genuinely irritated' comments; 4:07 AM
Anonymous said...: I don't get the "smug" and "not-nearly-as-smart-as-he-thinks-he-is" comments. I don't think Tao came off that way. He just sort of described what happened to him in a frank and deadpan manner, one that didn't really seem to give off any 'smarter than thou' vibes at all. Weird leaps of hyperbole haters take to justify their hate for an internet personality. Seems stressful. Kinda feel bad for the haters in this bracket. It's as if they're very new to the internet and don't have any 'evolutionary features that might prevent them from needlessly getting trolled' by parts of it they don't agree with.; 4:28 AM
Anonymous said...: QUOTATION MARKS ARE THE DEATH OF ART; 10:31 AM
Anonymous said...: TAO LIN = OBVIOUS TROLL IS OBVIOUS; 10:32 AM
my lonely journal said...: I find it weird that this whole discussion about the quotation marks hasn't spawned some discussion of, like, why he uses them? Which would be a productive conversation? Versus all the hate? Which is DESTRUCTIVE? Is there some interview where he discusses this ("" marks)? I dunno. To me it could be a purely ironical or satirical use, because it's so prevalent -- the stuff of literary nonsense, which, by the way, is a real and valid genre. Or maybe it's artistically deliberate in some way ... because I mean ... whenever someone uses quotation marks (I "loved" the movie) they seem to be suggesting that the word in quotes ("loved") isn't quite what they meant, that they meant something a shade different, for which there might not be a word, or something altogether different, or that the word in quotes has been so appropriated and abused by pop culture that it has all sorts of alternate meanings now, like, meaning baggage that the author does or doesn't want to connote ... but wants you to attend to as a reader ... I am stopping this here.; 1:30 PM
Mylum said...: I read through the entire article and didn't mind it. I don't see the need to dissect its "literary merits" or its use of grammar or its social implications. I didn't feel it warranted those types of discussions. It's a fairly straightforward article.

I feel that if someone else beside Tao Lin had written it no one would give a fuck.; 3:53 PM
sara said...: "I feel that if someone else beside Tao Lin had written it no one would give a fuck."

aaaaaand, there it is; 5:03 PM
The Man Who Couldn't Blog said...: jean genet; 5:09 PM
Tao Lin said...: @mylonelyjournal i answered a question about 'quotation marks' here (bottom); 6:27 PM
shannon said...: smiled a lot reading this at barnes and noble, felt less serious and shitty/seriously shitty during and after reading.

whole fucking day waiting it seems like; 6:47 PM
Drew said...: http://uv-rays.blogspot.com/2010/07/response-to-responses-to-tao-lins.html; 2:14 PM
Jake Fournier said...: haters gonna hate; 5:13 PM
vainlikeyou said...: Love that story. Oddly familiar.; 11:22 AM
steve roggenbuck said...: wow really intense bros on that site

@justin r morris, people tend to put past literary figures up on a pedestal, but could you 'actually,' 'thoughtfully' explain why tao 'shouldnt' be compared to 'the likes of' kerouac and joyce? i think tao's 'craft' is tight and mature (even silliman's review of sfaa 'speaks to' this, i think), i think his message/worldview is coherent and well developed, i think his 'distillation' of that worldview into an aesthetic and a writing style(s) is 'really impressive' and 'obviously compelling because look at how many people of roughly his same age/worldview have taken influence from him,' and i think his integration of that aesthetic into his distribution and social media presence is 'really innovative' and 'boundary breaking, as far as i know' among other things; 1:59 AM
jon said...: Hey Tao Lin,

I really love your work! I am in the process of a viral art project that I would love to be posted on your site. I know it is a bit self-promotional but that is part of the point. Anyway, if you like it, pass it along. If not, have a great day.

mad props: lady gaga invitations

All the best,
Jon; 1:50 PM