JulieLeung.com: a life told in tidepools

…I think part of the problem is being a post-freudian modern; intimacy is the ultimate goal of relationship and a source of secular transcendence. We need to go back to a more 18th century concept of public identity to describe the pleasures and rewards of broad acquaintance.

But we Canadians are so polite and modest that it actually takes a lot of the fun out of it. When a contestant on American Idol wails a horrible, unbearable dirge at the judges and is properly slammed, they often respond with outrage and denial, spitting venom about how stupid and talentless the judges are and just you wait because they ARE gonna be famous because they’re just SO great. But on Canadian Idol, when a contestant is denied, they usually apologize and exit with downcast eyes, solemnly accepting their fate. We’re realists; we’re ready to have our dreams shattered. It’s okay.