Why is beauty important to you?

Mabye if you were to read my posts a little closer, you would read that I am not just talking about big breasts, pretty eyes, and short skirts.

I would like to take this moment to speak out, and unequivocally so, in favor of the virtues of "big breasts, pretty eyes, and short skirts".

George

Post 21

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 7:42am

Lance,

      Just to further re-iterate what I'm talking about here. I am talking about real beauty. Conceptual beauty.   Noble, heroic conceptual vlaues, expressed in physical reality. ex: Michaelangelo's "David", Bryan Larsens works, Ayn Rands works , Beethoven ect......

                    What I do, is bring the persons "self-concept" their values ect.... into physical reality, using their bodies as a medium.

               I am asking you why are these works of art so important to you. Why is "Atlas Shrugged" selling 1,000 or more copies each year?   Why do we need and love art/beauty so much? What need does it fulfill in us as human beings?

              Why can a sunset or sunrise, or a beautiful man, woman, athlete, take our breath away?

                     These are just some of the things I mean when I say "Beauty".   NOT the stereotypical blond hair, blue eyes, 38-28-32 or whatever.   I think that is ridiculous.

                            Real values.    And I thought that since this is a forum that is full of "passionate valuers" I thought this is a topic that would be important to you all.

                                No, it's not the only value in the world, but an important one nonetheless.

Michael,

     LOL, Do you know how many times I hear that complaint? It's kind of embarrassing to the industry.    Do you think it could be a communication thing? Are you both on the same page of what you want? I always take the time to consult with my client if they are first time.

               Do you go to different types of salons?

                        ~Carrie~

Post 22

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 9:05am

I have often noticed - tho it appears not this time - that those who rail against physical beauty, seeking to disparage it, do not themselves possess it. At the same time, have also noticed how much a mind/body dichotomy this is presenting. As an artist, beauty in the physicalness of the being is of paramount importance in displaying just those characteristics of the inner being - just as is in any sculpture, so it is in actuality in such formats as beauty pageants, the presenting of ideals. Much applause to those like you, Carrie, for attributing to the quality of appearance of these actualities.

Post 23

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 9:18am

Applause to Signor Marotta and Mr Cordero A++

(Edited by Ciro D'Agostino on 7/31, 9:26am)

Post 24

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 10:24am

George,

      I think that big breasts, pretty eyes and short skirts are considered by some to be physical values and not virtues per say?

                I define virtue as more as a principle that guides ones actions, or a characteristic that someone posesses that lead them to successful action.

           Robert,
Thank you.

                                      ~Carrie~

Post 25

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 11:01am

"I have often noticed - tho it appears not this time - that those who rail against physical beauty, seeking to disparage it, do not themselves possess it."

Which reminds me of something Ayn Rand wrote in The Age Of Envy.
"Denouncing masculine oppression, Women's Lib screams protests against the policy of regarding women as "sex objects"�through speakers who, too obviously, are in no such danger."

Post 26

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 11:43am

Carrie, to clarify what you mean about virtue and value in terms of beauty, would this example concretize your viewpoint accurately?

VIRTUE: Discipline, i.e., the choice to keep one's thoughts, attention and energy totally on the task at hand regardless of unwarranted emotions to the contrary

VALUE: Lean, toned muscles that result from a well-reasoned exercise and nutrition plan executed with discipline

I am trying to name a virtue unique to the value of physical health, but I cannot think of one more specific than discipline. That virtue would deliver concrete values like a better body, better grooming, better clothing selections, etc. Can you name a better virtue?

Of course, one would actually have to value physical beauty in the first place to focus one's attention on gaining and keeping it.

Post 27

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 11:51am

Carrie said: "I think that big breasts, pretty eyes and short skirts are considered by some to be physical values and not virtues per say? I define virtue as more as a principle that guides ones actions, ... "

Trust me, those attributes have been known to guide my actions.

George

Post 28

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 12:52pm

Ruth:

Try to be more forgiving.
And frankly, looks matter tremendously in almost every aspect of life. Physical beauty IS a virtue, even if it doesn't say anything about a person's intellectual capacity. Just like being able to write a sonnet has nothing to do with one's basketball skills. They are separate, but each worthy of appreciation, though on different levels of one's individually-chosen hierarchy of values.
Is that your REAL photo, or is that a snapshot of a young Sean Young? If so, why would you disdain beauty when you obviously possess it in so great a measure yourself?

A person may be wonderful, but, as I have said before, if they are not within the range of appearance you find attractive, the great personality and virtues thing goes out the window.

Carrie:

I find your article to be completely appropriate, and it is appreciated.

Post 29

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 1:04pm

Luke, I think you hit the nail on the head with the discipline remark. A couple years ago I read a review of a film in a gender feminist magazine which praised it's willingness to celebrate women who refused to bow down to the patriarchal society's evil standard of beauty (in this particular case, shaving). But the thing that hit me when I read it was what actually attracts me to a woman who shaves or wears make-up, it's not really the end result (which is wonderful in and of itself) but a straight rejection of the critic's thesis statement. I didn't think women woke up every morning looking and smelling perfect without a stray hair anywhere on their body, I understood the great effort exerted by anyone who chooses to do so.

I understand it, respect it and admire it.

---Landon

Post 30

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 1:42pm

"It is only the shallow who do not judge by appearances." -- Oscar Wilde

Post 31

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 2:21pm

Landon, thanks for your remarks. To add to them, a disregard for vanity and even good grooming does not just afflict gender feminists. I saw this in many members of Mensa. They gave the same reasons as the magazine to which you referred. I recall their magazine even publishing an article about Mensans who met through the organization's events and eventually married. One particular passage that struck me noted that some of the people who married were fat and that they were grateful they did not have to deal with "fat bigots."

Fat bigots? Fat bigots? Bwahahahahaha! I stand guilty as charged!

I grew tired of dealing with people clearly intelligent enough to know better but who clung to all sorts of irrational notions in the face of better knowledge. I just cannot recommend Mensa as the best place to meet people who value reason as an absolute. I do recommend SOLO for this purpose despite the occasional explosions that happen here.

Carrie, have you read Color Me Beautiful and Color for Men? If so, perhaps you can post some book reviews on SOLO. I read the one for men and use the color swatch booklet from JC Penney's to guide my clothing purchases. I am an Autumn. Some people will think this strategy sounds "gay," but the method seems to work well and I will take all the help I can get to look my best.

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 7/31, 2:22pm)

Post 32

Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 7:33pm

Luke wrote:

Some people will think this strategy sounds "gay," . . .

Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? ;) Stepped on, oh, about 19,000 toes around this place, but you are so loved and understood, it's okay.

Carrie,

You are a princess of delight, hurray! I celebrate your work and values.

I am surrounded by female friends who view any effort expended toward beauty as taking food away from starving children. Yet, I love working out, and having the pleasure of wearing beautiful clothes on a slim body. It makes me happy to see the values of my mind manifested in the beauty of appearance, but I get nailed constantly OH are you working out AGAIN?? I feel guilty putting on makeup, or spending time on my hair. It is one of the ways in which I need to evolve.

"Hurray for the rich, boo for the poor, let the peasants clean it up!!"

Hee

Julia

Post 33

Monday, August 1, 2005 - 1:58am

There is so much ugliness in the world that any beauty in any form that can be added to it, makes my life and the lives of those I care about more joyfull. As a composer, I have made it my life's mission to bring beauty and joy into this world. I love to find people who share such a deep commitment to that which is beautiful in life. Or in other words, I'm happy you found your way here.

Adam

Post 34

Monday, August 1, 2005 - 5:51am

Julia quipped:

Stepped on, oh, about 19,000 toes around this place, but you are so loved and understood, it's okay.

Well, given the success of the television series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, my comment had some substance. I agree it would help to break the stereotypes, but I cannot deny that they exist and I wanted to offer fair warning.

Of course, I am a devout neatnik, too, and that trait somehow got lumped into "gayness" in the hit movie In & Out starring Kevin Kline. Straight men who like things neat and straight generally get portrayed as overboard obsessive-complusives, e.g., As Good as It Gets and Monk. Argh! Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned discipline and order and grooming as traits of a virtuous man regardless of his orientation?

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 8/01, 5:52am)

Post 35

Monday, August 1, 2005 - 5:51am

(Edited by Ciro D'Agostino on 8/01, 2:14pm)

Post 36

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - 2:29am

Lance, (says Carrie)

I am asking you why are these works of art so important to you. Why is "Atlas Shrugged" selling 1,000 or more copies each year? Why do we need and love art/beauty so much? What need does it fulfill in us as human beings?

Beauty holds many different catalogues and folders inside. Artistically, Les Miserables is the greatest beauty I have yet to experience. And I always hold Valjean, Javert, Cosette and the gang in mind as inspirational models for my values. That's what better art does.

But Les Miserables doesn't compare to some of the real-life beauty I've seen in the eyes of young children playing. Both experiences are of the same kind but not of the same degree. Those experiences give me fuel to continue on. Those beautiful experiences are the reasons to live.

Incidentally, it's sad that so many run on filthy fuel when the clean stuff is out there waiting for them.

Why can a sunset or sunrise, or a beautiful man, woman, athlete, take our breath away?

Walking around in nature tends to give me the feeling that I have been too analytical (my thinking has gotten really uptight as The Dude would say). That is, the feeling that I've been taking my work and worries too seriously. I realize down there on the canyon floor that they aren't worries at all. They seem like worries because I'm tired or frustrated but the reality is that I have chosen to spend my time doing that work. It's more fuel. And objectivity.

These are just some of the things I mean when I say "Beauty". NOT the stereotypical blond hair, blue eyes, 38-28-32 or whatever. I think that is ridiculous.

A woman's body....ah. Of course, when I think of a woman's body I think of the one's I like and not the Shamette's of the world. You and George were discussing breasts and I think it's fair to say that if it weren't for breasts few of us would be here. All praise to breasts!

Beauty gets a bad rap from those who bring none of it to the table. They are a loud bunch. So, in whatever form you find beauty: cherish it, nourish it, suckle at it, and enjoy every last drop.

(Edited by Lance Moore on 8/02, 2:33am)

Post 37

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - 9:29am

Luke Setzer wrote:

I grew tired of dealing with people clearly intelligent enough to know better but who clung to all sorts of irrational notions in the face of better knowledge. I just cannot recommend Mensa as the best place to meet people who value reason as an absolute. I do recommend SOLO for this purpose despite the occasional explosions that happen here.

Five days a week, I work among 14 other musicians who polarize fairly neatly between flaming liberal, Neanderthal conservative, and "couldn't give a crap." By far the most obnoxious to me are the liberals who, without exception, are extremely intelligent and consider themselves to have superior wisdom on the cutting edge of political issues, such as global warming policy, multiculturalism, tax and spend policy, etc. They were gung-ho for Ralph Nader in 2000 and just as gung-ho against him (and for John Kerry) in 2004. Each time, their arguments sounded for all the world like Libertarians before and after their firm commitment to voting "party lines." Deja vu all over again, as the saying goes. I don't know if this is typical of Mensa members, but I certainly wouldn't recommend the Disneyland Band as the place to go "to meet people who value reason as an absolute." Even I am suspect, for I have chosen to continue (for nearly 20 years now) to work among them. :-)

Carrie, have you read Color Me Beautiful and Color for Men? If so, perhaps you can post some book reviews on SOLO. I read the one for men and use the color swatch booklet from JC Penney's to guide my clothing purchases. I am an Autumn. Some people will think this strategy sounds "gay," but the method seems to work well and I will take all the help I can get to look my best.

Color for Men is a lifesaver for me. Thanks to my wife for recommending it, it has helped me avoid wearing really dumb looking color combinations. I'm a Summer, which ironically is my least favorite season. (I've been in "meltdown" mode now for about a month.) Believe it or not, I've actually found a shade of red that looks good on me and that was available in both a shirt and a pair of shorts that looked OK together. Not something I would have tried without the booklet. And if this strategy is "gay," I am certainly going to make the most of it. Some of my best strategies are gay, after all. :-)

George W. Cordero wrote:

Carrie said: "I think that big breasts, pretty eyes and short skirts are considered by some to be physical values and not virtues per say? I define virtue as more as a principle that guides ones actions, ... "

Trust me, those attributes have been known to guide my actions.

Trust me, George, more than a handful is wasted (though certainly not frowned upon). :-)

I'm sure we've all heard the saying that "pretty is as pretty does," and Carrie pretty much seems to have it covered. :-)

Best to all,
REB

Post 38

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - 9:55am

Roger Bissell wrote:

Each time, their arguments sounded for all the world like Libertarians before and after their firm commitment to voting "party lines." Deja vu all over again, as the saying goes.

I have trouble grasping what you mean here. The flaming liberals made Libertarian arguments to vote for Nader in 2000 and Kerry in 2004? Could you please elaborate with some concretes?

I should credit my wife with showing me Color for Men as well.

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 8/02, 10:24am)

Post 39

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - 10:23am