I have feeds set up for the phrases "Alice In Wonderland" and "Through The Looking Glass". These are mainly to keep me informed of new productions that I might get to see (some hope!) and new editions that I might like to buy. Recently, for example, they informed me of the magnificent new edition illustrated by the renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, which I shall be buying just as soon as I have an address to get it posted to.

The "through the looking glass" feed is interesting for a different reason - the number of bizarre ways in which the phrase gets used as a metaphor. In just the current list of sites it is used to refer to

- San Antonio Spurs' basketball match with the Utah Jazz
- rioting in Quebec
- democracy versus mob rule
- Facebook
- the NFL draft
- a University production of Through The Looking Glass (well there had to be one legitimate entry)
- artist James Franc
- Newcastle Falcons rugby team
- a mural at the museum of Flarida art
- a museum in Istanbul
- Tampa Bay Rays baseball team
- a luncheon event at a Methodist church
- an album by the rock band Toto
- online sci-fi thriller "Subrasan"
- a letter to an agony column about a teenage girl making sex videos
- Anzac day
- the art of Divya Anantharama
- the Penn State Board of Trustees Election
- the American legal system
- the Republican Party's attitude towards women
- an open air production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
- college Lacrosse
- The Little Prince
- the art of Greg Simkins
- the likely influence of Mormonism on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign
- the scientific theories of Peter Duesberg
- the use of "looking glass as a metaphor" (rather self-referentially)
- future technology
- the work of artist Lamya Gargash

and a number of others that I can't view in the looking-glass world of the Chinese internet.

I know it's a useful metaphor, but really, can't people come up with something just a touch more original?

<reposted from thehittingtheroadagainblues.blogsot.com>

We should start a secret language (maybe that would revive WC!). There is a lot I'd like to write about right now, but I am afraid it would get you bumped, Bob.

I found some of those metaphors fascinating! Loved the Spurs/Jazz because I am a basketball fan; I'd love to know what the Penn State Board of Trustees Election was, particularly because that's where all that scandal was; enjoyed Mitt Romney's campaign reference, though Mormonism is the least of my worries about him; and, particularly, the Republican Party's attitude towards women! So funny. Any idea what the latter was referring to, specifically?

Love the illustrations, Bob!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

The Mitt Romney reference was a link to an article by, of all things, Al-Jazeera.

I guess Through the Looking Glass is a metaphor for the surreal or cognitive dissonance, and sounds as if it's just one of those phrases that's caught on and become trite.

The Penn State Board of Trustees election is big news in these parts. I guess there are hundreds of thousands of Penn State alumni who believe that 1.) the trustees of the University knew all along about the accusations against the assistant football coach, but ordered a coverup, and that 2.) that the trustees made head coach Joe Paterno--considered practically a saint in Pennsylvania--a scapegoat in the matter. Paterno was fired by phone call on a Saturday night after zillions of years as coach. Many people, like me, who are not PSU alumni/ae thought his firing was probably justified, if harsh, but also suspect the Trustees were not as innocent as they claimed to be. A certain number of seats on the board are designated for alumni of the university and the seats are assigned through an open election in which all alumni are eligible to vote. In the past, few have run for these seats, and few have bothered to vote. This year, in the wake of Paterno's firing and subsequent death from lung cancer, 80 alumni ran for 3 open seats. The results are just in. Whether these 3 new trustees will be able to make the board more honest is anyone's guess, but the election hype has been so unexpected and bizarre that I guess news reporters feel they have gone through the looking glass.

Wordmatic

My brother once went through the looking glass --- twelve stitches.

ouch! I just used the phrase in another thread! 10 lashesw/a wet noodle!

quote:

but also suspect the Trustees were not as innocent as they claimed to be.

Agreed! Perhaps he deserved to be fired, but clearly he was a scapegoat.

Paterno, coaching football into his mid-80s and refusing to retire, when he ought to have done so years earlier, was a problem for the trustees. He was revered by most on campus and beyond for his emphasis on academics and his apparent integrity. He and his wife had given millions to the school, particularly one of the main university libraries, which bears his name. However, the outside world was so outraged at the accusations against Sandusky and Paterno's rather "chicken" response to them, that they were ready for his head. The man should have been dismissed in a face-to-face meeting. At least he wasn't canned via e-mail.

Wordmatic