I’ve never felt hurt at the charge I can’t sustain a conversation or complete an idea because honestly nobody’s ever convinced me it’s a worthwhile goal (or, more to the point, MORE worthwhile than whatever it is I and the rest of the web do anyway).

Tom, this is kind of the whole point of this conversation, though, isn’t it? This is precisely the thing that makes everything so difficult in this sphere in the way that it isn’t difficult elsewhere. “Sustain an intellectual conversation” is the thing that academics do, and are expected to do, AT work, and it’s what rock critics sometimes do when they get HOME from work (or while avoiding work, ahem). That’s not all there is to it, but it explains a whole lot. (Frank’s complaint, if I understand him correctly, is that it doesn’t explain everything, which probably isn’t inaccurate, but…[trails off, brain malfunctions])

Anyway, I do genuinely apologize for the two Tumblr posts in which I acted (very) consciously like an asshole to Katherine and Nick. I thought they were being deliberately hurtful, as opposed to my (apparently) collateral damage and I responded in kind, which was stupid.

EDIT:

Me: “I’ve posted at least three more things and think I’m done I should probably go outside and shit.”
Erika: “Yeah, you need to just…not do that anymore.”
Erika: “Even in that last one where you ostensibly apologized you were an asshole!”
Me: “OH COME ON!”
Erika: “You’re like me on Usenet circa 1999 now. ‘Until someone provokes me otherwise’? Come on, dude.”
Me: that was a joke!
Erika: YOU CAN’T JOKE ON THE INTERNET