There are currently two television programs I’m watching (which is one more than is typical of me) ~ ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Downton Abbey’. That about sums up my frame of mind, and my pathology in general. Taken together, they are a clash of cultures and sensibilities, and in many ways they couldn’t be more different. Yet I love them both. Such disparate taste makes it difficult for people to peg me, and all of those ‘If you like this, try this…’ Pandora-like recommendations that Amazon and other companies try to sell always fall flat. Just because I like Madonna doesn’t mean I’ll like Kylie Minogue. Most humans are too nuanced and capricious for such grand generalizations.
Occasionally they work: I was introduced to Jo Malone through all my Tom Ford purchases, and it’s been a nice working relationship thus far – nothing serious yet, but I’m open to pursuing something. Mostly, though, I ignore the pre-programmed suggestions. There’s something grotesque about being that predictable. No matter how accurate your algorithms may be, I will always surprise you. Just when you think I’m going to go straight for the new Tom Ford Private Blend, I’ll take an Hermes detour. And just when you think you have me pegged to an Hermes T, I’ll splash on a simple essential oil from Aveda.
As for ‘American Horror Story’ and ‘Downtown Abbey’, I’m quite enjoying the current season of each. The former, in its ‘Coven’ incarnation, is, I believe, enjoying its best season thus far. Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett are chewing up the scenery right and left, and the over-the-top antics (everybody seems to come back from the dead, for better or worse) continually manage to surprise and delight in their sickness. ‘Downton’ on the other hand continues to entrance with its own dichotomous study of the upstairs versus downstairs life at the Abbey. And there we have the duality that has always appealed to me. Like Batman and Wonder Woman, we are always more than one person. Most of us are several. Some, quite a bit more. Don’t make me choose a favorite.
