How To Pick Up Girls
By Luke Y. Thompson (LYT) from last night's wake at Rob Long's house for Cathy Seipp.
Comments
That outfit is rather understated for LYT. But I guess that's because it was a wake for Cathy.
Posted by: Lena at June 11, 2007 7:52 AM
Sadly, that shirt will probably get him laid a lot more easily than the behavior of the nice guys.
Posted by: MikeT at June 11, 2007 9:50 AM
Actually, you could look at that shirt as what, in evolutionary psychology, is called a "costly signal" -- suggesting that Luke is such an amazing guy that he can afford to wear a shirt that's off-putting to women. Of course, there are costly signals and there are too-costly signals!
A good book on the topic - Zahavi & Zahavi's "The Handicap Principle."
Posted by: Amy Alkon at June 11, 2007 10:21 AM
The only way his luck could be worse, is if he wore that shirt AND whined about how women treat "nice guys."
Posted by: Pirate Jo at June 11, 2007 12:25 PM
So Amy, was there someone at the wake I should have been trying to pick up?
(the shirt I'm wearing today says "Whore Fucker" on it, btw)
Posted by: LYT at June 11, 2007 4:53 PM
One night many years ago in the NYC Port Authority, I saw a droopy, tired man loitering outside the men's room wearing a t-shirt that said, simply, "I GIVE." Judging from the forlorn look on his face, I don't think anyone was taking.
Posted by: Lena at June 11, 2007 9:16 PM
Sorry, Luke, but it's always good to be vigilant. (The whore fucker thing can add up!)
Posted by: Amy Alkon at June 12, 2007 12:00 AM
Actually, I think Luke's shirt is rather uniquely liberating. It shows that he isn't bound by the constraints of keeping his uncharitable thoughts about women to himself and doesn't have this inner mantra in endless loop mode going. "Must treat women with respect...must treat women with respect...must treat women with respect..." Of course, such internal dialogue is self defeating. You've already classfied women as something different. Something like "Must treat people with respect..." would be much more helpful, but then that begs the question, "Even those who don't deserve it?"
How about people just be self-respecting and, to paraphrase Polonius, "it must follow as the night to day thou canst not be false to any man"?
Personally, I like this T-shirt.
Posted by: Patrick at June 12, 2007 2:31 AM
Funny how everyone assumes the shirt refers to women. "Bitch" isn't the gender-specific term it used to be -- I address many of my male friends thusly.
Posted by: LYT at June 12, 2007 12:02 PM
Funny, but I've never seen any evidence that Luke doesn't treat women with respect or that he's not a nice guy...but I guess people just assume that because of his ill-conceived clothing choices (and frequent use of the word "hooters")?
Posted by: Pat at June 12, 2007 2:43 PM
"(and frequent use of the word "hooters")"
That began as a running joke on my DVD commentaries, and has somehow come to define me. Then again, I'm often amazed at the people (esp. in NY) who can look at my website and somehow think I mean every single word of what I say on a literal level.
Stuff I do or write that seems funny to me gets taken literally and used as some kind of evidence I'm a horrible person, but I'm not going to stop having fun just because not everybody gets it.
Posted by: LYT at June 12, 2007 4:24 PM
Luke is a very, very nice guy, and Cathy thought so, too...and she was tough to impress. When Cathy, Emmanuelle and I had this party at Barnsdall for Toby Young's book, it got kind of messed up (double-booked with LA Press Club) and Luke was quick to say he'd help us with the bar, and came through and then some. As usual. Luke is a good egg!
As for hooters, that's part of what tweaks the Calendar ladies about me. I love language and I'm not afraid of words, except when they're 300 pounds and made of steel and falling from a great distance on my head. (Which, luckily, has yet to happen.)
Posted by: Amy Alkon at June 12, 2007 5:08 PM
And here I assumed the shirt was for the puppy. Well, fear not, Mr. Thompson. No signal is more costly than my '86 Plymouth Reliant K Series.
Posted by: Paul Hrissikopoulos at June 12, 2007 7:04 PM
Poor dear. My parents drove those in Detroit. I hid behind a bush at school so nobody would see me getting picked up in one of those things.
Posted by: Amy Alkon at June 13, 2007 12:00 AM
That shirt's okay, but the ones I like better are "Shut Up Bitch, The Game's On" and, for people of color, "Bros Before Hos".
Posted by: CJ at June 15, 2007 4:54 PM
