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The Narcissism Thread

IMHO wanting - much less paying - to see your own face adorning your cup o' coffee qualifies you for citation in this thread ... :roll:

London cafe unveils the 'selfieccino' - self portraits in froth
A cafe in London is taking barista art to a new level by giving customers the chance to sip on their own self-portraits.

The Tea Terrace, based in House of Fraser’s Oxford Street branch, has become Europe’s first location to deliver the “Selfieccino,” which features an image of customers’ faces on the frothy topping of their drinks.

Patrons send their headshots via an online messaging app to the barista and are given the choice of either a cappuccino or hot chocolate as their canvas.

The image is uploaded to the “Cino” machine while the drink is placed in position. The picture is then scanned and reproduced onto the froth using a flavorless food coloring. ...

”Due to social media, the dining experience has completely shifted,“ Ehab Salem Shouly, owner of The Tea Terrace told Reuters. ”It’s not enough any more to just deliver great food and great service - it’s got to be Instagram worthy.”

SOURCE: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ieccino-self-portraits-in-froth-idUSKBN1ED2BZ
 
You're so vain, you probably think this thread is about you

This is such a good thread I signed up, so forgive a new boy, but to my mind most people do not know who they are. In polite social discourse they nearly always define themselves by what they do. Now, if you are a cheeky sort, it is quite easy to de-rail them by answering with a polite challenge. That can end the conversation right there to be honest, but about 10% will carry on to a higher level of conversation to both our benefit. These tend to be the 'interesting people' that seem so rare these days, which to me suggests they have an innate identity. If some poor human does not have an identity they will forever flounder in whatever words the psychologists wish to frame them, because what they do certainly does not define anyone. Unfortunately it is my firm belief that only 10% have an identity and within that 10% lie all the saints and sinners, original thinkers, leaders, villains etc.
This inherent identity is there right from the start, it is quite possible to attain but most Western societal forms make it very chancy. The poor buggers washed in self absorption are to be avoided, quite frankly.
 
..Not an old-fashioned duel I assume !

Handbags at Dawn Min, My seconds will call on you to make the arrangements.

INT21
 
quartermaster,

Consider the challenge accepted.

Your move.

INT21:dinner:
 
Hello and welcome to the board!
Thanks you, most kind.
Consider the challenge accepted.
Ha, not in any aggressive way I assure you...just say 'did you buy that tie or your wife?' This in answer to his polite and acceptable conversation about his job, house, son, holiday etc. It is a challenge because most people wear a persona they believe is them, only them mind; whereas what is under the persona, what you might call their essence, and quite independent of the persona, possibly never realized, is how their friends see them. To have a worthwhile conversation, to me, you have to blow away the ho-hum platitudes thusly. It is no longer a surprise when the conversation ends right there frankly, but there are other people about...
 
quartermaster,

.. because what they do certainly does not define anyone...

So how would you define who you are; without saying what your occupation is ?

..Ha, not in any aggressive way I assure you...just say 'did you buy that tie or your wife?'..

Actually, both.

But it depends upon the context. In the context of the subject of being married to yourself, or the more normal married couple.

The sentence as written is asking if you bought your tie, or bought your wife.

I would have asked 'did you buy that tie, or did your wife buy it ?'

'It is no longer a surprise when the conversation ends right there frankly'.

'What do you say after you have said Hello' ?

INT21
 
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Our posts crossed, please re read the last one I posted.

INT21
 
..
Nothing usually, I'm quite a good listener...

And a Psychoanalyst would say that if you don't make an attempt to catch the ball, people will stop throwing it to you.

INT21
 
..
Nothing usually, I'm quite a good listener...

And a Psychoanalyst would say that if you don't make an attempt to catch the ball, people will stop throwing it to you.

INT21
Yeah, well they have to make a living somehow.

So how would you define who you are; without saying what your occupation is ?
"Father, husband, angler, occasional gardener, web-designer and slayer of dragons. I earn some money by doing " . {$occupation};

:cool2:
 
I've sometimes noticed narcissism to be a word used to label someone as being vain by someone who envies that other person's confidence .. so someone feeling a bit pleased with themselves one day is going to get a slap back down for being vain/ narcissistic by people surrounding them who are a bit fed up of the individual's showing off in any social interactions and so are just trying to drag that other person because that vain person 'needs bringing down a peg or two' for forgetting that they wouldn't have got there alone without the help of etc etc .. a true narcissist to me on the other hand is the Disney characters, or Elizabeth Bathory/King Canute types who are obsessed with their own reflection or how they are viewed .. aka/ people who take themselves too seriously.

fish hook.jpg
 
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And a Psychoanalyst would say that if you don't make an attempt to catch the ball, people will stop throwing it to you.
I dare say they would. A lot of people are very happy to talk, almost as though the listeners' job is to, er, listen.
Do you have an opinion on people wearing a persona, like a mask?
 
I've sometimes noticed narcissism to be a word used to label someone as being vain by someone who envies that other person's confidence .. so someone feeling a bit pleased with themselves one day is going to get a slap back down for being vain/ narcissistic by people surrounding them who are a bit fed up of the individual's showing off in any social interactions and so are just trying to drag that other person because that vain person 'needs bringing down a peg or two' for forgetting that they wouldn't have got there alone without the help of etc etc .. a true narcissist to me on the other hand is the Disney characters, or Elizabeth Bathory/King Canute types who are obsessed with their own reflection or how they are viewed .. aka/ people who take themselves too seriously.

King Canute has been misrepresented: he tried to hold back the tide to prove he COULDN'T do it, so all the sycophants in his court would be forced to admit he was not all-powerful. Nobody likes a suck-ass, not even Kings.
 
King Canute has been misrepresented: he tried to hold back the tide to prove he COULDN'T do it, so all the sycophants in his court would be forced to admit he was not all-powerful. Nobody likes a suck-ass, not even Kings.
Yep, exactly that.
 
Some presidents seem to love them.

INT21
 
Going back to 'good listeners'.

A psychoanalyst has to be a good listener. He/she works by throwing the ball back to the subject.

If a subject were to say in a session ' how would you feel if she did that to you ?' the correct response would be 'well, how do you feel about it ?'.

Getting the person to answer his/her own questions.

So, quartermaster,
Do you have an opinion on people wearing a persona, like a mask?


INT21
 
There was a radio programme about narcissism on R4 today -

The Ideas That Make Us

The Ideas That Make Us, Series 4 Episode 3 of 5

Narcissism

Bettany Hughes considers changing ideas about narcissism at a hairdresser's, on a therapist's couch, in mythology, in Victorian society and on our mobile phones.

This surprising and invigorating history of the most influential ideas in the story of civilisation, has been described as 'a double espresso shot of philosophy, history, science and the arts'. Award-winning historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes begins each programme with the first, extant evidence of a single word-idea in Ancient Greek culture and travels both forwards and backwards in time, investigating how these ideas have been moulded by history, and how they've shaped us.

In this programme Bettany explores narcissism with experts from the humanities and sciences, people who see these big philosophical ideas playing out in their own lives including philosopher Angie Hobbs, Oscar Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland and psychotherapist Philippa Perry. Bettany reveals where these ideas were born and then explores the street markets, churches, offices and homes where they continue to morph and influence our daily lives.
 
Getting the person to answer his/her own questions.
Jeez Int, put me on the couch I'll never get back up!
So, quartermaster,
Do you have an opinion on people wearing a persona, like a mask?
It surely underpins ego, and in the virtual world of social media, whereby it is common to isolate any dissenting view, thus re-inforcing one's particular 'group think', the persona can get boosted to the realms of fantasy, of which narcissism is one possibility. A symptom is the amount of self image photoshopping goes on in this media, let alone the bizarre selfie phenomenon.
 
However, there is a school of thought that says if you can't love yourself then how can you love others.

And it could be said that we all project a personality that is often not how we really are. A kind of mask. Something to ensure we are not left 'out in the cold'.

'And I think it's going to be a long, long time
'til touchdown brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at all.'

(Elton John)

INT21
 
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