Yo dawg
March 7, 2019 11:17 AM Subscribe
Simon Willison heard you like copies of dogs, so he commissioned a replica oil painting of a photo of Barbra Streisand's dogs looking at the grave of the dog from which they were both cloned.
Is there a philosophical term for existential dread triggered by the efforts of others to circumvent their own existential death anxiety?
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:34 AM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:34 AM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
Oh man. I saw this last week and I was shocked at how affordable it is to get your own oil painting done.
posted by migurski at 11:36 AM on March 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by migurski at 11:36 AM on March 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
“I want you to go down to RePet and have Oliver replaced.”
posted by Fizz at 11:39 AM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 11:39 AM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
simonw, please provide a photo of yourself hanging the painting in your guest bathroom. You should be looking at the camera so that both you and the painting are clearly identifiable.
I plan to have a painting made of this photo, so please dress appropriately. Perhaps in dark sackcloth.
posted by Naberius at 11:39 AM on March 7, 2019 [15 favorites]
I plan to have a painting made of this photo, so please dress appropriately. Perhaps in dark sackcloth.
posted by Naberius at 11:39 AM on March 7, 2019 [15 favorites]
Metafilter: exactly the right expressions of mild existential dread
posted by BungaDunga at 11:46 AM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by BungaDunga at 11:46 AM on March 7, 2019 [4 favorites]
I was terrified when the dog that had comforted me through some really difficult years was getting old, so I got a younger dog of a similar breed to live with us. I hoped that he would learn to act like the older dog that I knew that I would lose. That was not destined to happen. He was a young dog who wanted to live life the way he wanted to.
Now, though, years after the older dog's death, he has started to take on some of her attributes. Is it my imagination? Is it wish fullfillment? Probably so. But by now I understand that he is his own dog, and I treat him with as much respect as I did my previous dog.
I still feel comforted that we both were affected by my old dog, and we share that experience. I understand why someone would want a cloned version of a dog they have had, but I think having a dog that actually lived with the dog you love is a much better approach. It has certainly helped me.
posted by Quonab at 11:58 AM on March 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
Now, though, years after the older dog's death, he has started to take on some of her attributes. Is it my imagination? Is it wish fullfillment? Probably so. But by now I understand that he is his own dog, and I treat him with as much respect as I did my previous dog.
I still feel comforted that we both were affected by my old dog, and we share that experience. I understand why someone would want a cloned version of a dog they have had, but I think having a dog that actually lived with the dog you love is a much better approach. It has certainly helped me.
posted by Quonab at 11:58 AM on March 7, 2019 [8 favorites]
The whole "oil painting from a photo over the internet" is a fascinating thing to me. Case in point.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:58 AM on March 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:58 AM on March 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
Is there a philosophical term for existential dread triggered by the efforts of others to circumvent their own existential death anxiety?
Just wait until they move on to kids.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:15 PM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
Just wait until they move on to kids.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:15 PM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]
broke: cloning your dead kids
woke: cloning your dead parents, raising them as your own children, becoming your own grandparent, and repeating this cycle for endless generations
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:18 PM on March 7, 2019 [18 favorites]
woke: cloning your dead parents, raising them as your own children, becoming your own grandparent, and repeating this cycle for endless generations
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:18 PM on March 7, 2019 [18 favorites]
woke: cloning your dead parents, raising them as your own children, becoming your own grandparent, and repeating this cycle for endless generations
It's all fun and games until 3prizebulloctorok blows up the orbital with your cryo-stasis tube.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:50 PM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
It's all fun and games until 3prizebulloctorok blows up the orbital with your cryo-stasis tube.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:50 PM on March 7, 2019 [5 favorites]
Coton de Tulears are adorable dogs. And they can be obnoxious. But they're cute, so they get away with it. Ours seems to know exactly how to get along with each of our other dogs, which is probably why we haven't shipped him to Abu Dhabi yet.
posted by azpenguin at 1:16 PM on March 7, 2019
posted by azpenguin at 1:16 PM on March 7, 2019
Yes. I love this.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:44 PM on March 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:44 PM on March 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you keep reading Neuromancer, this strategy gets a bit dark.
The Otherland method didn't work all that well either.
posted by Snuffman at 3:22 PM on March 7, 2019
The Otherland method didn't work all that well either.
posted by Snuffman at 3:22 PM on March 7, 2019
cloning your dead parents, raising them as your own children
My wife published a short story about doing just that 20-odd years ago.
posted by Quasirandom at 3:29 PM on March 7, 2019 [3 favorites]
Well done, Simon. This is somehow hilarious and touching at the same time.
posted by mmoncur at 3:33 PM on March 7, 2019
posted by mmoncur at 3:33 PM on March 7, 2019
So pleased to see this make it to the blue!
posted by simonw at 4:42 PM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by simonw at 4:42 PM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
If you were wondering how large the painting is, you may appreciate this photograph alongside our dog Cleo for scale.
posted by simonw at 5:47 PM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by simonw at 5:47 PM on March 7, 2019 [6 favorites]
I may not know anything about art but I know what I like and I sure as hell love the shit out of that painting.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 10:22 PM on March 7, 2019
posted by Big Al 8000 at 10:22 PM on March 7, 2019
I can't stop laughing at this. It's so *perfect*.
posted by mediareport at 6:05 AM on March 8, 2019
posted by mediareport at 6:05 AM on March 8, 2019
Naberius, once you do that, please take a photo of yourself with the painting. I have an incredibly original idea.
posted by ambulocetus at 7:52 AM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by ambulocetus at 7:52 AM on March 8, 2019 [3 favorites]
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posted by larrybob at 11:30 AM on March 7, 2019 [2 favorites]