So I finally took possession of some frame stickers featuring my pharmaceutical packaging spoof and promptly slapped one on my Bullitt. Inspired by Damien Hirst’s series of art in the same vein.
Interestingly, when I first blogged about it, the jury was split in the comments. Those who took issue with it questioned the usage of 'Viagra'.
Which suprised me. Viagra is a cultural reference and is used as such. If one gets all sorts of 'associations' when seeing the word, then don't buy the sticker. It's not a global bicycle advocacy campaign, it's just a sticker using a cultural reference. A metaphor.
Like saying that Copenhagenize.com is The Playboy Mansion of the Bicycle World. Which is, of course, true. Despite the potential for a long list of people's 'associations' with that cultural reference.
How about The Disneyland of the Bicycle World? No... god, no... Disney is a multi-national corp that is only interested in profit. And did I, declared secular humanist, use another cultural reference by writing 'god' in that sentence? Oh, bother... as Winnie the Pooh would have said. Except he was invented by a declared pacifist... not at all appropriate when we're all 'at war'.
And isn't saying 'Pooh' rather disgusting? It sounds an awful lot like... well... "poo"! What are we teaching our children?! We should certainly change that name. Let's boycot Disney until they do it.
Like the children's book I bought in North America a couple of years ago featuring classic rhymes. Amazingly, the rhyme "Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross", which has been around since the 16th century, was altered to "Ride a hobby horse to Banbury Cross". No cock horses allowed, apparently. Let's just alter literary history. Sanitize our world by censoring cultural references.
Further into the book, the text of the classic Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man rhyme was changed to omit the evil 'prick it and pat it and mark it with 'B''. No pricks allowed, apparently. It was written as 'roll it, shape it and mark it with 'B''.
Well... enough about fucking Viagra... and by writing fucking I am, of course, referring to the Austrian town of Fucking. :-) (is it just me or does that smiley look like two testicles and a penis?!)
