Idiots Rule (thanks Perry Farrell)

Okay, listen, I don't judge people on their spelling. First of all, I am merely a good speller, not a great one. Second, I know a lot of intelligent, wise, interesting, cultured people who can't spell for beans. Many of them have other qualities that I envy, like artistic ability, math skills, or spatial ability. I occasionally still get a laugh out of the multiple-meanings blunder, like a friend (one of those intelligent, wise ones) who recently wrote about his "bowel haircut." I'm sorry, that's just funny. But when in the newspaper I see that someone's interest was "peeked," I just get on with my life (it happens all the time). Spelling just isn't a measure of intelligence or character (that said, though, the diligent determination to look shit up when you know you're a bad speller gains the utmost respect from me).

So when I first read the article about Maria Alquilar, who designed a big piece of art to be installed in front of the new Livermore library, I just thought, "okay, so she can't spell, whatever." Here's the article.

She apparently misspelled 11 names in the artwork, including those of Albert Einstein and Michelangelo. Now, due to the receipt of several pieces of "vile hate mail," she has decided to leave the artwork as is, and not fix the names. Well, I guess that's her perogative, but listen to some of the stupid-ass shit she's been saying: "There seems to be so much hatred within certain people. They continuously look for a scapegoat. I guess I am the sacrificial goat." The definition of scapegoat is as follows: "someone punished for the errors of others." Um, wait. She's saying she's not the one who made the errors?

She apperently also "noted that plenty of people from the city were on hand during the installation who could and should have seen the errant spellings." Uh huh, so the people who didn't catch your mistakes are responsible for your mistakes?
"Even though I was on my hands and knees laying the installation out, I didn't see it." Okay, but what about all the times when you were designing it, creating it, painting it, transporting it . . . ?

This is my second favorite: "The mistakes wouldn't register with a true artisan, Alquilar said." (---Sac Bee)
"The people that are into humanities, and are into Blake's concept of enlightenment, they are not looking at the words." Hee hee. I guess I'm too unenlightened to fail to notice the big "Eistein."

Here's my very favorite, though, direct from the Bee. "When asked whether she chose the words and names for the work or whether the city provided her with a list, Alquilar said 'The art chose the words.'" Translation, "I didn't have any goddamn list to blame it on, okay? I came up with it, I jacked it up, my bad, I can't spell and I'm too lazy to look shit up."

Incidentally, she initially agreed to fix it -- for $6,000 plus travel expenses.
Sheesh.