Very interesting that the one surviving drawing of your father's was done on a newspaper with the text "Inside: Network+ Man Who Wants to Stop Bill Gates" !
Ah, well, I think we can agree that an eccentric is grown from the seed of quirky. So I'd agree with you there.
But to a scholar of the eccentric, such as yourself, I'd have to say that America is probably a few hundred years behind Britain in terms of the development of eccentricities. We haven't had the generations of gentry with time and money on their hands and an eccentricity to prove. If anything, they probably move to Britain to step up to a higher class of eccentric than we can manage here.
We do have the concept of weird, though in the modern context that's just as often applied positively to a community rather than to a person. To say, "That guy is weird," is to warn someone else that someone might be dangerous, and to stay away.
To a community though, "weird" applies to the notion of free-thinking. The "Keep Portland Weird," campaign was so effective, (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Portland_Weird) for example that it's been copied in other decidedly liberal cities including Austin, Brooklyn, Madison and more. (In the category of Weird, it's uncool to copy, so there's that.)
San Francisco or it's more smaller cousin across the Bay, Berkeley, California might both be described in a positive way as "quirky" but are rarely described as "Weird." I suspect that's because their history of tie-dye, free-love, and peaceniks goes back a generation earlier than the GenXers who made the whole "Weird" thing popular. Eccentric, yes, though probably more quirky.
Here in Berkeley, we (yes, I'm in Berkeley) prefer to simply call it "Berkeley," as in "Ah, well, it's Berkeley." Though it was a hit for years, the city pulled the plug on the "How Berkeley Can You Be" parade before the pandemic. (https://eastbayexpress.com/how-berkeley-can-you-be-thwarted-by-berkeley-1)
(Yes, I suppose I am procrastinating... 🙄 Thank you though. That was a fun romp.)
Thank you, that was a fun romp. I think American society tried to prove their credentials by how well they conformed to perceived standards. The English had gone beyond that stage, and often rejoiced in how eccentric they could be.
I also like quirky; it reminds me of the Pippi Longstocking books for some reason. :)
Yes, the books do have a certain quirkiness about them.
Very interesting that the one surviving drawing of your father's was done on a newspaper with the text "Inside: Network+ Man Who Wants to Stop Bill Gates" !
Yes, I loved that also!
I wonder who the man was, and what he wanted to stop Gates doing?
In 1997 what was Bill doing?! Ideas anyone?
Quirky vs. Eccentric, in the British context. What a perfect topic. Will you please do Geek vs. Nerd next?
Absolutely🤣. Is quirky different in America?
Ah, well, I think we can agree that an eccentric is grown from the seed of quirky. So I'd agree with you there.
But to a scholar of the eccentric, such as yourself, I'd have to say that America is probably a few hundred years behind Britain in terms of the development of eccentricities. We haven't had the generations of gentry with time and money on their hands and an eccentricity to prove. If anything, they probably move to Britain to step up to a higher class of eccentric than we can manage here.
There are exceptions, for example, the builders of the Flinstones house here in the San Francisco Bay Area (near Silicon Valley). I think that tilts the bell at "eccentric." (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/flintstone-house-hillsborough)
We do have the concept of weird, though in the modern context that's just as often applied positively to a community rather than to a person. To say, "That guy is weird," is to warn someone else that someone might be dangerous, and to stay away.
To a community though, "weird" applies to the notion of free-thinking. The "Keep Portland Weird," campaign was so effective, (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Portland_Weird) for example that it's been copied in other decidedly liberal cities including Austin, Brooklyn, Madison and more. (In the category of Weird, it's uncool to copy, so there's that.)
San Francisco or it's more smaller cousin across the Bay, Berkeley, California might both be described in a positive way as "quirky" but are rarely described as "Weird." I suspect that's because their history of tie-dye, free-love, and peaceniks goes back a generation earlier than the GenXers who made the whole "Weird" thing popular. Eccentric, yes, though probably more quirky.
Here in Berkeley, we (yes, I'm in Berkeley) prefer to simply call it "Berkeley," as in "Ah, well, it's Berkeley." Though it was a hit for years, the city pulled the plug on the "How Berkeley Can You Be" parade before the pandemic. (https://eastbayexpress.com/how-berkeley-can-you-be-thwarted-by-berkeley-1)
(Yes, I suppose I am procrastinating... 🙄 Thank you though. That was a fun romp.)
Thank you, that was a fun romp. I think American society tried to prove their credentials by how well they conformed to perceived standards. The English had gone beyond that stage, and often rejoiced in how eccentric they could be.
Oh absolutely. Americans are often just a little insecure. We mask it with bravado. 😜