Come at me!

Comments

that is the romantic thing i have ever read that includes a facial from quentin tarantino.

sarah, you punched me in the throat.

and i mean that in a non-creepy, platonic, literary, bloggy kinda way.

posted by The Mighty Jimbo on April 21, 2004 at 02:47 AM

So sad, yet so true.

I used to be a Paragraph One sort of girl myself for a VERY long time. However, BoyWonder came along, assaulted my throat, and I kinda liked it.

I don't think I could ever be a Paragraph One again.

Beautiful Sarah, just Beautiful.

posted by angie on April 21, 2004 at 04:45 AM

Very nice... and very true. Suddenly, I feel hopeful about being patient and waiting for the surprise.

posted by Crazy Jane on April 21, 2004 at 04:46 AM

Ah, the punch in the throat... I first took one of those almost exactly 19 years ago from a guy who had been just a friend to that point. Those regular sucker punches have kept us married for 12 years already.

Your writing is such a treat, Sarah Brown.

posted by Kiki Dee on April 21, 2004 at 05:13 AM

:) sarah brown... ur timing could not have been more perfect... i love you.. :)

posted by fars on April 21, 2004 at 08:14 AM

You've hit the nail on the head with that one Miss B. I've always been a punch to throat kind of gal, I suppose I'm sadistic that way, but I also like to think that I'm more flexible and open to new experiences as well. I know a few Photobooth people, and it makes me sad to see them go through the same thing with different people to the same (usually unhappy) end.

Punches to the throat certainly hurt more, but they remind you that you're alive.

posted by One on April 21, 2004 at 09:27 AM

Sarah. ...fuck it, I'm going to email you.

posted by EV on April 21, 2004 at 09:44 AM

I agree that the punch in the throat is love in all its glory. The other kind I dont think is actually love...its more like conditioning yourself to live out a fantasy.

posted by TheSugarV on April 21, 2004 at 09:51 AM

So, the real question is, are you currently being punched in the throat? Are are you just making some general commentary?

posted by Ismat on April 21, 2004 at 09:53 AM

I like the punch in the throat kind to.

posted by paris on April 21, 2004 at 10:06 AM

This is one for Mr. Newman's project, Ms. Brown.

posted by Greg on April 21, 2004 at 10:27 AM

I've recently been punched in the throat, but it took that post to make me fully realize it. Wow!

posted by Jenny on April 21, 2004 at 10:54 AM

or, as stuart davis would say, "the grim reaper wears a bra."
(although, from your perspective, i suppose it could be a jock strap.)

nothing quite like a punch to the throat, no.

posted by matt on April 21, 2004 at 11:05 AM

aw, sarah. with the love? and the throat punching? aw.

posted by sar on April 21, 2004 at 11:29 AM

Yeah, there's something to be said about a seriously sore throat.

posted by bond girl on April 21, 2004 at 12:01 PM

ummm... is that kill bill vol 2 or are you in total love??!

posted by Pink Lilies on April 21, 2004 at 12:13 PM

Slightly off topic here so forgive me, but I've always thought this is what happens to people's weddings. There are the kind of people who have the whole thing in their head and spend thousands of dollars to make it look like their dream, or people who enjoy that terrifying thought that they are creating something unchartered and new.

Punch in the throat weddings are WAY funner, nodoubtaboutit.

posted by slack on April 21, 2004 at 12:34 PM

thank you for always defining what i can only feel, even though i'm still waiting for my punch..

sarah brown, you really really are the best.

posted by nozlee on April 21, 2004 at 12:43 PM

Now you went and made me all sad, Sarah Brown.

I was all about the punch in the throat boy, until he punched too hard.

I think I'm sticking to photobooths until I can handle the punching again. Which may be never. Who knows.

posted by Anne on April 21, 2004 at 12:46 PM

the throat punches are real hard to get over.....

posted by RR on April 21, 2004 at 01:01 PM

No, I think both are completely viable; one is just a pretty pale way to live, from my point of view. But it's the way that makes a lot of people happy, evidently.

posted by Sarah B. on April 21, 2004 at 01:04 PM

great post

posted by john on April 21, 2004 at 01:22 PM

great post. although, i've been recently punched, and would kinda like a predictable photo booth experience for awhile. grass is always greener...

posted by jess on April 21, 2004 at 01:33 PM

hmm... developing an irregular heartbeat is the same thing as a punch in the throat, right?

but yes, nail on the head.

posted by jen on April 21, 2004 at 01:33 PM

am hoping the boy keeps up with the punches...

posted by mingaling on April 21, 2004 at 01:55 PM

Aw, all the really GOOD comments have been TAKEN!

Still, I'm linking this. Thanks, The Minor...

~Ptitza Odelay
Velvet Queen of Jasmine Tea
Journalist
and Gonzo Webmaster

posted by Ptitza Odelay on April 21, 2004 at 02:00 PM

You ignore my question. I don't like.

posted by Ismat on April 21, 2004 at 02:05 PM

Yeah, I'm with Jenny. I guess I should accept that this crazy weird strange love (Strangelove?) is real love.

posted by Anne Beryl on April 21, 2004 at 02:10 PM

This was goooooooooood. Punch-in-the-throat good.

posted by bluepoppy on April 21, 2004 at 02:43 PM

good god, sarah. you're brilliant.

i'm a photobooth girl attempting to convert herself to the throat-punch kind.

posted by sassylittlepunkin on April 21, 2004 at 02:46 PM

punch in the throat is best but more likely to fade.

posted by katie bad breath on April 21, 2004 at 03:40 PM

There are 1,666 ways that Sarah Brown is freakin brilliant. Obviosly the 666 means that she's a tad bit evil, because she is so brilliant.

posted by Clayton on April 21, 2004 at 04:27 PM

yowza...very well said

p.s. if anyone wants to punch me in the throat asap it would be much appreciated

posted by katelikesboys on April 21, 2004 at 04:30 PM

I like this post, but I think it is somewhat dangerous. I agree with Katie that hot passionate, punch in the throat can also be more volatile and less likely to last. There does need to be something new for a relationship to last and there needs to be changes made in a person, but there also needs to be things in common on a comfortable level which can be anything but boring.

posted by Ca-chee on April 21, 2004 at 04:34 PM

i was going for the photobooth, we even went to MY cafe for a while, then i got punched in the throat and the punch is resulting in me moving to the suburbs and soon i'll be walking the dog and what not. yay punch!

posted by miss jennifer silver on April 21, 2004 at 04:51 PM

Katie, Ca-chee, I see what you're saying: I don't equate the throat punching with that sort of crazy, spur of the moment, burn out fast kind of love. Maybe using the verb "punch" suggested that. I mean it instead as the kind that surprises you in a good way as opposed to the kind that you seek out. Comfort and routine are totally necessary to anything that's going to be last, just so long as you're concious of WHY it's your routine in the first place.

posted by Sarah B. on April 21, 2004 at 06:17 PM

i agree that i'd prefer the punch in the throat, but it's partly defined by the surprise. so rather than sit around and just wait for a punch, i want to fill the between- or before-times with some fun photoboothing.

posted by meep on April 21, 2004 at 06:35 PM

I just watched a 'Dating Patrol' about this exact thing. Did I say that out loud?

posted by Melissa on April 21, 2004 at 08:39 PM

It sneaks, it does, that crazy love that has nothing to do with a "type" of person you're looking for. It can lead to an occasional bout of insanity then forgiveness but always a breath-catching "yes" when you look over at them. Each person is a set of unexpected variables, and who knows how they'll change you?
Never thought I'd be content chain-smoking after midnight, watching my boyfriend's derriere as he swings away in a batting cage after we've swilled away pints of beer in Korea.

posted by Elizabeth on April 21, 2004 at 09:00 PM

Unfuckingbelievable. Personally, I'm a commitmentphobe so I try to avoid both kinds as much as possible.

posted by Smoove D on April 21, 2004 at 09:02 PM

So she lives in the end...

posted by k on April 21, 2004 at 10:31 PM

this post might change things

posted by katie bad breath on April 22, 2004 at 06:22 AM

you've got me there,
with the second kind it's probably true that you don't know that it's love, the kind you want, until you're used to it and have put away your expectatinos and imaginations of it aside.
you're very astute at observations.
great reading.

posted by Emily on April 22, 2004 at 09:30 AM

I would like to be the 642d person to note that you are a genius, Sarah Brown. Thank you for being astute (ok, enough with the breathless worship). I just wanted to say: watch out for photobooth layovers. If you don't pay attention, you can end up almost married before you realize that you won't be happy spending your life in a photobooth. This is particularly true if you are the throat-puncher and the guy is all about the long walks at sunset. No, uh, this hasn't happened to me 3 times in the last 5 years. Definitely not.

posted by SarahL on April 22, 2004 at 10:55 AM

pretty sharp kid............

posted by captn on April 22, 2004 at 12:07 PM

Paragraph one kinda reminds me of "high school love." At least love from MY high school. The kinda love in which you're just trying to prove to everyone else that you have someone and yes, you are in love and look at all the cool stuff you two do together... yeah.

posted by Krysten on April 22, 2004 at 01:01 PM

Am I the only one who thought of Buster on that episode of Arrested Development when he wanted someone to punch him? "Punch me! Punch me! Come on, someone punch me!" What am I saying? Of course I am - I'm probably the only person in America watching "THE BEST SHOW ON TV. PERIOD." You got two episodes left of this season, people. Get watchin' or you'll be wonderin' what the big deal is in a year when it's released on DVD and everyone makes as big a deal of it as they have for Freaks & Geeks (as equally worthy of praise as Arrested Development.)

Yeah, this ended up having almost nothing to do with Sarah's post. Screw it - you need to know about good TV.

posted by Tom on April 22, 2004 at 01:01 PM

I dont know what I meant. Just chalk it up to thai food at 3 am.

posted by katie bad breath on April 22, 2004 at 01:17 PM

Sarah B. agreed.
Thanks for the response.

posted by Ca-chee on April 22, 2004 at 01:19 PM

its ok tom, i thought of that too. even if its one of the very few episodes ive ever seen.

sometimes i hate limited television viewing access....

posted by matt on April 22, 2004 at 01:20 PM

I'm going to go ahead and be the dissenting voice here. I've been punched in the throat before--been completely love sick and acted like a crazy person because of it. But looking back, it was for a boy who didn't deserve it. It kills me, because I've never felt anything quite like the way I felt for him. Now I'm in a relationship that is healthy and mutual and fun and loving, and yes we go on the same walks and take the same photos and like the same bands--but it's never felt so good and so exciting. I don't feel sick or punched in the throat, but I've never been so happy and confident. I know without a doubt that I am in love again, even if it's not kicking my ass.

However, in the vein of acting in ways I never thought I would...This boy does have me calling him "baby," which I NEVER have done before. The word got stuck in my throat the first few times it tried to come out, so if that's analogous to getting punched...well.

posted by Liz on April 22, 2004 at 01:50 PM

Awesome entry. I can't really say which I agree with, because I've never been in love, but I would have to say that being punched in the throat sounds much more exciting.

posted by Zoey on April 22, 2004 at 02:38 PM

Party Liz, I know you, and I know your boyfriend, and you are definitely punched in the throat. That's a good thing. I'll explain tonight at home.

And Arrested Development is one of the best shows on TV. The only bad thing about it is it's on opposite Alias.

posted by Sarah B. on April 22, 2004 at 04:59 PM

As someone who's been in a relationship for 7 years with someone I consider my best friend and partner, I assure you that we do not have a throat-punching relationship.

Predictability is not a sign of weakness. It is, sometimes, a sign of dedication. Knowing a flower is going to bloom does not lessen the beauty of the experience - it can even heighten your appreciation as you watch the flower slowly blossom.

Personally, I love the _comfort_ and _familiarity_ of my partner. And after 7 years, she still continues to surprise and inspire me.

And I, for one, love those goofy little photobooth pictures. =)

posted by faraji on April 22, 2004 at 08:13 PM

Okay, listen. I don't think anyone gets what I mean by throat punching. I don't mean it knocks you on your ass and it's all fiery and dramatic and torrid, I mean it SURPRISES you because it's not a COOKIE CUTTER YOU ALREADY DECIDED YOU WANTED. I'm all for comfort and familiarity. This is what I get for using a violent action verb as personal slang.

posted by Sarah B. on April 22, 2004 at 10:28 PM

Geesh Sarah, take it easy.

I understand, you hate photobooths.

God.

posted by Melissa on April 22, 2004 at 11:16 PM

Yeah, Sarah, why don't you write on YOUR OWN website, CRYBABY?

PS: Ha!

posted by John on April 23, 2004 at 02:08 AM

this was really well put...kind of like a love paradigm shift, isn't it? when suddenly, inexplicably, you quit expecting it to look like what you thought it would.

posted by happened upon this on April 23, 2004 at 02:24 PM

tarantino love is the creepy, stalker, unrequited but oddly flattering yet that doesn't mean i'm not going to call the cops, kinda love. now that's my kind of love. you should read the april 29 issue of rolling stone, crazy stuff it is.

the punch in the throat kind of love is so much more powerful, because its so much scarier and riskier. you sort of have to give up your notion of what love is, and give into this other person who is not at all what you thought you wanted, yet they're so much better, almost because of the fact that they're not what you intended love to be.

sorry to clog your comment board... but what i was getting at is that your blog rocks.

posted by megan on April 24, 2004 at 12:56 AM

Sarah, I never post, but that was beautiful. I love that you seem to be having that kind of love with NYC as well.
=)

posted by Diama on April 25, 2004 at 04:45 PM

this was rather true.

posted by fairest on April 26, 2004 at 12:32 AM

I'm thinking you never really been punched in the throat.

posted by sceithire on April 26, 2004 at 04:02 PM

shite, dude. i think maybe the problem has been my blind, unconscious, serial photobooting.

hrm.

posted by sepi on April 26, 2004 at 04:52 PM

i want the kind of love that makes me want to do better.

until then i am going to fuck my way to freedom.

posted by sue on April 27, 2004 at 02:12 AM

Absolutely. Fucking. Brilliant.

Jake

posted by Jake Conner on April 27, 2004 at 03:37 PM

I was a photobooth kinda girl my whole life. Long walks in the park, watching the same movies and going to the same concerts. But it got boring after a month or so, then I'd string the poor guy along until I was so fed up with him that I broke his heart. I figured I would never fall in love. Then I got punched four months ago, and it's weird. I didn't like it at first, it was so unstable, unreliable, and different! Then I realized that just because what we do is zany and sporatic, the love isn't. It's new and fresh, and it has that "new love smell" every day. Every date is like the fourth or fifth date, even after like forty dates. Amazing and brilliant Sarah. You rock!

posted by Lauren on April 28, 2004 at 11:40 AM

66 comments?! christ on a cracker! how the hell do you get so much traffic?

posted by steph on April 29, 2004 at 03:34 AM

Absolument délicieux.
Et véridique.

posted by ~MariÅnGe~ on May 2, 2004 at 09:07 PM

Christ on a cracker -- HA!

posted by Troy on May 6, 2004 at 12:34 AM

Excellent point- makes me want to call back that ex-druggie guitarist I thought I had nothing in common with...

posted by rebecca on May 28, 2004 at 10:57 AM

You are Teh Awesome. Thank you for a brilliant metaphor.

posted by sjc on May 31, 2004 at 01:06 AM

Thats is the most romantic thing ive ever read.

posted by jane on September 15, 2005 at 09:32 PM