Aside from printing “Caution: Contents may be hot” on a therma-foam coffee cup, I think the silliest disclaimer in common use is the one that seems to precede every compliment paid to a critic, viz.: “Although I don’t always agree with him, Kyle Gann is an OK critic,” etc. I thought it was understood that only Rush Limbaugh has Dittoheads. It makes me imagine distancing myself from all kinds of analogous syllogisms:
“Even though I agree with his every utterance, I find Alex Ross a lousy critic…”
“Although I am not her identical twin, and, in fact, look nothing like her, I consider Angelina Jolie very pretty…”
“Despite the odd coincidence that he and I are both featherless bipeds with hair and opposable thumbs, I consider George W. Bush a malevolent moron…”
You spend your life analyzing, explaining, trying to bring a little clarity to your corner of the chaos, and you get measured against a checklist of someone’s opinions.