You know that instance where someone says something cutting to you, and you can’t think of a good retort until much later? Turns out there’s an expression for it: l’esprit de l’escalier. It means ‘the spirit of the staircase’, which is a perfect image – two people passing on the stairs. The French, though utter shitheads in many ways, do have a gift for encapsulating the human condition(s) with pithy phrasing. I think this is one of the reasons writing can be so satisfying, because as the author, you can give your characters the perfect one-liner, insult, or rationalization with no filler words, stammering, or having to resort to ‘Oh yeah?!’There are two types of Prius owners: those who just want to save money on gas, and those who want everyone to know they drive a Prius. I was at a drive through today when another car pulled up beside me. The man driving asks “What kind of mileage are you getting out of that Matrix?” “About 27,” I reply. He shakes his head sadly. “Bummer.” Then he smirks and drives off, and I see the model plate. What a prick. Is there any wonder the derogatory name for the car is the Pious? Have any of these assholes considered how the electricity for their hybrid is generated? Chances are pretty good it’s a plant that burns some sort of petroleum product. When your vehicle is powered by a wind-driven flywheel, you can be smug. Until then, fuck off.
Anyone else notice the change in the framing of the Global Warming argument? When it first became an issue, proponents insisted it was all the fault of human activities. They maintained this position adamantly, despite the fact that other planets in our solar system also demonstrated temperature gains. You know…the planets without people on them? Anyway, somewhere along the line, they dropped the anthropogenic codicil, and now just talk about Global Warming. It’s sneaky, because I know they still think Man caused, and can fix, the ‘problem.’ If I agree that the world is heating up, I know they’ll think I agree with them as to the cause. If I dispute the underlying cause, I get filed under ‘denier’ in their tiny mental filing cabinet, and all progress stops. It’s cause and effect, you idiot. Two separate things. You can agree on the effect and disagree on the cause.
I saw Righteous Kill the other day. I hate the fact that this was the script that brought DeNiro and Pacino together for the ‘first’ time. If they hadn’t been the leads, it wouldn’t have made half as much as it has. And it was kind of disturbing to watch DeNiro have sex with Carla Gugino, even if it was almost entirely implied rather than shown. DeNiro may be a great actor, but he’s no great looker. I cringed at his sex scene with Bridget Fonda in Jackie Brown. Another awful pairing was Nick Nolte and Jennifer Connelly in Mulholland Falls. If you want to have a sexy woman in your movie, fine. If you want a love scene with her, that’s okay, too. But please, Mr. Director, either make it with a good looking actor or use strategic lighting, because we don’t want to associate Miss Connelly with Nick Nolte’s sweaty red face. Ewww.
I forget which car company it is (so obviously their advertising isn’t working), but their latest campaign includes a bunch of covers of Beatles tunes. I don’t know if you know this, Mister Ad Exec, but no one over the age of 14 likes the Jonas Brothers. Number one, their cover is horrible. Number two, no one who likes them can afford your car, or if they can, are not old enough to drive it. Is the ‘overpaid-child-actor-who-wants-to-buy-his-grandmother-a-new-car’ that large a market segment? When your client goes to the government to be bailed out of bankruptcy, your fee better not be a line item. You should have known better.
Books I finished in the last week: Freakonomics – Steven D. Levitt; Little Brother – Cory Doctorow; Men and Cartoons – Jonathan Lethem; The Stupidest Angel – Christopher Moore.
Books I’ll finish this week: The System of the World – Neal Stephenson; Blue Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson; Three Days to Never – Tim Powers.
Books I’ll start next week: A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin; The Big Book of Pulps – Black Lizard; Killer in the Rain – Raymond Chandler.
(Why yes, I am currently unemployed, why do you ask? Actually, how I spend my daytime hours doesn’t affect my reading rate. I am a voracious reader, and keep four or five books going continually. I replace my library cards faster than my debit cards.)
Song I currently have on Repeat: “Something About You” by Level 42.
And you? How have you been?
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