On 'Eat Pray Love' and 'I Am Love': Class Warfare
p.s. I want to have Tilda Swinton's babies.
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On 'Eat Pray Love' and 'I Am Love': Class Warfare
Regardless of how you want to deconstruct the film or it's criticism, What it really boils down to is what are the facts of the book/film/story. Everybody is allowed their own opinion. But they aren't allowed their own facts. And the facts are thus: She left her husband for reasons she admits she can't even elucidate. She told her publisher about what she felt would be a great idea for a book, and based upon the quality of her previous writings, offered to underwrite the whole shebang. She had a fantastic time, had the luxury of ignoring reality for a whole year, and did some serious navel gazing. Took her notes, wrote the book, got incredibly ideal publisher backing(they were shopping it for movie before it was published), got the movie deal which was implied from the start, made boatloads of cash. Whether any great moments or learning experiences occurred are entirely in the mind of the reader, as it should be. Do you dislike this person for having such boons placed upon her(remember though, she was quite an accomplished writer before this) or do you dislike the message YOUR mind gleaned from the story. There is a difference. Personally, I thought the book was just so much fluff. She is a good writer, in a turn of the century sort of way(my disdain for the present state of literature is showing). But I also recognize that what I got out of it is unique to me, and I don't think it serves any end to presume others should adopt my conclusions. Now if it was terribly written as well, that's a whole 'nother ball of twine.
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On Inconsistent Pleadings: Smith v. Spisak and Mumia's Three Decades of Appeals
I love all the uninformed conjecture here. As well as the anecdotal statements. It's all so..... illuminating. As it is, having been involved in actual death penalty appeals (and there are a lot more going on than you would think, most of them worthy of more attention that Mumia's) these days facts are less often the issue unless the case is DNA related. Mitigation is the main source of contention in death penalty appeals. As such, and considering the legal avenues that have been exhausted in Mumia's case, mitigation is really the only issue left. If the facts were really the issue in the Mumia case, you would have to believe in a plot to get him going on for over 30 years. And if you think the legal establishment is that wedded to past actions of past members of said establishment that they would perpetuate a folly of the order the Mumia supporters are asking the court and all of us to believe, then your aluminum foil hat is in full working order. Remain overtly suspicious. They could be coming for you next. When I was in college I had a friend who was a huge supporter of the Mumia cause, to the point he was worried that he was raising so much money for the cause he would "come to the attention of the man". I still laugh my ass off about that. What a wack job.
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On The Bookmobile: An Excerpt from "I Don't Care About Your Band"
Do I really need to learn about someone else's foibles in the big wide dating world? I think not. My friends and I have just as many screwed relationship stories that we relate to each other in unproariously funny short stories over drinks. Or coffee. Or dinner. Or on a walk. But maybe everybody else doesn't have friends like mine, or can tell a story as well as we do. Maybe we should write a book about it. Yeah....that's the ticket. So did I ever tell you why my first wife asked me out? No? Oh god, you gotta sit for this one....
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On Half Baked, with Jolie Kerr: The Real Recipe for Pink Panty Pulldown Punch
We called our mix Dumpster Juice. Because that was invariably where you ended up sleeping. Now the moniker of an eponymous minneapolis band. Their music has a similar effect with only slightly less alcohol involved.
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On David Foster Wallace's Self-Help Books Removed From Archive
Am I the only one who doesn't see DFW as some sort of incredible gift?
I think the last thing in the world he would have wanted is to be deified, like he is presently.