9.8.2001
posted by fred solinger 10:57 PM
franzen, p. 11-12
"he turned to the doorway where she'd appeared. he began a sentence: "i am--" but when he was taken by surprise, every sentence became an adventure in the woods; as soon as he could no longer see the light of the clearing from which he'd entered, he would realize that the crumbs he'd dropped for bearings had been eaten by birds, silent deft darting things which he couldn't quite see in the darkness, as if the darkness weren't uniform, weren't an absence of light but a teeming and corpuscular thing, and indeed when as a studious teenager he'd encountered the word "crepuscular" in mckay's treasury of english verse, the corpuscles of biology had bled into his understanding of the word, so that for his entire adult life he'd seen in twilight a corpuscularity, as of the graininess of the high-speed film necessary for photography under conditions of low ambient light, as of a kind of sinister decay...[al] might, despite no longer knowing where he was or at what point he'd entered the woods of this sentence, still manage to blunder into the clearing where enid was waiting for him, unaware of any woods -- "packing my suitcase," he heard himself say. this sounded right. verb, possessive, noun. here was a suitcase in front of him, an important confirmation. he'd betrayed nothing......she berated him then, and for a while the crepuscular birds retreated, but outside the wind had blown the sun out, and it was getting very cold."
posted by fred solinger 10:53 PM
you know what really bothers me? these commercials for american express traveller's checks, in which people's vacations are ruined by the fact that they've misplaced their wallets, and usually they're strangers in strange lands and no one is willing to help them. at their worst, they're downright kafka-esque. it's downright creepy and unnerving. fuck realism, man. (then again, i'm also someone who, when he was a mere youth, would change the station when i feared arnold was about to get it from mr. drummond.)
9.7.2001
posted by fred solinger 9:18 PM
the bookstore seems like a good place to meet people, yeah? and by people, i, of course, mean GIRLZ. because, if yer like me, and lookin' for smart chix or, at least, wimmen lookin' to expand their horizons, that does seem to be the place, though in these days of the bookstore cafe, who can say for sure? i mean, really. beyond judging them on their face and bodies, you can also tell if she's "the one" or not by what she reads (and if it's magazines, she needs to be really hot.) tonight, i was looking for a gurl who's turned on by men who read jonathan franzen novels, whose the corrections i purchased this eve. i'd read a number of reviews brimming with praise for the book -- it's this year's "it" book, or so "it" seems -- but when i saw blurbs from don delillo and david foster wallace on it, i was sold (the oprah's book club seal for postmodern heads). i'll report back on this when i've finished it.oh, speaking of franzen, here's a link to an essay he wrote in harper's several years ago called "perchance to dream: in the age of images, a reason to write novels." prior to the corrections, it's what made his name in the lit world. it bemoans the death of the socially engaged novel, which he believed was done in by television, that medium leading people to want pure entertainment from their novels
at the other end of the spectrum is b.r. myers' "a reader's manifesto." while franzen is in mourning, myers is dancing on the grave of the "literary" novel. he attacks many of the people mentioned (and lauded!) in franzen's essay for being pretentious and for obfuscating the language needlessly. he calls for readers to rise up and call a spade a spade and hopes to see a return to the days of james joyce and virginia woolf.
so...who's right?
posted by fred solinger 8:54 PM
about last night...: yeah, my palm modem batteries died at 10:30. pooh. you might've noticed that the entries were fewer, as was the word count. that's what happens when you have to resort to graffiti -- EVERY WORD COUNTS, because that graffiti shit is a bitch to do. but you didn't really miss anything -- for proof, check out dave's site, he was there all night. britney's performance was a bit of a let down but what red-blooded american male didn't feel...funny when he saw britney take hold of that snake...and, similarly, what gentleman wasn't disappointed when she held it for too long and didn't know what to do with it? (always embarrassing, for everyone involved).
9.6.2001
posted by fred solinger 10:30 PM
mtv writers earning their keep. poor sheryl crow: is it her lot in life to face deafening silence while presenting awards?
posted by fred solinger 10:26 PM
triumph w/j-lo: officially the show's highlight. keeping in mind that britney's yet to perform, which seems to be this show's raison d'etre.
posted by fred solinger 10:20 PM
nelly: band-aid chic.
posted by fred solinger 10:17 PM
britney shocked by such frank sexual talk from ben stiller. (and what's she still doing in her seat??)
posted by fred solinger 10:14 PM
dmx is at that stage where he'll give shouts to anyone. staind? why not!and in his interaction with x, it's funny to be reminded that mark wahlberg used to rap.
posted by fred solinger 10:07 PM
no coincidence that beyonce gets the most, the only, revealing outfit. (hell, her mama probably designed it.)
posted by fred solinger 10:01 PM
people, people with taste no less, tell me that tenacious d. are funny. i continue -- against mounting evidence -- to take their word for it.
posted by fred solinger 9:59 PM
"incubus are like a new brand of band."
posted by fred solinger 9:55 PM
that truth commercial got a whole less funny when i knew it was a truth commercial. they're like the macy gray of anti-smoking groups.
posted by fred solinger 9:52 PM
admit it: you're still watching cos you want to see britney. good move not putting her on first.
posted by fred solinger 9:50 PM
christina: "why can't they pick on britney for once?"
posted by fred solinger 9:48 PM
"h to the izzo" has to be one of the more awkward chant-a-long anthems in recent times. i could use a bouncing ball right about now.
posted by fred solinger 9:46 PM
playing catch up: with the skit into to "pop," justin painfully reminds us that one did more than sing as part of the m. mouse club: they also acted in piss-poor skits.
posted by fred solinger 9:44 PM
in case you didn't get it, it's all about the fans.
posted by fred solinger 9:43 PM
"mommy, who was that dancing with 'nsync."
posted by fred solinger 9:42 PM
uh..."hey, let's promise jay-z and then instead do an m2 spot!"
posted by fred solinger 9:40 PM
macy gray continues to do no right. in other hands, that trick might've worked. macy's problem is that she's macy.
posted by fred solinger 9:39 PM
mary j.: "we are a part of the rhythm nation..."
posted by fred solinger 9:37 PM
alicia keys seems far too pleased with herself. which is probably why that person made that earlier comment.
posted by fred solinger 9:19 PM
gwen just hopped out of one the old no doubt videos and i don't think jada was feelin' that kiss she gave her man. tim robbins, nonetheless, looks upon it, as he looks upon all things: with the unmistakable countenance of satori.
posted by fred solinger 9:17 PM
(for those reading this after the fact, those "whores" referenced below were none other than lil' kim, mya, pink, and christina aguilera.)
posted by fred solinger 9:15 PM
will smith says what we think: did chris rock turn the vmas down this year? what about martin lawrence? the wayans? chris tucker? cedric the entertainer?!?
posted by fred solinger 9:14 PM
hey, robbie williams finally gets some airplay for "rock dj"! he's also up for breakthrough video. which is the very definition of irony. considering the video that was his "breakthrough" only served to kill his career in this country. huh.
posted by fred solinger 9:10 PM
i thought giuliani got rid of the WHORES? where did these four come from???
posted by fred solinger 9:06 PM
i have really very little to say about this performance. oh, i can be waggish and say the song sounds like "it's a man's, man's, man's world," but it's been said.
posted by fred solinger 9:01 PM
ugh, alicia keys. someone, uh, in the other room said, and God help me for repeating it, cos it's in bad taste: "why couldn't she have died in that plane crash?" some people. they have really awful senses of humor. say whatever comes into their mind, alright.
posted by fred solinger 9:00 PM
chris kattan: MY NEMESIS. death...too good....for him.
posted by fred solinger 8:54 PM
the new york crowd isn't feeling the almonte joke. (well, obviously, a little too close to home, eh? p. diddy look especially displeased.) would've gone down like gangbusters in oceanside, ca though.
posted by fred solinger 8:52 PM
the fuck? the x-ecutioners? with linkin park? what's next? blackalicious with limp bizkit?it occurs to me that there are people in the world who don't laugh when the shouty one in linkin park does the "shut up when i'm talkin' to you" part.
posted by fred solinger 8:49 PM
i must've said this somewhere before. the other day, mike called me up and said, "i just realized: you live in lincoln park!" so maybe i haven't said this before.i live in lincoln park, not to be confused under any circumstances with "linkin park." the name of the town was changed in 1899. the name it was changed from was: beavertown. frankly, at this point in time, i think it'd be far less embarrassing to go back to beavertown.
posted by fred solinger 8:47 PM
dude, britney just kissed justin! on the lips! well, couldn't tell from the camera angle, but still, i wouldn't put it past them! they live together, you know. lucky fuck.oh, and mandy moore saw 'nsync back in the old days, "a long time ago" don'tcha know. meant to say that earlier.
posted by fred solinger 8:45 PM
"girls, girls, girls" -- motley crue, played for mandy moore, jessica simpson and dream. is this someone's idea of a joke? (still "ohhhh, mandy....") lots of reminiscin' about the good "old" days. shut yer mouth when grown folks are talkin', kids.
posted by fred solinger 8:41 PM
i never knew that aaliyah had ties with janet jackson. aaliyah seemingly had ties with many celebs it seems, all this coming out after her death. and there's the virginia fam, "coming from the heart" as missy says, lacking janet's professional polish and all the better for it.let it be said once and for all: what a fucking shame that she and eight other people died because a plane was overloaded. there'll always be other planes. yeah, the pilot had done coke and could've been on it when they were flying, who knows, but they hardly got far enough for that to matter. hopefully, folks will learn to slow down and enjoy life and not be in such a rush. "haste makes waste" never seemed so true.
posted by fred solinger 8:35 PM
the aaliyah tribute. i saw timbaland's name in the opening credits. is this where he comes in?
posted by fred solinger 8:34 PM
like they were the fucking brothers karamazov. is what i'm getting at.question: did christopher walken have to be trained to dance? or was he like john travolta?
posted by fred solinger 8:33 PM
dude, guys who produce linkin park videos have enough pretention to call themselves "the brothers strause." which is nearly as bad as fred durst calling his production company "flawless films."
posted by fred solinger 8:31 PM
can't talk: destiny's child.
posted by fred solinger 8:30 PM
oh, and fucking will ferrell. can't i go out (or stay in, as it were) anywhere these days without seeing his sorry ass? and i thought that thing he did in the elevator at work today was weak, shit, that was the a material.
posted by fred solinger 8:29 PM
the fashion! the backstreet boys look and read like they're ready for a new phase, ripe to pick up a guitar or somethin' -- which is probably what the greatest hits album coming out is all about. kevin's in a dress -- like he's trying to give outkast's dre a run for his money. if it were any other well-dressed man, he'd be in the running, but not when you've got dre, officially the coolest man on the planet for a year running or so now. he keeps his crown, looking like he's holding it down for the OOMPA-LOOMPA NATION: the man can do no wrong. and big boi ain't no slouch either. i want a pair of those pants. (sidenote: wouldn't it suck to be in a band with a guy who shares your name and so you get stuck with the nomenclature "big boi." it's like if i was in a band with another fred and i had to be called "girli boi." it's all good though.
posted by fred solinger 8:25 PM
mtv and stuff: first off, why jaime foxx? what has he done lately? bait? was he in that? and what the hell was it anyway? don't get me wrong, he's doing alright, but still.
posted by fred solinger 7:36 PM
the definition of 'balls': standing on a crowded path train, with african americans standing in front of you and to the side of you, reading the sleevenotes to emmitt miller's minstrel man from georgia, as this cover reminds us all, with its shoe-polished face and mocking grin, of a more embarrassing chapter in amrican history. obviously this gentleman -- old enough to know better, well-off enough not to care -- couldn't wait to get it home.
9.4.2001
posted by fred solinger 8:19 PM
"september's comin' soon...": which is a line from r.e.m.'s "nightswimming." (my thinking that this song is beautiful is yet another symptom of my age.) which is doubly, dare i say, triply ominous for me. september, of course, signifies the end of the summer; the end of the summer means the beginning of autumn, where leaves aren't the only things that begin to fall; and september is the month of my birth (the fifteenth, to be exact) which only serves to remind me that i'm getting OLDER.on another note, thanx to michael daddino for purchasing for me from my amazon wishlist james joyce's finnegans wake. also, thanx to mike for RUINING THE SURPRISE FOR ME. but, hey, you still have the opportunity to get me somethin' nice too while keeping it a secret, no less. i won't even mind if it arrives late. so go ahead and do it. otherwise, i'll kill myself. yeah!
posted by fred solinger 7:33 PM
pauline kael, r.i.p.: i never had the privilege to open up a newspaper or magazine and find a review by the late, great pauline kael. which isn't to say that i've never read her work, far from it actually. ms. kael had very strong opinions and whether or not you agreed with her, like all great critics, she made you think twice about your own position. rare is the critic who can take the beauty that this life presents us with and create beauty in turn; even rarer is a critic like pauline kael and the arts, the world, were a better place for having her. respect is due from all who've ever taken up the pen to exalt and insult.
9.3.2001
posted by fred solinger 10:53 PM
oh, and for those who don't know, the hot grill is a new jersey landmark. it is a restaurant, if you couldn't guess, and it is the best burger/dog/fries joint i've ever been to in my increasingly longer life. it is a model of efficiency: you tell the guys what you want, they bark it out in a language that isn't quite english and, voila, moments later, you've got your food without error. (never in my years of going there, no matter how many customers, no matter how many guys shouting out orders, have they ever made a mistake.) one of those handful of institutions that further fuels my burgeoning jersey pride.
posted by fred solinger 10:51 PM
gleamed from the hot grill this evening:i don't know whether i want my parents to grow old or to die while they possess all of their facilities. the old folks were out in spades tonight, in all of their glory no less. on the way in, i waited for an elderly woman to exit, yelling to her companions, "i don't know if this is a step or not." (though she stared at it intensely, she couldn't tell that it wasn't, in fact, a step.)
on line, they were combative and argumentative with the staff: they knew it all. when you were a teen, your parents invariably informed you that, when you grew up, you'd realize that you didn't really know anything. so when does that theory reverse itself. my postulate: when you grow old, you realize that you know everything.
the gentleman in front of me had more hair in his ears than i have on my head...now, listen, about physical ailments, there's nothing one can do but feel sorry for the person. for the bullheadedness and the lack of attention to hygiene (and don't get me started on the middle-age women who fart in public places without SHAME), they deserve our ire because they are UNREPENTANT. i don't want to see either of my parents devolve into this. this is a selfish view, naturally, and it doesn't take into account what they want (though i get the feeling my father would rather be dead than to have any one of us take care of him). but still, it's a difficult thing to face, especially when some of the signs re already there. (yes, with my birthday in less than two weeks, age is my current obsession.)
contact me.
the following are some sites i visit
from time to time. you'd be all the better if you did the same:
nylpm
freaky
trigger
josh
blog
loatd
grr
skykicking
maura.com
popshots
matos
badger
catherine
pearls
the voice music section
submeat
perpetual motion
tmftml
the rub
no rock&roll fun
spizzazz
fluxblog
sex & sunshine
technicolour
