- Oak Ridge boys covering The White Stripes. I feel like I should hate this more than I do. http://is.gd/oC7U #
- Girl next to me at Fran’s was fighting back vomit. I beat a hasty retreat. #
- And now the 2 old men sitting in the barber chairs are railing against the liberal media. Did you know the NY Times backed Stalin + Hitler? #
- @Andrew_D No, that was the Sunset Grill. That’s where I’d planned to go but the line was 20 people long. Fran’s was plan B. in reply to Andrew_D #
- @rshevlin It didn’t kill me so much as make me snicker. The conspiracy theories got worse from there. And no, they were at least 50. 🙂 in reply to rshevlin #
- Freshly shorn. Off to start my Hot Docs screenings. Hope the rain holds off until I’m done my lineups. #hotdocs09 #
- Documentary finished. At The Beguiling now…free comic day! #
- Now at Victory Cafe. Ice cold beer = happy wife. #
- Back in line for Carmen Meets Borat. #
- No, I do not want a Scene card. Stop asking me. #hotdocs09 #
First day of Hot Docs
We saw two Hot Docs screenings today: Orgasm Inc. (hot docs) and Carmen Meets Borat (hot docs).
Orgasm Inc. turned out to be more interesting than I expected. I guess I’d forgotten what it was about between when I selected it and when I watched it today. The overriding theme of this year’s festival seems to be the economy, and money in general, and that was the angle that came out here.
Here’s the basic synopsis: Viagra is introduced and makes a bazillion dollars for Pfizer. Pharma companies realize they’re only reaching half the population, though, so the hunt for so-called female Viagra begins. Now realizing that they need to create demand for this, they use questionable research/statistical methods to trumpet the fact that 43% of American women have some kind of sexual dysfunction, and thus the clinical term Female Sexual Dysfunction is born. Now American women think there’s something wrong with them, and hucksters are telling them it can be fixed with a pill. Of course, no one’s profiting too much yet because the pills keep failing placebo tests, and the FDA rejected Procter & Gamble’s attempt. But don’t worry, all you useless malfunctioning women, soon there’ll be a $10 pill for you.
OK, moving on before I get too mad. In short, the content of the documentary was excellent, but the execution — the film itself — was sloppy and felt amateurish. I gave it a 3/5.
Carmen Meets Borat was much lighter (although Orgasm Inc. did have several laughs), showing life in what must surely be the most awful village in all of Europe: Glod, Romania. It’s where the opening scenes of Borat were filmed, passed off as Kazakhstan, and the villagers weren’t in on the jokes. They were, understandably, annoyed. But the main focus of the documentary is a girl named Carmen, and the changes she and her family went through at the same time as — and occasionally because of — Borat. Then the world’s slimiest lawyers show up and it does downhill. Anyway, it was an example of a documentary that covers a fairly insignificant topic, but covers it very well, and benefits from a little luck. I gave it 4/5.
Nothing tomorrow; I’ll be at work anyway. Also, I have two tickets to a screening of Reporter at 9:30 on Monday night at the Isabel Bader theatre if anyone would like them, free of charge. I’ll be at a Mogwai concert.
Tweets for 2009-05-01
- Can’t get Kim Deal’s wailing/moaning on “River Euphrates” out of my head right now. #pixies #endlessloop #
- @Timinator It must be a conundrum for you. You get to go home early, but the reasoning behind that decision is SO flawed. It must kill you. in reply to Timinator #
- @Timinator OK, well, maybe not so much. It IS sunny out, after all… #
- Until this Advil kicks in I would appreciate it if y’all would refer to me as Captain Migraine. Thanks in advance. #
- Need to find a better quality version of “Lafayette Blues” by the White Stripes. Because it might just be their best song. #
- @mmpartee Morriss, I’d say hi, but I’m still not talking to you following that whole Bruins-Canadiens thing. in reply to mmpartee #
- Just got a huge (but awesome) pile of work dropped on me. The challenge now will be to keep it from ruining #hotdocs09 for me this weekend. #
- @modernmod Because you’re on the patio I hate you with the burning passion of a thousand stars. Big ones, too, not those little dwarf ones. in reply to modernmod #
- RT @gajarga: This will not end well: http://tinyurl.com/dznzal ATTENTION @modernmod !! #
- Dan needs a beer like the Jays need a starting rotation. #
- The server knocked my beer over. I caught it before it spilled. Maritimer reflexes: still intact. Good to know. #
- @modernmod Do you mean Babur? Babar is the cartoon elephant. 🙂 #
- I think our waiter has been eaten by wolves. Or possibly swallowed by the earth. #
- @Weedrummerbhoy What’s to translate? r = ah. Like the British, but more nasal. #
- @modernmod “I’m Confused” by the Handsome Furs = winner. in reply to modernmod #
- @modernmod alright then. while i’m at it: “chancer” by the von bondies. or “21st birthday” in a pinch. #ukula in reply to modernmod #
- @modernmod good choice. one of my songs of the year so far. in reply to modernmod #
Tweets for 2009-04-30
- Waiting for my work laptop to unf*ck itself. Doopie doopie doo… #
- @Timinator Thanks ever so much for tweeting that at lunchtime here in N.A. in reply to Timinator #
- @rshevlin Agreed. Great article. in reply to rshevlin #
- The word “pandemic” doesn’t startle you much if you’ve watched The Wire ’cause you’ve heard so many Baltimore corner kids shout it. #thewire #
- Reason #31 for feeling dumb today: left my umbrella at home. And it’s raining. Oh, and no coat either. So, uh, that’s #32. #
- @Tinfoiling Good choice! in reply to Tinfoiling #
- @Tinfoiling Would that I could. But you’ve inspired me to pick up some I&G for tomorrow evening! in reply to Tinfoiling #
- @Tinfoiling By the way: good luck! The whole country’s rooting for them now. #canucks in reply to Tinfoiling #
- Quite enjoying this Twilight Sad album in advance of their opening slot at next week’s Mogwai gig. #mogwai #
- @plasmatron Don’t worry, you’ll be in Canada soon. Necks are less red up here. in reply to plasmatron #
- @ZoeSasha Yeeeeeeah. Most of it doesn’t look like that. in reply to ZoeSasha #
- @ZoeSasha You might want to check out Gros Morne though. http://is.gd/vKRi in reply to ZoeSasha #
Only through the exercise of candor
Salon published an interesting piece today from Boston University professor of history and international relations Andrew Bacevich called Farewell to the American Century. Bacevich goes further than the WaPo’s Richard Coen — who declared the American Century ended — and suggests it could scarcely end…it was all an illusion in the first place.
In its classic formulation, the central theme of the American Century has been one of righteousness overcoming evil. The United States (above all the U.S. military) made that triumph possible. When, having been given a final nudge on Dec. 7, 1941, Americans finally accepted their duty to lead, they saved the world from successive diabolical totalitarianisms. In doing so, the U.S. not only preserved the possibility of human freedom but modeled what freedom ought to look like.
So goes the preferred narrative of the American Century, as recounted by its celebrants.
The problems with this account are twofold. First, it claims for the United States excessive credit. Second, it excludes, ignores or trivializes matters at odds with the triumphal story line.
The net effect is to perpetuate an array of illusions that, whatever their value in prior decades, have long since outlived their usefulness. In short, the persistence of this self-congratulatory account deprives Americans of self-awareness, hindering our efforts to navigate the treacherous waters in which the country finds itself at present. Bluntly, we are perpetuating a mythic version of the past that never even approximated reality and today has become downright malignant. Although Richard Cohen may be right in declaring the American Century over, the American people — and especially the American political class — still remain in its thrall.
While I agree with Bacevich that the myths of 20th-century America were well and truly exaggerated, I’m not sure his list of American shortcomings would remove from them the title of 20th century powerhouse. Even acknowledging the overblown role in WWII and the failures of Cuba, Iran and Afghanistan, I’m not sure another country could stake a claim to being the preeminent nation of those hundred years. Was it as glorious as Americans seemed to believe? No. But it may have been glorious enough.
Still, Bacevich’s contemplative advice is good medicine for any country who starts to fawningly buy their own patriotic press:
What are we to make of these blunders? The temptation may be to avert our gaze, thereby preserving the reassuring tale of the American Century. We should avoid that temptation and take the opposite course, acknowledging openly, freely and unabashedly where we have gone wrong. We should carve such acknowledgments into the face of a new monument smack in the middle of the Mall in Washington: We blew it. We screwed the pooch. We caught a case of the stupids. We got it ass-backwards.
Only through the exercise of candor might we avoid replicating such mistakes.
Strike my last; this is good advice for us all, countries or no.
Tweets for 2009-04-30
Why I don't have favourite books
Do you have a favourite book?
I don’t think I do. I have favourite films. I have favourite songs. But I don’t have favourite books.
That’s not to say there aren’t tons of great books that I was really in love with. I just wouldn’t describe them as favourites. I’m not sure exactly how I define that word, or how my definition might differ from the standard interpretation, but I would loosely describe it this way: a favourite is something I will go back to again and again. I have watched the 13 films referenced in the above link countless times, just as I’ve listened to the songs in the other link so many times I have them all memorized down to the quarter note. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve read any book twice.
So why is that? Well, I think I’m looking for something different in books than I get from films or music. I want to be challenged, I want to learn something, I want to have my mind changed. I suppose this is why I also don’t have a ‘favourite’ documentary, even though I usually prefer them to feature films. I expect from a documentary the same thing I expect from a book: to get my brain going.
Maybe that’s the difference. It’s hard to label something a ‘favourite’ when it might push me, challenge me, make me work. None of my favourite movies or music qualify as terribly difficult or avant-garde, but they all impressed me with their artistry or nuance (yes, even Hoosiers) while still being entertaining. A great book or documentary will teach me something, or disturb me, or change my mind about something…but none of those impacts will make me want to go back to it. The moment is passed, the effect has been felt.
But that documentary vs. feature film distinction tells me something about my books: that I prefer non-fiction to fiction. Truth be told, I buy and read much more non-fiction than fiction; were I to consume as many novels as I do films or albums I would almost certainly have a list of favourite books, but as it is the books I remember having a real impact on me were all non-fiction. Much as I distinctly remember them, I can’t say I feel the need to read any of them again.
What I do crave, and what I’ve missed recently when reading A Fine Balance, enjoyable as it was, is the engagement I get from non-fiction books. Reading a book the likes of The Coming Of The Third Reich or The Shock Doctrine makes my mind race about in all directions, to the point where I have to re-read paragraphs because I’ve wandered off on this tangent or that, formulating questions or testing hypotheses. I don’t get that same engagement from fiction — which is often a testament to the writer’s pacing or narrative skill, but also reflects the nature of fiction. It’s a story, not a study.
When I finished the MBA last year, I figured that my brain was starved for fiction after reading textbooks for so many months, but it turns out I’m still hungry for non-fiction. I’m easing back into it with Almost Home by Damien Echols (the member of the West Memphis 3 on death row), and plan to read Dave Cullen‘s Columbine (which I blogged about last week) next. After that I may take up Niall Ferguson‘s The Ascent Of Money or The Age Of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby. Or I may finally pick up Don Tapscott‘s Wikinomics or resume my study of the buildup to WWII with The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s by Piers Brendon. All of those appeal to me more than the copies of Absalom, Absalom or American Pastoral sitting on my shelf.
For now, anyway.
Tweets for 2009-04-28
- Awesome. Woman is, once again, a danger cat. http://is.gd/v9In #
- I keep forgetting that Hot Docs starts this weekend. I’d better be, uh, better by then. #hotdocs #
- Wow. Two pretty awesome game 7s tonight. #
Twitter and the Monkey Man
Since I stayed home sick today and had little better to do in between nose-blowing than read, I just finished A Fine Balance. I can tell it’s going to stick with me. It’s too bad I waited so long to read it, but I’m glad I finally did. I even learned a little history along the way. I knew precisely nothing about The Emergency in India in the mid-70s, likely because I was a month old when it began, but it’s a fascinating period in time, and Mistry spun within it an equally fascinating story with wonderful, tragic, inspiring characters.
.:.
You may have noticed some odd blog posts recently. Since I find my thoughts more scattered these days, a situation which lends itself more to Twitter than to the blog, my blog will automatically consolidate my daily (sigh…) tweets into a single post. Just in case you’re wondering.
Tweets for 2009-04-27
- Few 2-word combinations freak me out as much as “jumping spider”. http://is.gd/tj4e #
- RT @ZoeSasha RT @shawnyeager: Finally! Easy-to-use bike rental scheme planned for Toronto http://tinyurl.com/cu2l73 LtDan: crosses fingers. #
- Something like 7 Cdns die in traffic accidents on an avg day, and yet we’re spazzing about swine flu. Prioritize, boys & girls. #
- Can feel a cold coming on. Motherpusbucket. #
- New ringtone ho! http://is.gd/uYkP #
- The very definition of black humour. I cannot stop laughing. http://is.gd/v0fP #swineflu #
- Rick Springfield mashed up with Smashing Pumpkins works a little better than I would’ve thought. #
Skirl | Dan Dickinson 