do i dare eat a peach?

--Torquil Campbell, in a 2007 interview with the Onion A.V. Club

I was in Metro Center on Wednesday, on the escalator descending from street level to the Red Line platform, when I smelled this overwhelming stench of burning tires.  I asked a Metro operator standing nearby if he knew what the smell was.  He said, "Brake pads.  They don't fit quite right." 

Pip, to his friend Herbert:

On July 4th I visited Beth at her apartment.  We bought pineapples and teriyaki sauce and made some chicken kabobs to take over to a barbecue held at a neighbor's place.  There was a party of 30-40 people, mostly from our church and a few other young churches in the city.  Being as I didn't know too many people, and I'm generally not a big fan of parties (unless it's in the home of someone I know really well, like a family member) I sort of sat idly and chatted a little, having a few conversations here and there.

I overheard snippets of conversations, covering the Indigo Girls, foreign policy, recipes for corn on the cob, parking in DC, bocci ball. etc.  This type of interaction does not suit me at all, the pressure to talk about something interesting, to engage, to join in.  Does anyone enjoy that?  I think sometimes I come from those evenings with a kind of energy high because I presented myself well, interacted, felt confident.  Most times, however, I drink a beer and wait for an appropriate time to leave because I'm not good at instant banter and small talk with people I don't really know. 

I had a really funny dream a few nights ago (being a dream, it was at parts incoherent and made absolutely no sense so bear with me).  Apparently, Bernie and Ruth Madoff had an empty house in Washington, D.C.  And my boss was given a key to the place to hold for some reason, so everyone in my office decided to crash at the Madoffs' abandoned home.  We weren't supposed to be there, but everyone wanted to hang out in the Madoffs' mansion because it was fully staffed still even though no one was there, kind of like Camp David.  Anyway my office-mates and I are swimming in the pool, eating fish sticks (I know! fish sticks!), wandering around.  There was even a bathroom suite.  (Imagine: a common area with three bathrooms adjoining.  The first bathroom is super posh, marble everywhere, soft-as-butter hand towels; the second bathroom, slightly less luxurious but nicer than what you'd find in most suburban homes; the third bathroom, ducks on the shower curtain, a fuzzy blue toilet seat cover, reflecting the decorative flair of a 20-year-old.  It was a sampling of bathrooms, DON'T ASK.) 

I have to run, because I have this attache case with very important files pertaining to a court case in which I am directly involved and could go to jail.  I hate to tear myself away from the surreptitious party but I must go.  I walk out to my truck (a huge silver Ford F-150) and see my grandmother standing in the parking lot.  Going over to her, I say, "Granny!  You would not BELIEVE whose house I was just in!"  She says, "Whose?"  Grinning, barely able to contain myself, I manage to say, "One word, Granny: ponzi."  Suddenly a police officer materializes and says he overheard my conversation, understands there are people trespassing on the Madoffs' property, and is heading over there to arrest everyone.

It hits me what I've done, that I've blown the party and everyone is going to be arrested because of me.  I say goodbye quickly to Granny because, as I've just done something very, very bad, I have to run.  But not before grabbing an ice cream cone.  I stand in line waiting to buy some ice cream and the people in line around me give me disapproving stares for my indiscretion.  I wake up....

She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge
She studied sculpture at Saint Martin's College
That's where I caught her eye
She told me that her Dad was loaded
I said "In that case I'll have rum and coca-cola"
She said "fine"
And then in 30 seconds time she said
"I want to live like common people
I want to do whatever common people do
I want to sleep with common people
I want to sleep with common people like you"
Well what else could I do?
I said "I'll see what I can do"
I took her to a supermarket
I don't know why
but I had to start it somewhere
so it started there
I said "pretend you've got no money"
but she just laughed
and said "oh you're so funny"
I said "Yeah
Well I don't see anyone else smiling in here
Are you sure
you want to live like common people
you want to see whatever common people see
you want to sleep with common people
you want to sleep with common people like me?"
But she didn't understand
she just smiled and held my hand
Rent a flat above a shop
Cut your hair and get a job
Smoke some fags and play some pool
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
'cos when you're laid in bed at night
watching roaches climb the wall
if you called your dad he could stop it all
yeah
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and then dance and drink and screw
'cos there's nothing else to do
Sing along with the common people
Sing along and it might just get you through
Laugh along with the common people
Laugh along although they're laughing at you
and the stupid things that you do
because you think that poor is cool
Like a dog lying in a corner
they will bite and never warn you
Look out
they'll tear your insides out
'cos everybody hates a tourist
especially one who thinks
it's all such a laugh
yeah and the chip stain's grease
will come out in the bath
You will never understand
how it feels to live your life
with no meaning or control
and with nowhere else to go
You are amazed that they exist
and they burn so bright
while you can only wonder why
Rent a flat above a shop
Cut your hair and get a job
Smoke some fags and play some pool
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
'cos when you're laid in bed at night
watching roaches climb the wall
if you called your dad he could stop it all
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and dance and drink and screw
'cos there's nothing else to do
I want to live with common people like you.....


Love this song.

Tsezar was sprawling over his desk, smoking a pipe.  His back was to Shukhov and he didn't notice him come in.

Opposite him sat X 123, a stringy old man who was serving a twenty-year sentence.  He was eating kasha.

"No, my friend," Tsezar was saying in a gentle, casual way.  "If one is to be objective one must acknowledge that Eisenstein is a genius.  Ivan the Terrible, isn't that a work of genius?  The dance of Ivan's guards, the masked oprichniki!  The scene in the cathedral!"

"Ham," said X 123 angrily, stopping his spoon in front of his lips.  "It's all so arty there's no art left in it.  Spice and poppyseed instead of everyday bread and butter!  And then, the vicious political idea--the justification of personal tyranny.  A mockery of the memory of three generations of Russian intelligentsia."

He ate as if his lips were made of wood.  The kasha would do him no good.

"But what other interpretation could he have gotten away with?"

"Gotten away with?  Ugh!  Then don't call him a genius!  Call him an ass-kisser, obeying a vicious dog's order.  Geniuses don't adjust their interpretations to suit the taste of tyrants!"

"But listen," Tsezar resumed.  "Art isn't a matter of what but of how."

X 123 struck the table angrily with the edge of his hand.

"To hell with your 'how' if it doesn't arouse any worthwhile feeling in me."

• The Hurt Locker   (5 stars)
• Moon
• Cheri
• Tokyo Sonata   (4 stars)
• In The Loop   (5 stars)
  
• Tony Manero
• Lion's Den
• (500) Days of Summer   (4 stars)
  
• Seraphine
• Lorna's Silence

(Updated 8.18.09)

I don't know how I feel about the new Newsweek.  What I do know is the magazine still has no balls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/nyregion/15babies.html

“The patients come in and they all think they owe me an excuse, but the bottom line is it’s cultural,” said Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg, medical director of the Fertility Institutes, a California clinic that began sex-selection procedures in New York in March.

The Fertility Institutes, which does not offer abortions, has unabashedly advertised its services in Indian- and Chinese-language newspapers in the United States.

“Culturally, there are a lot of strange things that go on in the world,” Dr. Steinberg said. “Whether we agree with it, it’s not harming anyone.”

• Goodbye Solo
• Tulpan
• Julia
  
• Adoration  (5 stars)
  
• Sin Nombre
• Revanche   (3 stars)
  
• Management   (4 stars)
• Sugar   (5 stars)
• Adventureland    (5 stars)
• I Love You, Man   (4 stars)
• Summer Hours    (4 stars)
• Moscow, Belgium    (4 stars)
• Easy Virtue   (3.5 stars)
• The Country Teacher

(last updated 06-17-09)

Rest in peace, Dorothy Zbornak.

My only weapon is denial. That's it.

Yesterday on the bus I heard the following conversation between three high school-aged kids (whom some might describe as geeky):


Boy 1: Yeah I'm looking at either Duke or Emory. I want to do medicine so I'm thinking about Emory.
Boy 2: (incredulous) You want to go to Emory for medicine?? Are you crazy? You really need to go to Duke.
Boy 3: I'm definitely going to Georgetown.


Yes, I DO in fact work in Bethesda, otherwise known as Upper Caucasia.

Will we see a complete abandonment of law in our lifetime? A full-on culture war?

The bulletin from a church I visited recently described a fellowship group for singles 35 and older who have never been "married, divorced, or separated." What is the point of excluding someone who is widowed and wants to meet people? Or for that matter, a divorcee?

I went to the cinema last night, just to get out of the house. In my heart of hearts I didn't want to spend any money unnecessarily, but now that I know I'm moving out of this place I find it pretty depressing to hang around. Plus, I had been wanting to see Beauty in Trouble for a while. Here is the trailer, in Czech (sorry, no English subtitles).


This was a good night-at-the-movies pick. The characters were real and engaging, and the plot had twists and enough quirks to keep me interested. The main character's actions seemed kind of ambiguous; at times she was sympathetic, but at other times she was unlikeable and wishy-washy. It makes you think "why do we choose to be with certain people?" The answers can't always be justified.

Mama, Amy and Katie are en route to DC to spend the weekend here. I'm excited to see them, but I wish things were more settled here. We're going out to eat at Pizzeria Paradiso in Dupont Circle, then tomorrow we'll see some museums (and the monuments, of course!) and go see Mamma Mia. Not my idea, of course.

Bette Bee Nohe ~~ July 30, 1932 - June 21, 2008




The "Best Mom-Mom" spot has been filled, but Granny there will definitely never be another like you. I honestly kind of thought you were immortal and that you would outlive us all, you had so much life. You should have lived long enough to see Greg and I get married off but alas I guess you'll have to keep watch from Heaven :-)




You always talked about seeing Gregory Clark again one day in Heaven; it fills my heart with joy to know that you are finally reunited with your son! Granny, before I knew Jesus you helped give me a view to eternity. When you became a Christian I thought you wouldn't be fun anymore. Things did change, and I wondered why someone who had an "exciting" life (partying, drinking, the things that looked so appealing to me) would give that up for the Lord. In high school when I was a young Christian, I would think of you and how you chose Jesus over everything. Your personal testimony encouraged me so much.



Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners at your house were the best. My heart gets warm just thinking about those cozy fall evenings after Thanksgiving, when all the grandkids and cousins would be hanging out, eating turkey and gravy sandwiches and playing backgammon. You made your home a place of warmth for so many people. And I know you were secretly amused when we would make those prank phone calls around the island :) You had the best sense of humor. I will always think of you now whenever I drink black coffee, or play Nintendo, or watch a scary movie.



Granny, I think I took your unconditional love for granted, and now that you're gone I realize how special it is to be loved as much as you loved me. You've also reminded me to seek eternity, because life is fleeting and we cannot hold onto this life, however attached to it we may be. I long for the day when we play Rook together in Heaven. You were loved very deeply Granny.

Aaaah, Stars is so infectiously good!! I've had these songs running through my head for days:

Stars - "Reunion"



Stars - "Elevator Love Letter"



The first song I heard by them was "The Night Starts Here", which is pretty melodramatic, and the more I heard from them, the more I realized this is pretty much their style. Their songs are very poppy and lilting at times, but they deal with pretty serious matter: a father explaining to his child why he doesn't love the boy's mom anymore ("The Very Thing"), a guy who falls in love with his co-worker and takes her home with him, only to leave her the next morning ("Elevator Love Letter", surprise!), running into an ex and realizing why you're not in love anymore ("Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"). I actually didn't know they were into stories so much when I first heard "The Night Starts Here", but I was hooked enough to go out and buy two of their albums. I must say I am now the proud owner of Nightsongs and Set Yourself On Fire and they're both outstanding.

I had a dream last night that Amy Sedaris and I were cooking hot dogs together in a little pot. Then we started talking about Pink Floyd, and I asked her if she'd ever done the thing where you start playing Dark Side of the Moon at the third roar of the MGM lion on the intro to The Wizard of Oz. And she said YES, of course she had and she thought it was the coolest thing. Then I woke up :-( I really wanted to keep talking to her.