Thanks For the Many Hours of Free Entertainment, But From Now On, I’ll Be Without Lost

There’s a famous scene in The Simpsons, the Poochie episode, where the comic book guy explains how he expressed his displeasure regarding a substandard episode of Itchy and Scratchy. “Rest assured,” he says to Bart, “that I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world.” They continue arguing (dialogue courtesy of snpp.com):

Bart: Hey, I know it wasn’t great, but what right do you have to complain?
CBG: As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me.
Bart: What? They're giving you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. What could they possibly owe you? If anything, you owe them.

I agree with Bart, and in that spirit I’d like to thank Lost for the first 13 episodes of Season One. I am not planning on watching any more Lost, but the first 13 were, for the most part, compelling and enjoyable. The reveal regarding John Locke’s “condition” was one of the few times I was genuinely surprised by a TV show. It wasn’t a cheap reveal either – the evidence was there, but masterfully hidden, so that you didn’t feel ripped off, or, worse, able to solve the riddle instantly (which I find often happens with even the best shows on television).

In the meantime, hang in there, people of Lost. Your fate will be determined in 2010.

Oh … The Line of Beauty

My summary of The Line of Beauty, by Allan Hollinghurst:

“Oh … ” Nick said.
“Oh … !” Nick said.
“Oh …” Nick said, this time with a moue of irony.

As I neared the end of the novel, and as I watched Nick say “Oh … ” for the one-thousandth time, I finally grew weary. The meticulously annotated conversations, the microscopic level of descriptive detail, the suffocating presence of irony, ironies and ironic facial expressions and situations finally wore thin. That said, the first two-thirds of the novel are fantastic. If the gay sex in The Emperor’s Children wasn’t explicit enough for you, then The Line of Beauty is the book for you.

Gas Crime

It's obviously an error, but I couldn't resist screen grabbing from the Star recently, where the new Air Canada fuel surcharge was filed under the category of "GTA/CRIME." Sounds about right to me.

Demographic Turbulence

What a nasty, nasty euphemism, "demographic turbulence." (link). For me, it's a credibility-destroying phrase. I acknowledge the issue being debated is touchy and complex, but "demographic turbulence?"

Really? That's the best you could come up with? That is intellectual soft serve.

I'm a Mite Confused -- Is This My Last Issue?

This notice covered my copy of the Walrus that arrived in my mail slot recently. This prompted my girlfriend to joke, "I'm confused -- is that your last issue?"

You can smell the raw panic and desperation, can't you?

Anyway, I checked the mail this morning and, believe it or not, there was a new issue of the Walrus. Like a girl with low self-esteem, whose ultimatum regarding the relationship has gone unheeded by her insensitive boyfriend, she is still putting out.

For the record, I do not plan to resubscribe.

How About Deep Background?

This was a super-hilarious moment in a fantastic piece of journalism:

Tim — as in Russert, the inquisitive jackhammer host of “Meet the Press” — is a particular obsession of Matthews’s. Matthews craves Russert’s approval like that of an older brother. He is often solicitous. On the morning of the Cleveland debate, Matthews was standing in the lobby of the Ritz when Russert walked through, straight from a workout, wearing a sweat-drenched Buffalo Bills sweatshirt, long shorts and black rubber-soled shoes with tube socks. “Here he is; here he is, the man,” Matthews said to Russert, who smiled and chatted for a few minutes before returning to his room. (An MSNBC spokesman, Jeremy Gaines, tried, after the fact, to declare Russert’s outfit “off the record.”)

(link).

Thanks Joe!

Feedback from a Bigge Idea reader:

From: joe clark
Subject: Links on your blog
Date: April 3, 2008 3:05:00 PM EDT (CA)
To: ryan bigge

I know you aren't really a Web person, but you should learn that hyperlinks on Web pages are not and should never be given as (link).
--

Joe Clark | joeclark@joeclark.org
Accessibility http://joeclark.org/access/
Expect criticism if you top-post

Joe is quite right. BoingBoing, for example, one of the world's most popular blogs, doesn't use brackets around the word (link). I'll be sure to change that ASAP.

Richard Florida Is Two Cents Shy of 170K Per Year

The good Doctor Florida earns $169,999.98. About what I estimated before the figures were released. You can read all about it right here: (link).

Keep in mind that he earns additional monies on top of that from his books, his speaking fees, his column in the Globe and Mail, and other revenue streams I can only imagine. I'd estimate about $250K per year, if not much more. And it's not like he's grinding his fingers to the bone doing much actual teaching for that $170K.

I hope he's worth it, U of T. I certainly don't think so.

For a list of gurus, including Florida, see this (link).

Oh Ibi

I've never met Ibi Kaslik, but based on her alt-weekly cover model career (see below), she strikes me as someone who poses first and thinks later. The Hour cover has her bra poking through (honestly, will that make anyone buy her book?), and her eye weekly cover is, at least to my eyes, less than thought through.

I realize that an author receiving this kind of publicity is a rare and beautiful thing, but I'm not entirely sure that either cover reinforces her stature as an author. I'm not trying to a be a fusty, musty old grump here. I just feel like Ibi could exploit herself in a slightly more interesting fashion. Unbuttoning your shirt and pretending to be a rock and roll rebel are tired cliches at the best of times. That these images have little to nothing to do with Ibi's abilities as an author is even worse.

I can't wait for 9th Wave Feminism to arrive and solve these and other problems.

Sidebar to Woman's World

Space, always at a premium. My article in today's Star about Graham Rawle's book Woman's World was to include the following sidebar, but was cut for space:

TO MAKE A DADAIST POEM
Take a newspaper.
Take some scissors.
Choose from this paper an article of the length you want to make your poem.
Cut out the article.
Next carefully cut out each of the words that makes up this article and put them all in a bag.
Shake Gently.
Next take out each cutting one after the other.
Copy conscientiously in the order in which they left the bag.
The poem will resemble you.
And there you are—an infinitely original author of charming sensibility, even though unappreciated by the vulgar herd.

by TRISTAN TZARA, from 'Dada Manifesto on Free Love and Bitter Love', (c1920)

My article can be found here (link).