Happy Birthday, Preston Michael Spears Federline and other Certain Special Someones! - Page 317

ThurgreedMarshall · 10-20-2005, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?
No earpiece. I don't sell anything, buy anything, or process anything. I don't sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed.

Remember this... you used to be fun! You used to be warped and twisted and hilarious. And I mean that in the best way, I mean it as a compliment.

TM

sebastian_dangerfield · 10-20-2005, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Not Bob
Tom Wolfe rocks. Downsides to his novels? (1) He can be a bit unsympathetic to his characters; and (2) His endings always seem to be a bit of a let-down. (FWIW, the ending of I Am Charlotte Simmons is much better than the ending of A Man In Full, which I just re-read.)

He does go overboard a bit on the cruelty of some of his characters. He also totally fucks up what would be considered cool in a fraternity world. Anyone who acted as “rah rah frat” as the Saint Rays would be considered huge fucking tools. It was always the height of gay to actually be “into” that frat bullshit (even though you were in one). And even among the most cruel bastards I know, nobody would behave as callously toward Charlotte as Hoyt Thorpe did.

I think Wolfe likes to use stereotypes/perceived archetypes too much to craft broad social commentary. He’s better when he just tells the story and actually crafts a complete character, like he did with Charlotte. But, then again, maybe Hoyt is just two dimensional. Whatever. I guess that’s why I like Wolfe’s books. He’s deep enough to criticize, like I just did, but not deep enough to warrant serious literary analyzation. He's too pop for any egghead to bother "spinning," or even reading...

ABBAKiss · 10-20-2005, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by greatwhitenorthchick
It's very strange - speakerphone actually doesn't work on my office phone. So I just use my headset.

For some reason this made me laugh out loud. I can't use a headset because it interferes with the braces I wear for my carpal tunnel.

SlaveNoMore · 10-20-2005, 10:59 AM

Quote:

sebastian_dangerfield
I still want to strangle my gradeschool teacher who forced us to read those things...

LOTR was nothing compared to some the crap forced down our throats. Come on:

"A Separate Peace"?

"Catcher in the Rye?"

"The Old Man and the Sea"?

[And as I referred to earlier, I nearly burned down my high school for making us read that Dreiser book]

So go ahead - name the worst books your teachers forced you to read:

Mmmm, Burger (C.J.) · 10-20-2005, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ABBAKiss
I do, but not for personal conversations. For those I close my door and hide under my desk and crinkle lots of paper.

How do you have enough hands to crinkle paper and fully participate in those personal conversations? Are you Vishnu?

ABBAKiss · 10-20-2005, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
How do you have enough hands to crinkle paper and fully participate in those personal conversations? Are you Vishnu?

Ever heard of support staff?

Hank Chinaski · 10-20-2005, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ABBAKiss
Ever heard of support staff?

What material is it? Powered?

greatwhitenorthchick · 10-20-2005, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
LOTR was nothing compared to some the crap forced down our throats. Come on:

"A Separate Peace"?

"Catcher in the Rye?"

"The Old Man and the Sea"?

[And as I referred to earlier, I nearly burned down my high school for making us read that Dreiser book]

So go ahead - name the worst books your teachers forced you to read:

The only books I remember from highschool are A Separate Peace, Catcher in the Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird. The worst was a Separate Peace and Phinny wasn't even hot in the movie version. And Parker Stevenson - don't get me started. I liked the two other books a lot. And the movie version of TKAM.

eta: We did have to read the Old Man and the Sea as well. I don't remember anything about it. But it's now coming back to me that we had to read a whole slew of Canadian books - i.e. Surfacing, The Stone Angel, and of course Bear, which is about a woman who falls in love with a bear and they almost do it, except when they are trying to consummate, he gouges her back with his claws (not fatally, but enough to make her back off). Go Canada.

bold_n_brazen · 10-20-2005, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Remember this... you used to be fun! You used to be warped and twisted and hilarious. And I mean that in the best way, I mean it as a compliment.

TM

Joe lies.

notcasesensitive · 10-20-2005, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Huh. When I posted a sappy "My wife is the strongest person I've ever met; I'm so proud of her" in a non-Amazing Race context, the tears were all mine because YOU ASS-RAPED ME FOR A WEEK ON THE LWK BOARD.

But the thought that you cry over reality TV humanizes you, so you've got that going for you.

Oh brother. I did not ass rape you. I mentioned how your comments sounded to me, in a civil (and joking) tone and you freaked out. clearly it is a point that you are sensitive about, but I was unaware that Atticus is exempt from the typical lawyer board interplay. defensive much?

Hank Chinaski · 10-20-2005, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Oh brother. I did not ass rape you. I mentioned how your comments sounded to me, in a civil (and joking) tone and you freaked out. clearly it is a point that you are sensitive about, but I was unaware that Atticus is exempt from the typical lawyer board interplay. defensive much?

I don't think he can take the pain.

Mmmm, Burger (C.J.) · 10-20-2005, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore

So go ahead - name the worst books your teachers forced you to read:

It's on the list:

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe.

But perhaps I'm merely making the author's point.

bold_n_brazen · 10-20-2005, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore

So go ahead - name the worst books your teachers forced you to read:

Absolom, Absolom... William Faulkner

I'm not sure if I've told this story here before or not...

We had these long oval tables in the classrooms at my school. On the second day after we started that awful book, I walked into Honors English, where Dr. Pickering was sitting at the head of the table. I threw the book on the table in disgust, and it slid the entire length of the table before coming to rest just beneath Doc Pick's steepled hands. He looked up at me and cocked an eyebrow, and I said "Fourteen pages without a mark of punctuation. I am not reading this book." He leaned back in his chair, smiled, and said "As you wish, Miss Brazen, as you wish."

God, I loved him.

sebastian_dangerfield · 10-20-2005, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
LOTR was nothing compared to some the crap forced down our throats. Come on:

"A Separate Peace"?

"Catcher in the Rye?"

"The Old Man and the Sea"?

[And as I referred to earlier, I nearly burned down my high school for making us read that Dreiser book]

So go ahead - name the worst books your teachers forced you to read:

Shane
Goodbye, Mr Chips (thicker than maple syrup)
Billy Budd (Melville wrote that just to annoy the reader)

sebastian_dangerfield · 10-20-2005, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
LOTR was nothing compared to some the crap forced down our throats. Come on:

"A Separate Peace"?

"Catcher in the Rye?"

"The Old Man and the Sea"?

[And as I referred to earlier, I nearly burned down my high school for making us read that Dreiser book]

So go ahead - name the worst books your teachers forced you to read:

Oh, fuck... how could I forget?

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Why on God's green earth would a fucking 9th grade teacher assign that to a high school boy?