live... from hermosa beach, CA...
In an internet cafe today, so trendy that I have to iron my shirts so I don't feel so out of place. But, the fact that I have a PC and not a titanium ibook is enough to sweep me into the ranks of the aspirants. Well that and my dearth of blonde hair... or hair at all.
Several new thoughts:
1. I want a middle name. Not a real middle name, but a Harry S Truman middle name. That is, a letter that stands for nothing. It'll be like my postmodern tatoo for the world.
In the running: R, A, W, G, L, P
2. Rather hesitantly, going to see "I, Robot" today. Manohla Dargis and A.O. hate it. Oh, something I learned -- the "featured critic" spot on Rotten Tomatoes is paid for. So if it's a cerebral flick, the NY Times will pay for it, and if it's along the lines of "Bridget Jones," the H'wood Reporter picks it up.
3. I really want to read this book. Saw the author on Charlie Rose. You see, I never realized that the liberal label was pretty firmly linked with both latte drinking and volvo driving. Apparently, I have to explore my roots.
All in all, however, I must say that I like this temporary period where all bestsellers are of the political ilk. Relatively speaking, it's an informed time in the American consciousness.
4. So, at this coffeeshop of mine, there's always the middle-aged, slightly-balding white guy who hasn't quite mastered the inside voice and believes fundamentally in his right to use the cell phone. You know, gossip columnists would go so far if they just overheard dumbass businessmen who have this pathological need to advertise their business deals to all within a 10-yard radius. It's just obnoxious. Go to Kinko's, I say. Stay away from my wireless coffeeshop.
5. I'm starting to realize that staying at home for 3-4 months is going to be a lot harder than I thought. Life with mom, though pleasant, is a constant tug of war. The goal, as I see it now, it learning better to stifle myself.
6. So, the screenwriting thing is tomorrow and Sunday -- and I'm the youngest person there and also the most underqualified. Looking forward to overcompensating with my vast arsenal of SAT words.
On that note, I'd just like to say that if you ever criticize an adult for abuse of SAT words, what really do you mean? Almost every letter to the editor that I've gotten in the past few months has been along the lines of "I can use big words too, but Devdoot hides his lack of intelligence under a thin veneer of SAT words" -- and it saddens me. Nobody criticizes people for usage of french or latin phrases. Maybe I'll start learning phrases like "bon mot" or "cause celebre" (really the only 2 I know at present) and capitalize on this. Then again, there's a good chance that I'll never get a letter to the editor again as I won't be writing for a college newspaper. Oh well...
Several new thoughts:
1. I want a middle name. Not a real middle name, but a Harry S Truman middle name. That is, a letter that stands for nothing. It'll be like my postmodern tatoo for the world.
In the running: R, A, W, G, L, P
2. Rather hesitantly, going to see "I, Robot" today. Manohla Dargis and A.O. hate it. Oh, something I learned -- the "featured critic" spot on Rotten Tomatoes is paid for. So if it's a cerebral flick, the NY Times will pay for it, and if it's along the lines of "Bridget Jones," the H'wood Reporter picks it up.
3. I really want to read this book. Saw the author on Charlie Rose. You see, I never realized that the liberal label was pretty firmly linked with both latte drinking and volvo driving. Apparently, I have to explore my roots.
All in all, however, I must say that I like this temporary period where all bestsellers are of the political ilk. Relatively speaking, it's an informed time in the American consciousness.
4. So, at this coffeeshop of mine, there's always the middle-aged, slightly-balding white guy who hasn't quite mastered the inside voice and believes fundamentally in his right to use the cell phone. You know, gossip columnists would go so far if they just overheard dumbass businessmen who have this pathological need to advertise their business deals to all within a 10-yard radius. It's just obnoxious. Go to Kinko's, I say. Stay away from my wireless coffeeshop.
5. I'm starting to realize that staying at home for 3-4 months is going to be a lot harder than I thought. Life with mom, though pleasant, is a constant tug of war. The goal, as I see it now, it learning better to stifle myself.
6. So, the screenwriting thing is tomorrow and Sunday -- and I'm the youngest person there and also the most underqualified. Looking forward to overcompensating with my vast arsenal of SAT words.
On that note, I'd just like to say that if you ever criticize an adult for abuse of SAT words, what really do you mean? Almost every letter to the editor that I've gotten in the past few months has been along the lines of "I can use big words too, but Devdoot hides his lack of intelligence under a thin veneer of SAT words" -- and it saddens me. Nobody criticizes people for usage of french or latin phrases. Maybe I'll start learning phrases like "bon mot" or "cause celebre" (really the only 2 I know at present) and capitalize on this. Then again, there's a good chance that I'll never get a letter to the editor again as I won't be writing for a college newspaper. Oh well...
posted by devdoot majumdar at 3:11 PM
2 Comments:
Several responses:
1. You could always go the Sixth Sense director's route.. M. Devdoot Majumdar or some such nonsense. As far as a middle initial, just make sure your initials don't spell something stupid like mine. ex. Devdoot I. Majumdar --> DIM, Devdoot U. Majumdar --> DUM, Devdoot A Majumdar --> DAM. Probably good to avoid vowels.
2. Was not aware of that. I still like Rotten Tomatoes for a general idea, but I think they are too generous in their Fresh ratings.. often giving a review that says a movie is mediocre or just ok, a Fresh rating (like for I, Robot)
3. Welcome to the Midwest. This year could be an "informed time".. One always has to work hard to separate the propaganda and skewed "information" from something representing a logical conclusion or "the truth".
4. Goddamn. Reminds me of this girl sitting behind me and talking loudly in Spanish on her cell phone for half of Spiderman 2 when I saw it in New Jersey.
5. I hear ya.
6. Pffft.. MIT students, myself included, are just really poor when it comes to understanding big words. Hopefully, you'll find yourself in an environment where an expanded vocabulary is lauded, not mocked. Good luck, again, with the screenplay.
Consultant work's toil has become so monotonous that I find myself back here once again. And if it means anything, I think you've improved the site's content quality. Anyway, here's what I say:
Re: 3. I was lucky enough to hear that author on a local radio channel. I've lived in DC for 22 damn years and only this year did I discover this radical liberal radio station thanks to the down to earth family man engineer that I call my boss.
I object to your political conclusion, however. Yes, America is taking interest in politics after 9/11 and the Iraq war, but that's far from saying that we've reached a new level of informed. Take a look at the authors: talk-show hosts and snubbed cabinet members. For Washington players, writing a book is just a way to increase/maintain your stature on the totem pole, not enlighten the masses. That's how Bill Clinton's memoirs get published. Most of the books on the lists are experiments in how much one can preach to the choir and hardly a search for truth or the best solution. Hell, that applies to your movies and radio shows, too. And yes, skewing is partially what politics is all about, but every "Bowling for Columbine" is drowned out by a cacaphony of "Deliver us From Evil"-s.
That's what I think,
Loux
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