Liars and Saints

 The novelist Simon Rich owes a debt to George Saunders (and in fact tips his hat to Saunders); Rich writes slightly absurd stories about life in America, but there is emotional insight running alongside the absurdity. One of Rich's crowning achievements is "A Father's Watch," a script for "The Simpsons." In this story, a parenting expert arrives in Springfield and scolds the citizens for not having adequately praised the local children. From now on, there will be trophies for "breathing" and for "trying." Lisa Simpson cries foul--because she feels she has *earned* all of her (old-school) trophies. Marge says, "Really? The soccer trophy?" And Lisa becomes evasive and irritable.  "I COULDN'T go to most of those games...because they conflicted with SNACKTIME...." Elsewhere, Rich pokes fun at literary types. In his story "The Baby," a father gets upset when he realizes his new fetus is showing signs of artis...

 I recently panned Maury Yeston's "Titanic," because the writing seemed cartoonish and dull. ("Everything is gorgeous in the Grand Salon....Stunningly appointed for the cream....Thousands of bucks gets a trip deluxe without par!!!!") But I think Yeston used more discipline when he wrote "Unusual Way," from "Nine." Here, a guy (Guido) is hearing from his mistress, Claudia: You don't know what you do to me;  You don't have a clue. You can't tell what it's like to be me Looking at you. It scares me so that I can hardly speak... The use of parallel structure conveys a sense of exasperation: "You don't. You don't. You can't." Ambivalence is suggested through apparently contradictory thoughts: In a very unusual way I think I'm in love with you. In a very unusual way I want to cry... And, again, here: In a very unusual way I owe what I am to you. Though at times it appears I won't stay, I never go... Not...

 I think the real reason Biden annoyed me, these last several weeks, is that I myself know something about decline. I'm not in the throes of cognitive decline, but I'm dealing with hair loss. I find this completely unacceptable, but there is the evidence, in the mirror, saying, "Accept me." For some reason, Facebook began sending me ads for "Hims," which appears to be a kind of potion to "restimulate" your hair follicles. (This makes me think of Pirelli's Miracle Elixir, in "Sweeney Todd.") Also, I received an article about celebrities who have openly discussed their hair plugs. Cheyenne Jackson has admitted to attempting the "plug" route on five separate occasions; I think this candor is charming. Another celebrity says, in a defensive way, "I had all the hair I needed, it was just on the *back* of my head. I just had to take some from the back and put it on the front..." (Thus, Birnham Wood came to Dunsinane.) I ...

 Sondheim's musicals are such treasures, there exists a special set of consumer material, the "making of" library. So far, we have a book about the origins of "Follies," a book about the origins of "Sunday in the Park with George," and a lengthy (lengthy) podcast about "Into the Woods." If you're truly obsessive, you can spend forty minutes listening to Patti LuPone--who really has nothing to do with "Into the Woods"--sharing her thoughts on "Into the Woods." (Who would miss this opportunity?) My special devotion is reserved for "Everything Was Possible," an account of the birth of "Follies." Just one year after "Company," Sondheim was back with "Follies." Initially, the show was to be a murder mystery, entitled, "The Girls Upstairs." (Hal Prince thought the rough-draft title evoked visions of a whorehouse.) A well-connected undergrad--perhaps oblivious to how privilege...

 Yesterday, one of my children had a "diaper accident" that required immediate attention; the car was lacking a replacement pair of shorts, so I had to remove another child's shorts, wiggle Child One into the incorrect shorts, then hope that Child Two would tolerate "diaper time" for thirty minutes of a "car interlude." Child Two was in fact feeling intolerant--so the thirty minutes, which I had imagined as blissful reading time, instead became a frantic car trip back to the house, to find a replacement pair of shorts. The shorts I selected were inadequate, so Child Two resumed her tantrum, but when I tried to go in search of a third pair of shorts, the second pair of shorts suddenly attained "new status," and my apparent crime became the withholding of the second pair of shorts. "Gypsy" speaks to me now more than ever. It's easy to drift through life without having given serious attention to your dreams (and then the world beco...

 The local swimming pool makes me think of "La Grande Latte" -- so many souls packed into one small rectangle. A listless teen lifeguard scolds a father: "No toys in the wading pool." The father--having survived a bad day?--chooses to push back. "It's not a toy. It's a swim aid." The lifeguard shrugs and repeats himself. Amazingly, this fight continues . Moms overhear the news that Kamala Harris may be the new candidate. Desperately, the moms realize they cannot obtain their cell phones without abandoning their half-submerged toddlers. One mom pushes forward bravely, toward land, like Nala, in the Second Act of "The Lion King." The others call out: "Bring back news!" An elderly Maplewood resident has words with the ticket-taker. "Do you really think *every* Tuesday *needs* to be DJ Night ? My friends and I like to swim in peace...." For me, this is like viewing a (free) movie, and I really hadn't planned on the ent...

  I have no idea if Catherine Breillat likes "Fatal Attraction," but I myself am a fan, and it's fun to see Breillat "updating" FA in her new film. A woman (Anne) in her late forties has a reasonably happy life; she lives in comfort outside Paris, and she has two adorable adopted children. Her husband, Pierre, probably talks too much, and too dryly, about business, but that seems to be a small price to pay. And: Act One ends. A stranger comes to town. The stranger, Theo, is Pierre's own son from an earlier marriage. Theo resents Pierre for having jumped ship. Theo also recognizes that he has sexual power over Anne, and he begins an affair, maybe to screw with his dad, maybe because of actual romantic feelings, and maybe because of a jumble of unexamined, chaotic impulses. (Theo is just seventeen.) What follows is a power struggle. It's excruciating to watch. Anne knows she needs to disentangle herself from Theo, but she can't help herself; she is dra...