Liars and Saints

  "You have to be controlling and obnoxious. People who are  nice  with the school district do not get what they need." This is advice from the neurologist. And I have very little difficulty being controlling and obnoxious. In Zoom meetings, I have been described--by my spouse--as "frightening." My child's teacher has just quit her job. This is the third time it's happened to my son. Now, cosmically, this is not a big deal. I like to think of the Ruthie Ann Miles Test. Ruthie Ann Miles is an actor who was walking with her family in Park Slope one day. A car jumped the curb--struck Miles's daughter--murdered the child (and also aborted Miles's pregnancy, because Miles herself was additionally within the impact zone). And Miles brushed off the dust and continued with her life. I think, if you're Ruthie Ann Miles, you can complain. Otherwise, things are essentially fine. But the district doesn't need to know that I have this philosophy. The dist...

 I admire the precision of Andre Dubus III. He uses words I know very little about. "Motor oil," "oarlock," "roadhouse," "chicken wire." He pays attention to sensory detail. At the bar, a face appears just inches from the side of my own. Dark whiskers and crooked teeth. Narrow eyes and waxy skin, though in the dim neon of this roadhouse it's hard to see clearly. He's staring at what I'm wearing, which is a cheap Bermuda shirt, black with bright tiny oarlocks. I am sunburned and windblown. I am wearing eyeglasses. Maybe I look to him like some lawyer on vacation, or some other man whose profession allows him to rent boats, then come to this bar in a clearing up the hill from town where the tourists are not supposed to go.... The man's face is in a sneer and I can smell him--cigarette smoke and motor oil. He's leaning so close that his shoulder is just beginning to touch mine. He says, "Nice fuckin' shirt." He is c...

 A third music video I enjoy is for Beyonce's "Love on Top."  The words in this song are every bit as inane as the material for Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much." Beyonce is expressing joy because she realizes she has become someone's number one priority. "You're the one I NEED! You're the only one I see." That's all. *If this is in dialogue with Janet Jackson--and most pop writing *is* a response to Janet Jackson--then there are important shifts to consider. Janet, in "Miss You Much," is somewhat childlike. By contrast, Beyonce is imagined as someone in control. It's Beyonce who says, "Bring the beat in." It's Beyonce who says, absurdly, "Cut!" (She starts and ends the video.) *It's interesting to me that this song--a love song--has a video that never shows the "love object." We don't see the love story unfolding. Instead, in the video, the main drama comes from the way that Bey...

  This week, I've been thinking about Jane Austen--which led me to Nicole Holofcener. It seems to me that Holofcener's career is a response to Austen. Holofcener asks, "What if I extended Austen's sympathy to include Austen's villains? What if I took a villain--e.g., Fanny, Elinor Dashwood's nemesis--and made her the center of the story?" "Lovely and Amazing" is a tale of multiple Fanny figures. Vain, weak, childish people. It's an act of bravery to take on one of these roles. Catherine Keener ranks among the bravest actors in movie history. Keener plays Michelle, who hasn't had the life she once dreamed of. Michelle is a recovering homecoming queen. In her mid-thirties, she finds herself floundering. Long ago, she promised her spouse she would find work as soon as her daughter entered Kindergarten. But that day has come and gone. Michelle builds tiny wooden chairs for plastic superhero figurines. But no store wishes to purchase the chair...

 There is a difference between receptive and expressive language.  My son receives language somewhat easily. I know this. If you read James Marshall's "Portly McSwine," then you put it aside for a full year, my son will forget nothing. There is one eighth of one quick scene that deals with a flu shot--my son will point to the book, today, and inform you, "That's the one with the flu shot." Also, Josh retains names; I do not. He greets a nurse by her nickname; I hadn't thought that I'd had prior exposure to this nurse, but, clearly, I was wrong. I love codes; I love the gap between speech and thought. This is because I was a student of Amy Bloom's; subtext was all she talked about. Right now, you can see "Sense and Sensibility" in a multiplex--and Elinor Dashwood appears to be chatting about the weather, but really she is plotting to ensure her own survival. And one of the reasons that Julianne Moore has an Oscar is that she lets us see ...

 A young man surprises a woman with a flower. In the background, water rushes into the base of a fountain, as semen rushes into the womb. The fountain depicts cherubs in the act of chasing a trapped dolphin, as the man "chases" the woman below. Next, the man and woman meet in secret; they seem to be evading capture. (Maybe an overbearing parent is standing off in the wings.) A kind of marriage ceremony: The woman crowns the man, as a journalist/witness makes a record. Finally, the couple reflects on their love, reviewing old love letters. A statue of Venus represents Friendship--unlike Cupid, Venus is mature, unlikely to throw herself into a patch of brambles while pursuing a hot date. Fragonard's "Progress of Love" has spawned other works. Alice Munro tips her hat to Fragonard with a collection called--you guessed it--"The Progress of Love." A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters" seems to be a response to Fragonard's fourth panel. And Nancy Mi...

  I spent a part of my weekend rereading Elinor Lipman's essays, and there aren't enough words for how much I love this work.  Lipman is reliably unpretentious; often, she has written for "Good Housekeeping." She has strong feelings about Carrie Bradshaw. She comments on ketchup--and on the wisdom of mixing ketchup with your brisket. At the same time, she is contrarian in a sneaky way; she is in favor of keeping (and examining) various grudges, looking closely, in an unguarded manner, at moments of personal failure. I feel better after I've read a few pages by Elinor Lipman--what a gift she has. A standout among her essays is an observation about the Corner Bookstore, on the Upper East Side. Lipman is trying to recall why she started watching "Sex and the City" on HBO. It's because of the Corner Bookstore. "Charlotte" is living near 92nd and Madison--this is mid-series. At the same time, Lipman is walking up Madison to give a reading. She s...