One of the weaknesses people have noticed about his work—but have not, I think, yet commented enough upon—is that he can’t do comedy.
Steven Spielberg’s complete movies: I’ve seen every one, and I almost wish I hadn’t – Slate Magazine
Tag: humor
Monty Python – Novel Writing. Live broadcast of Thomas Hardy writing “The Return of the Native”. (via)
He dips the pen… in the ink AND HE’S OFF… it’s the first word BUT IT’S NOT A WORD. Oh no! It’s a doodle way up on the top of the left-hand margin. It’s a piece of meaningless scribble!
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
The Catorialist
“Well in those days the internet was in black and white. It was only on for three hours a day. We used to get all dressed up in our Sunday best to log onto it. We’d log onto letsbuyit.com and order a gas mask and a pound of tripe. Then when we’d finished with the computer we’d switch it off and we’d all stand up and sing the national anthem.”
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Ever the realist, he built his table for one.
(Dwell magazine, February 2010)
Nice satire of current modern/minimalist interior design porn.
How to Argue Effectively – Dave Barry
Use meaningless but weighty-sounding words and phrases. Memorize this list:
- Let me put it this way
- In terms of
- Vis-a-vis
- Per se
- As it were
- Qua
- Ipso facto
- Ergo
- So to speak
The General
The General. I’ve grown to love me some Buster Keaton. Seems like every scene in this movie has a laugh built-in. But it’s not just a gag to hold you over until something happens. They’re all connected with the chase or to at least show you what the hero is like. And I love the efficiency of the stunts. Everything seems so cleanly done. Great stuff. Roger Ebert on The General.
Update: This movie is also set in my home state of Georgia. Just sayin’…
I’mma Let You Finish
…but…
Pachelbel Rant, about being bored out of your mind on cello + the chord progression showing up everywhere.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
https://www.tumblr.com/audio_file/mlarson/141479490/viX1Loqvtpw9u2o185vQT0qs?plead=please-dont-download-this-or-our-lawyers-wont-let-us-host-audio
http://mlarson.tumblr.com/post/141479490/audio_player_iframe/mlarson/viX1Loqvtpw9u2o185vQT0qs?audio_file=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Faudio_file%2Fmlarson%2F141479490%2FviX1Loqvtpw9u2o185vQT0qs
David Foster Wallace reads Laughing with Kafka, which was later published in Consider the Lobster. Other speakers at the Metamorphosis: A New Kafka symposium included Paul Auster, E.L. Doctorow, Susan Sontag, and David Remnick. (via bibliokept)
The 14-Second Work Year. Parody may not be timeless, but it can be very satisfying.
George Carlin’s last interview is really good. He talks about language, writing, drugs, religion, life, the whole deal.
A Day in the Life of a Musician by Erik Satie:
An artist must regulate his life.
Here is a time-table of my daily acts. I rise at 7.18; am inspired from 10.23 to 11.47. I lunch at 12.11 and leave the table at 12.14. A healthy ride on horse-back round my domain follows from 1.19 pm to 2.53 pm. Another bout of inspiration from 3.12 to 4.7 pm. From 5 to 6.47 pm various occupations (fencing, reflection, immobility, visits, contemplation, dexterity, natation, etc.)
Dinner is served at 7.16 and finished at 7.20 pm. From 8.9 to 9.59 pm symphonic readings (out loud). I go to bed regularly at 10.37 pm. Once a week (on Tuesdays) I awake with a start at 3.14 am.
Hamlet, the Facebook News Feed Edition. My favorite part: “Hamlet became a fan of daggers.” [via funkaoshi]
How to be a snob when drinking alcohol: “There are guidelines. First, if you’re faking it, everything is faint—you want to talk in terms of hints, notes, and shades. Give the impression that you only barely caught this delicate wisp of a flavor because you were concentrating so intensely back in Step 2.”
The origin of creative juices.
George Carlin on living life in reverse. Sounds nice.
Mark Larson 