Skip to main content

Random Thoughts by Jay

Just a couple of things I've been thinking about while watching television this afternoon:

1. Considering the company's not-so-distant history, is it really wise for Volkswagen to use a VW bug with a German accent as a spokescar? Really?

2. Why does Dell want us to think that the main use of its digital photo tool on its computers is to photoshop out your ex-girlfriend? As a woman, am I supposed to assume that guys who have Dells are all jackholes who can't commit? 'Cause I didn't before, but now I sort of do.

3. Amy Adams' performance in Junebug? Stellar. I loved her in Enchanted (no, really--that's a cute movie!), but I hadn't seen Junebug until today and it's good, but she's Really Good in it.

4. The Bridge is the most haunting and the most beautiful documentary I have ever seen.

5. My dog is the Cutest Dog Ever.

6. I wish I had a bike. I tried to walk to the library the other day and I actually got there, but it was Really Far. Like, three and a half miles far. I drive so often that it didn't seem that far...until I actually walked it in 80 degree heat. I had to stop and buy socks. I took the bus back home. I know, you're all "Jay, three and a half miles isn't far AT ALL," but it is when you didn't actually plan on walking three and a half miles, when three and a half miles sort of sneaks up on you when you're trotting along in sandals and a skirt. And then walking back with your five library books.

7. The Paper Chase was supposedly a good movie? Seriously? Because I've been to law school (not Harvard, granted, but still), and the characters in The Paper Chase were dicks, even by law school standards. For example, our protagonist falls in love with this woman and, even though she's not divorced from her prior husband, he keeps pestering her and pestering her to get married. And she's all "no thanks" and he's all "WHY CAN'T WE BE TOGETHER?!?!" Dude. She's just not that into you. So much for the "likability" of the main character. And John Houseman (whose performance is the only thing that makes the movie bearable)isn't in it nearly enough. (Also, I know that John Houseman's portrayal of a law professor was supposed to be scary and horrific, but...um. Let's just put it this way: one of my law professors actually told a girl he would pay her to shut up. And another one, frustrated by a student's lack of preparation, said "well, I can't break your hand. But I'd like to." In other words, John Houseman: Not As Scary As Real Law School Professors.)

8. And I don't usually get political here, but let me just quote this:

"We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope...But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Monday Miscellany

1. I've been watching old episodes of The West Wing on Bravo lately, and have come to the conclusion that I love the character of Sam Seaborn. He's smart, he's earnest, he's a good writer, and he's played by Rob Lowe. What's not to love?* 2. I just bought the cutest jacket at Ann Taylor Loft. I know you care, but it's not every day that one can find a white denim jacket with styling reminiscent of Michael Jackson and a tailored waist. I'm just saying. 3. NaNoWriMo proceeds apace. There is no way that I'm going to be able to keep writing at this pace after this month is over, but I'm on track to finish. It's an interesting project...in some ways the speed is freeing and in other ways it's extremely limited, as to make the word count I have no time to go back and revise. 4. Alien and Aliens are amazing movies. Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection ? Not so much. 5. This week's Glee characterization inconsistency watch: Rache...

Why Are The Characters Friends?

Lately, I've been reading a lot of books where the main character and her best friend don't get along. This is confusing to me. Why is the main character friends with someone she dislikes, or is afraid of, or actually hates? I get that it happens--I've seen Mean Girls . I've read Queen Bees and Wannabes . Heck, I'm old enough to have been the prime audience for Heathers . But in order for this fractured best friend relationship to be convincing, it has to be set up. In both Heathers and Mean Girls , there's a reason why the protagonist is friends with a bunch of b*tches--she chose to be. She knows that they're jerks. In fact, she can feel herself becoming a jerk right along with them. It's part of the character arc, the point of the story, that being friends with these girls is not who she really is. But the relationships I've been seeing lately don't make that kind of sense. The protagonist doesn't have a reason to be friends with...

Jay Takes A Stand

Moonrat, still at Editorial Ass, is making me think a lot lately. She did a recent post here about sexualized violence in print ads, and connected the dots to sexualized violence in books and other media, which got me thinking about how I treat girls and women in my books. To be clear--I'm a feminist. I believe in equal pay for equal work and reproductive choice, and the whole ball of wax. I'm not going to go into detail about all that here because, frankly, there are people out there whose blogs are dedicated to that kind of thing (like Jezebel *) and they do it way better than I ever could. But that's my political orientation, in case you care. So when I was writing The Book, it was very important to me that my female protagonist S did not fall into any of those "heroine needs saving by the hero" tropes that so many books for teenage girls do. Sure, there's something very "romantic" about the hero swooping in and rescuing the heroine, right? ...