DL vs. DB

Via Treacher at The Daily Gut, an absolute must-read interview. Some d-bag p.c. white reporter (for The Onion! I mean, come on, aren't they of all people supposed to have a sense of humor?) interviews DL Hughley and won't get off his back about how he offended black women in his joking about Imus ("obviously the joke came at a very sensitive time for black women"). But DL won't have none of it, and speaks truth to power! It's an amazing interview, almost rivaling the Hirsi Ali CBC one for the sheer clueless, self-righteous preening of the interviewer.

Here's the transcript of what DL said on Leno, btw.

I hate UNICEF

They're disgusting jew-haters, for one. They're the UN, for another (but I repeat myself). Even if they were neither of these things, though - sending kids around on Halloween to collect money for others instead of candy for themselves? Bastards.

This random thought brought to you courtesy of today's Gregalogue. If you aren't watching RedEye (or, at the least, RedEye Recap), you probably lead a healthy and fulfilling life, and I hate you.

Little Miss Sunshine

I really wanted to hate it, because it was so overhyped, but I'll be honest, I liked it. I thought it would be like The Royal Tenenbaums, some insufferable, too-cool-for-school, irony-filled hipster comedy. But it isn't! And these days, that's saying a lot!

The DVD had alternate endings, and, interestingly enough, one of them is actually much better than the real ending. Best of all, according to the commentary, that superior ending was thought up by Abigail Breslin, the young girl who (with help from Alan Arkin, a favorite of mine from Slums of Beverly Hills) steals the movie. The whole point of the movie is that the youthful exuberance of the girl and her grandfather trumps all the self-absorbed, overserious worries of everyone around them. Yet the directors' ignore their own point, and instead of ending with Abigail's very fun and unique idea, end on a completely typical and overused note.

Anyway (spoiler alert I guess), the movie is nothing too special, but it certainly has its moments, and the best among them is the instant classic dance scene, so here it is, hope you like it!

Too Good Not to Link

I know Relapsed Catholic already has it, but I have to link to this Iowahawk piece. As I was telling a friend the other day, I'm afraid the backlash has already begun. Yesterday, I saw a taxi drive right past this poor young lady as she was frantically trying to hail it, just because she was wearing her hospital scrubs!

p.s. do you need any more proof that the world is cruel and unjust besides the fact that Dave Sedaris is rich and famous and Iowahawk isn't?

Okay, I'm excited

The Belles of St.Trinian's is one of my all-time favorite movies, great British comedy with Alastair Sim. Anyway, just found out there's a remake coming out later this year. I like Colin Firth and Rupert Everett (fun movie, this), and I'll try to pretend that I didn't see Mischa Barton's name involved. In any case, even if the remake stinks, at least it might get TCM and some others to show the original.

Bill Clinton's speech: preliminary take

I'll be honest, I enjoyed his speech, even though it was almost all b.s. and he's so gosh-darned slick that it's impossible to take anything he says seriously anyway. I'll write about its substance at length when I have more time (busy all day with the folks and grad events and packing this week), but I did want to mention my favorite non-substantive parts. Clinton talked about the other serious speakers invited to class day (it's usually comedians, like Ali G or Will Ferrell, or this amazing, must-read Conan O'Brien speech), and singled out the following: Martin Luther King (who was killed that very spring, so his wife gave the speech), Mother Teresa, and (I swear I'm not making this up) .... Bono! I have to admit, I lost it, and kept on cracking up uncontrollably every time he came back to this (he did quite often) and repeated the MLK, Mother Teresa, and Bono line. I'm sorry, but Bono? The people behind me definitely thought I was nuts, but I couldn't help it, I kept on giggling every time he said Bono.

I also cracked up when he spoke of his world travels and used incredibly corny lines, like "In the African village I visited, they have a word, bobada, and it means 'that which connects us all'" or like "the villagers there don't say 'How are you?', they say 'I see you' - but do we really see each other?" These aren't verbatim, and I made up the african word he used (but it sounded something like that [UPDATE: It was ubuntu]), but are basically the lines he used. Then he told what should have been a very moving story about a woman who lost nine of her ten children in the tsunami, and how he saw her remaining child, and "it was the most beautiful baby I've ever seen." I'm sorry, but the way he said it, with all his squinting and over-the-top 'charisma', I was giggling like a schoolgirl. When he then told the story of meeting another African baby, and naming it 'Dawn,' because it represented hope, I was literally pinching myself to keep from guffawing.

Another classic moment: after his speech, the organizers brought out a saxophone and asked him to play it. He got mad. I mean, visibly angry. I was shocked. It was incredibly rude of the organizers to bring out a sax like that, after a serious speech, and expect him to act like a trained monkey and amuse the students, but still, I was expecting him to joke about it and refuse with a smile, but he really got pissed off for a moment there. Also, and I'll get to this when I cover the substance of his speech (short version: what we all have in common is far more important than what distinguishes us - I liked it since it reminded me of Flannery O'Connor's vision of all our virtues being burned away), but even though he got huge applause, his words clearly went in one ear and out the other, because the speakers almost immediately went back to the very attitude that his entire speech was against.

On a closing note, the best line of the day, from a student speaker, giving a very funny speech. He was talking about Love Story (set at Harvard) and how much it reminds him of his own life. "I, too, have cancer [the crowd goes quiet, very confused, concerned] . . . Not 'real' cancer, but cancer . . . for Harvard." Huge uncomfortable silence, everyone on stage behind him looked shocked and disgusted (except one friend of mine, who was cracking up). Anyway, in very poor taste, but I loved it, very Sarah Silverman-y (mature content and language warning there, btw).

Squirrel on Fire, and other links

Sucked into the Althouse vortex, an old comment points me to this story (starts at 19:50). Hilarious.

Speaking of the vortex, how can you not love this post?

And as long as we're getting emotional, a friend sent me a link to this video about a four-fingered pianist. In his words, "heartrending and amazing." Her skill, to me, is even besides the point; I was most touched by her mother's love and the refusal to consider adoption. Anyway, maybe I'll get to go see her in concert when I move to Seoul.

"I feel so weak. Thankfully, this, too, is normal."

That's a line from one of the emails I sent out mocking the hunger strike. I picked some ridiculous reason to go on a strike of my own, and then sent out periodic updates about my health to the dorm. I won't post those emails, since they're full of inside jokes. Anyway, some of the hunger strike supporters got really mad and denounced my cruelty (see the classic quotation under my blog's title!). Feeling chastened, this is the apology I sent out in response. It comes from the heart.

Look, I’m really sorry, everybody! Gaby and Aria are right. I was just looking to have some Cabot Open fun to distract me from my paper, but it was wrong of me to trivialize the legitimate suffering and sacrifice of the hunger strikers. It was never my intention to belittle their cause – after all, it must be incredibly serious and important, or they wouldn’t be having a hunger strike over it! It was wrong of me to try and make light of hunger strikes. I should have known better; I was there that infamous night when Carrot Top was beaten near to death by an enraged mob at the premiere of ‘Gandhi’; I have no excuse. The truth is, I have been trying to overcome my insensitivity for a long time. It is not an easy struggle, not something that can happen overnight – I have been fighting it for years. Yet nothing I have tried – not the counseling, not the trust falls, not even repeated viewings of ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ – has succeeded in warming my cold heart. Thus, it is in desperation that I am announcing a new, far more drastic measure: I have decided to go on a hunger strike to protest my own earlier, incredibly insensitive hunger strike. I know this may seem to some an unorthodox gesture, but I feel that only the most extreme acts can do justice to the severity of the situation at hand. After careful consultation with my doctors, I have decided to end my first hunger strike early and begin the new one right away, as I am told that stringing two full-length hunger strikes together in a row could result in hospitalization. This is a difficult time for me, and, regardless of what you think of my cause, I hope I can have your support as I face this new challenge. Maybe, just maybe, if the entire community gets behind me, I will be able to hunger strike some sense into me.
sincerely,
Adrian

My friends ask me how i can put up with Harvard if I hate it so much. Well, it's true, I don't love it here. But it has its little joys. And if I didn't go here, I wouldn't be able to enjoy one of my absolute favorite past-times: pissing off pompous, full-of-themselves Harvard students!