Unfortunate Andy – Episode 2 – watch more funny videos
Unfortunate Andy – Episode 1 – watch more funny videos
Infinite Jest. The focus of Infinite Summer. Clocking in at +1000 pages, with footnotes that are actually endnotes, that actually have their own footnotes, with 150-word sentences with creative grammar; this book is going to be a helluva ride. And I haven’t mentioned the actual story or fictional characters yet. There are mentions of being well-equipped by reading Hamlet first. Knowledge of Proust is a plus, as well. I know how to spell Proust, that’s about it, but I’m still reading the book.
I think the idea of stamping this summer with this experience is part of the reason I’m tackling this infamous novel. I wouldn’t have much motivation for buying this phonebook if it weren’t for the community of enthusiasts at Infinite Summer. I can’t argue with Colin Meloy either. All bibliophiles with more words clocked than I will ever hope to approach, but they’re all excited about this book and want to help guide others through this, at first look, daunting endeavor.
I’m only 19 pages through, and although I haven’t hit my first footnote yet (or I completely blanked and read right past it), the reading has been fine. We’ll see what I have to say when I’m 75 pages into it.
Hilarious
Man, I love The Macalope. The way he and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber (I still think they’re the same person) tear down the jackasses of the PC blogosphere is just exquisite. In a world where taking shots at Apple just to exasperate the Mac community, gain attention on Digg and get people to check out your article because you’re a hack, or worse, John C. Dvorak, and can’t gain attention any other way, the Macalope is doing more than tow the Apple line, he and Gruber are fighting The Monster The Blogosphere Hath Spawned.
Since corporate media companies have mined the phenomenon known as blogging to the point of death, “journalists” has become a twentieth century notion. You gotta be a blogger to have cred and get read… cool, did I just make up a catchy phrase? Bloggers were known for their on the spot writing and thus became the next best thing to being at the moment. Books are slow, magazines are monthly or weekly at best, but blogs, oh man, so instant. How can you go wrong with blogs? Why read anything else?
Dude, that was so five minutes ago. Hit “refresh” on your browser… see, it literally was so five minutes ago.
Another thing that was mined from blogs was their IMHO-ness. Bloggers opined about their lunch, the movie they saw last night and how they’re battling with their cell phone carrier to get some charges reversed. “This is giving me a headache, I hate it, they suck.” No fact-checking necessary to hit “submit” on that Blogspot page. Your opinion is now out there.
Rats can fit through the smallest of spaces
Fuck journalism and all that baggage, I’m gonna be a blogger and write the next Great American Shit Pile. I’m gonna work for a huge media corporation but hide under the title of blogger and write yellow journalism. The pissiest shade of yellow, in fact!
So I guess it doesn’t really surprise me that Gruber and the Macalope seemed to have increased their take-downs of jackasses in the past few months. And they’re doing it with well thought out writing, logic, and analysis. Ironically, they’ve kinda reversed gears and are defeating the hacks out there with the one thing corporate, quota-based bloggers don’t have: time.
And that’s why you should read Modicum of Modernity – I’m not paid AND I’m a shitty writer. Best o’ both.
