Archive for July, 2008

Reading Between The Lines

by mark July 26th, 2008 in Daily Thoughts. 2 Comments

Here I’ve been writing about advertising, marketing, economics and business for the last several years thinking others shared my fascination with these subjects, (and meanwhile harvesting an average of about one comment for every five posts). Then I go and post one little thing about an obscure book I stumbled across and boom! My response rate quadruples.

So maybe that’s what my readers really are: Readers. And thus, what they’re most interested in hearing about is books, not this stupid advertising business. If so, then I’ve got a great suggestion that should keep you busy while I’m off gallivanting around the countryside for the next ten days: Middlemarch.

Yes, that Middlemarch, by George Eliot. And yes, I know most of you probably read it in some English Lit class back in college. But I also suspect many of you spent a good portion of those classes doing the same thing I did. (And trust me, that individual sitting in front of you would never have consented to assuming the position you had in mind nor been able to maintain for longer than thirty seconds without suffering extensive damage to the lumbar region.)

So go back and read it again. Then tell me if Ms. (or should it be Mr.?) Eliot didn’t produce one of the most astounding MRI scans of human nature ever rendered. An exegesis of the venality, vanity and vapidity encoded in the DNA of several personalities all of whom could just as easily be walking the streets today as opposed to 136 years ago. But what writer today, I ask you, could capture them with such scathing honesty and disarming wit?

It seems to me that in this circle jerk of solipsism we find ourselves inhabiting today, not many authors can tear their eyes off their navels long enough to grind out anything this perceptive, let alone exquisitely crafted. But see for yourself and let me know what you think. At the very least, it’s not the worst way to kill time between episodes of Mad Men.district 9 peter jackson! district 9 district 9

Focus Group Of One

by mark July 21st, 2008 in Daily Thoughts. 8 Comments

I generally think of myself as a fairly well read person. Not that I’ve tackled every book worth reading written in the last 5,000 years, but I was under the impression I’d at least heard of them all. And I was wrong, as my wife (who’s maddeningly good at this) recently pointed out. She asked me if I’d ever read “Johnny Got His Gun” and while I knew of the author, Dalton Trumbo, I had to confess I had not. Either read it or even heard of the damn thing. And boy am I glad I now have because it’s one of the most amazing books I’ve come across in the last twenty years.

But what, you may be wondering, does that have to do with the price of tea in China (or the purview of this column, at any rate)? Well, as you may recall, a short time ago I decided to conduct a poll of my readers to determine if I should keep going with this thing. And having recently tabulated the results, it’s obvious any reasonable person (not that I’m personally acquainted with any) would conclude it’s time for me to get my gun and put a bullet in this quixotic endeavor of mine. However, thanks to Mr. Trumbo I have a different perspective.

A perspective which suggests that on no uncertain terms should anyone ever, ever stop tapping. (If you’ve read his book you know what I’m talking about and if you haven’t, you should do yourself a favor.) Tapping on a keyboard or whatever other communications device happens to be available. Because you never know who might be listening. Or when. And all it takes is one.

So, having completed this exhaustive, empirical inquiry of mine into the wisdom of forging ahead with this column, I’ve arrived at what I’d be the first to admit is probably not the world’s most unexpected conclusion:

Fuck the research.neill blomkamp 2 girls 1 cup district 9 halo

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