Fiction vs. Non-fiction

Watching Revolutionary Road today I am reminded of how little fiction I currently read. As I said in a previous post, the movie reminded me of the novel Something Happened by Joseph Heller. It has been at least ten years since I read it, but many scenes remain vivid to me, more vivid than the many history books that I have since read.

I know that in some ways I began to feel that reading fiction was not as informative -- it did not cover real events, and in some way felt frivolous. I don't feel that I have time to escape into a world that was created in the imagination of an author. And yet, those works of fiction are often able to get at greater truths than non-fiction accounts. Depictions of real events too often get sidetracked by the facts.

Revolutionary Road

There is a scene early in Revolutionary Road that works only in retrospect. Frank (Dicaprio) and April (Winslet) have an emotional argument by the side of the highway. It was difficult to assess the merits of the argument since we do not know the couple yet. I was uncomfortable watching them, for the acting seemed mannered and the outrage manufactured. I was worried that I was in for a "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf" tug of war. I need not have worried.

I enjoyed this film. Not because it breaks any new ground, but because it is so well presented, especially the acting. Kate Winslet is riveting. Her quiet intensity throughout the movie provides the prism to understand her disillusionment.

I kept thinking of Joseph Heller's novel -- Something Happened. The themes are similar to Revolutionary Road. It is this familiarity that requires that the movie be well executed to be successful, and it is.

Gladwell and Krulwich -- 92nd Street Y

Krulwich is the perfect person to interview Gladwell. He has been a science and economics reporter for various television and radio networks and is currently a contributor to Radio Lab, a very good NPR show available as a podcast for free.

The show below is over an hour and a half, so it might not be for everyone. It takes about 4 minutes to get going.

Thinking of posts about . . .

the inauguration and other heady topics. But not ready yet, so we get a little Jimmy Webb -- love the little high piano notes.

Almost perfect in lyrics and as a song

I showed these lyrics (and didn't play the song) to a friend who did not enjoy older, what we might call AOR (Album Oriented Rock), and he thought they were brilliant. He was right.

Now Bruce does this pretty well, but . . .

C-span has . . .

some amazing stuff. Awful website to navigate -- but almost everything they have showed seems to be available.

Here is Jon Stewart from 2004 -- and what he says is so on target for today as well. He is best when not going for a laugh, though he is very funny in a serious context. He really has a palpable outrage. I think that outrage is most focused on the fact that he is one of the few people with an outlet who is willing to say the things that need to be said.

Coyote

Somehow I never heard this song until I saw it in this movie. And while many performances are great in this movie (The Last Waltz), this might be the best.

Nixon/Frost Liveblogging

I can't imagine this is that interesting. It was pretty easy to do, and kind of cool. It updated in real time. It has better purposes then commenting in real-time about 30 year-old interviews. I've seen Neil Best use it in Newsday to host his live chats. Click on the Green circular arrow to replay.

Frost/Nixon

I'm watching the Frost/Nixon interview, my sister got it for me for christmas. I'm interested to see how it compares to the movie. Sometimes, art can bring more truth then the truth itself, or at least can seem to. I'll have to see and compare.

It may make the movie anti-climatic, or conversely, more interesting.

Of finance, pyramids, me and krugman

Now I don't think he read my post below. But it sure feels cool to pretend that he did.

The Madoff Economy

A column by Brooks on Gladwell

Lost in the Crowd

Nothing could get me this excited -- except for watching the Nixon/Frost interviews that my sister got me (the real interviews).

Of finance, pyramids and ponzi

I am not well versed in economics. Because of this, when I read or listened to how people were making money in their investments, it often sounded like a large pyramid scheme. Maybe I am better versed then I thought.

Give the people what they want

No, not the The Kinks

Tom Friedman wrote this today:

Over the years, Detroit bosses kept repeating: “We have to make the cars people want.” That’s why they’re in trouble. Their job is to make the cars people don’t know they want but will buy like crazy when they see them. I would have been happy with my Sony Walkman had Apple not invented the iPod. Now I can’t live without my iPod. I didn’t know I wanted it, but Apple did. Same with my Toyota hybrid.

This theme is talked about in this Malcolm Gladwell talk about the invention of chunky tomato sauce. The key is that nobody would have told you that they wanted chunky tomato sauce, but they did. This is more interesting than Friedman's ipod analogy -- because technological innovation is always happening, and is expected.

Calvin Trillin: About Alice

I just listened to this interview at the 92nd Street Y. Very funny and touching. I don't think anyone makes me laugh out loud as much as Trillin does, and with so little effort. At least it seems effortless. I never knew I loved poetry this much.

Trillin claims he wrote the shortest poem of all time, it is about the social implications of the OJ Simpson case:

OJ
Oy vey


Below is an hour long interview between Charlie Rose and Trillin right around the start of the Iraq war. At one point Trillin talks about getting thrown out of dinner parties because of his views about the war. Hard to remember when that was such an unpopular position.