Rec. #430: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #39

[Felt highly relevant again.]

[QfFC #39 was originally posted July 14, 2014]

"I suppose one gets to know men quickest by the things they take for granted."

--- Camilla Haven,

My Brother Michael, Mary Stewart, 1959
(Rec. #387)

Also by Mary Stewart: The Ivy Tree (Rec. #201)

Rec. #408: Revisiting Quote for These Times #6

[Seemed appropriate to re-up this one.]

[QfTT #6 was originally posted March 2, 2017]

"Now, he told me, I could see what humanity was worth. It could form the conception of justice, but could not trust its flesh to provide judges. Whatever it started was likely to end in old men raving."

--- The Fountain Overflows,

Rebecca West, 1956

It just remains SO relevant. 

Connection to previous Wreckage: The Fountain Overflows was Rec. #224. See also Quote for These Times #14.

Rec. #665: Good Advice from Linda Holmes

What: This has been a week full of sustained trauma, in a month of whiplash, after almost two years that have left us bruised. Please note this reminder from NPR's Linda Holmes (@lindaholmes). Be gentle with yourselves.

Text of the tweet:

"To all of you struggling: Take care of yourself. Go somewhere quiet. See a movie. Meditate. Tell someone you trust that you need them to give you a hug and not ask you why. Go home; mental health counts as health for going home sick purposes. Talk if you need. You're important."

Important Additional/Alternate Advice from Maria Bamford:

Text of the gif:

"If you stay alive for no other reason at all, please do it for spite."

Connections to previous Wreckage: More Linda Holmes in List #66, Rec. #503, Rec. #571, Rec. #607. More Maria Bamford in Rec. #407 and WWW #19.

Rec. #664: Sam Goes Full Carrie Over Kavanaugh (and more)

What: Yay, Sam Bee. Clip one has some light pyrotechnics and clip two has pure, fiery logic.

Representative quotes: "As of the moment I'm taping this show, I don't know if Kavanaugh is going to withdraw from the nomination, or if the GOP is going crown him King of the Good Boys."

"No one's life is ruined if they don't get to be on the Supreme Court! Are you really saying that Rihanna has a worse life than Sonya Sotomayor?"

Connections to previous Wreckage: See more Full Frontal with Rec. #417, Rec. #494, and Rec. #510.

How to get it: These clips from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (and the rest of the show) are available on YouTube.

Rec. #663: When the Muzzle Comes Off

What: Like other content I'm highlighting this week, "When the Muzzle Comes Off" is about the current allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. It's also about Anita Hill and Tarana Burke and Amber Wyatt, about horrors and coercion and no-win situations. 

The article is also, maybe, possibly, a little bit about hope.

Representative quote: "There may not be a legal or political outcome that is satisfying: The perpetrators may not face real repercussions. But part of what #MeToo has always been about — despite the obsessive focus on the consequences faced by men — is what happened to the women ... It’s been about the exposure of their realities."

Connections to previous Wreckage: The writer of this article is Rebecca Traister, who is the author of the forthcoming book Good and Mad (Rec. #655). Traister was also part of List #66: Public Voices to Pay Attention To.

How to get it: "When the Muzzle Comes Off," by Rebecca Traister, was published in The Cut on Monday.

Rec. #662: Five Tweets from Kashana Cauley

What: Kashana Cauley (@kashanacauley) has been churning out on-point responses on Twitter for awhile. These five tweets, in particular, are daggers of accuracy.

Text of the tweets:
"Weird that a dude who wants to heavily regulate women's sex lives might not have any respect for women."

"It's a lovely Sunday to reconfirm that this country hates women."

"All the people who think you get one sexual assault for free must be confusing attempted rape with buying nine coffees."

"Everybody knows rich white male judges aren't really adults whose actions count until they're 53, whereas for black people that happens in the womb."

"At least we're getting the chance to have an endless discussion on whether sexual assault is bad or not."

Connections to previous Wreckage: Kashana Cauley was part of List #66: Public Voices to Pay Attention To.

How to get it: For these points and more, follow her on Twitter -- @kashanacauley. Her website is kashanacauley.com.

Rec. #661: Some Interpersonal Verbs, Conjugated by Gender

A completely unrelated image from Kei Imazu

What: There have been many, many Bad Takes on the current Kavanaugh situation, several of which appear to ignore basic facts of law, punishment, justice, and, indeed, humanity itself. (He is not facing a criminal verdict! "Due process" is a nonsense phrase in this context. He will maybe, possibly not get a big, lifetime appointment job promotion. That is not "being punished." Assaulting people is not just a "phase" that half the population goes through. I could go on and on.)

I will not be giving those Bad Takes any additional clicks or views. Instead, this week I would like to acknowledge and praise the good work that is being done.

We start with Alexandra Petri, who is generally known for her humor column in The Washington Post. Her recent piece, "Some Interpersonal Verbs, Conjugated by Gender," could plausibly be described as "infused with dark humor." It is mainly devastating, though. Beautiful and poetic and heart-piercing and devastating.

Representative quote: "She should have been responsible. He cannot have been responsible."

Connections to previous Wreckage: Petri was part of List #66: Public Voices to Pay Attention To.

How to get it: "Some Interpersonal Verbs, Conjugated by Gender" was published in The Washington Post on September 19.

Rec. #660: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #21

[Originally posted February 24, 2014.]

"So ... wishing you well in the way you go, we now conclude with the observation that perhaps you'll go it."

--- Nicodemus (Noddy) Boffin,

Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens, 1865

(Rec. #88)

Rec. #659: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #25

"That is rather dangerously nice of you."

--- Inspector Roderick Alleyn,

Artists in Crime, Ngaio Marsh, 1938

(see also List #27)

Rec. #658: The Victorian Bat-Lady

What: The Victorian Bat-Lady is one of the very few superheroes I have any interest in at all. The canon for the character is pleasingly graspable, as this print is her only appearance.

I own it and display it proudly.

Representative text:
"BLAGGARDS TROUNCED"

Connections to previous Wreckage: The Victorian Bat-Lady is the invention of John Allison, whose other work includes Bad Machinery (Rec. #138) [including Bad Machinery merch (Gift Idea #8)] and Giant Days (Rec. #524). Allison himself was also featured way back in List #10: 4 Internet Crushes.

How to get it: You can buy this print from Topatoco.

Rec. #657: Quote for These Times #16

"It is not true that life is one damn thing after another --- it's one damn thing over and over."

--- Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1930

(see also Rec. #264)

Rec. #656: Perfect Couples

What: "Perfect Couples" is a great groove with a particularly mesmerizing music video. The song sits snugly in Belle & Sebastian's favorite retro-bop corner of indie pop and, wow, would I like flash mobs to come back into fashion briefly, just so one could recreate the choreography of this video in a public square somewhere.

Representative lyrics:
Thank you for the invite tonight
Perfect snacklets, perfect drinks
I'm getting ideas from your interiors
Perfect apartments, perfect kids

Perfect couples are breaking up
What have they done?
Those perfect couples are breaking up
What have they done?


How to get it: "Perfect Couples" is from Belle & Sebastian's 2015 album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. You can watch the video on YouTube.

Rec. #655: The Imminent Publication of Good and Mad

What: Rebecca Traister's new book, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger, promises to be an instant classic. 

These days, I live most of my life with a molten core of fury churning inside me, and I know I'm not alone in that. And now there's a whole book about it.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Traister was part of List #66: Public Voices to Pay Attention To.

How to get it: Good and Mad is due to be published in the U.S. on October 2. Pre-order it now and use your righteous fury to support Traister (and independent bookstores, while you're at it). [Also, you've missed my birthday at this point, but I do still accept gifts.]

Rec. #654: Burn, Burn, Burn

What: Friends Alex and Seph embark on an unusual road-trip --- they're driving across the UK to scatter a friend's ashes, per his specifications. Along the way, they encounter barn raves, am-dram, a memorable hitchhiker, and all the things they're running away from. 

It's dark, it's dry, it's genuinely funny, and it's deeply moving. Highly recommend.

Representative quote: "Yes, Alex, we've done something bad. Just, I don't know, try to enjoy it."

Privilege check: Burn, Burn, Burn was written and directed by women, and the film passes the Bechdel test many times over.

How to get it: Burn, Burn, Burn is currently streaming on Netflix.  

Rec. #653: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #36

[Originally posted June 23, 2014.]

"I used to think you were a swell guy. Well, to be honest, I thought you were an imbecile. But then I figured out you WERE a swell guy... A little slow, maybe, but a swell guy. Well, maybe you're not so slow, but you're not so swell either."

--- Amy Archer,

The Hudsucker Proxy, 1994

(Rec. #106)

Rec. #652: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #51

[Originally posted October 20, 2014.]

"Jane wondered whether a woman would do it better, and came to the conclusion that she would probably do it far more quickly and efficiently, but would also wreck herself in the process, and this Mr. Pattern was quite obviously, and perhaps rightly, determined not to do."

--- Jane Gresham,

Miss Bunting, Angela Thirkell, 1945

Also:

Cheerfulness Breaks In (Rec. #240)

Summer Half (Rec. #40)

Quote from a Fictional Character #12

Quote from a Fictional Character #31

Quote from a Fictional Character #43

Rec. #651: Book Title Anagrams

Scrambled title for The Great Believers

What: Are you looking for a fun weekend game? You could do worse than a few rousing rounds of Book Title Anagrams. For inspiration, enjoy some great examples from Parnassus Books, an independent bookstore in Nashville.

Representative anagrams:

• Eggs That Betray [The Great Gatsby]
• I Had Lamented Hats [The Handmaid's Tale]

How to get it: Parnassus Books published "Literary Fun: 7 Ridiculous Book Title Anagrams" on their blog at the end of August.

Rec: #650: How the U.S. Has Prepared for Nuclear Armageddon - in pictures

What: I mean. You might want to take a look.

How to get it: The photoset "How the U.S. Has Prepared for Nuclear Armageddon" was published in The Guardian this past June.

Connections to previous Wreckage: You can see recommendations for other photosets, many from The Guardian, here.

Rec. #649: Technicolor Dreaming

What: I recently rediscovered Vulture's list of "The 50 Best Modern Songs That Sound Like the 1980s" and have been fuming ever since about the shocking and inexcusable omission of Cardiknox's "Technicolor Dreaming."

Even without the cinematic pop-synch song itself, the music video alone is just [chef's kiss].

Representative lyrics:

I learned everything I know
From watching movies
Why can't my life
Have a Hollywood ending?
I'm a fictional perfection
Can't you see me?

How to get it: "Technicolor Dreaming" is a 2013 song from duo Cardiknox. You can watch the mesmerizing music video on YouTube.  

Rec. #648: Caroline Quentin's Reaction Shots on The World's Most Extraordinary Homes

What: I quite enjoy The World's Most Extraordinary Homes, a British spin on an HGTV-ish concept. The co-hosts are actor Caroline Quentin and architect Piers Taylor. They have an enjoyable buddy-comedy type of rapport, and when Piers is spouting some particularly pretentious pomposity, Caroline is there to cut through the drivel.

[A favorite segment is when Caroline challenges Piers to figure out how to make a cup of tea in a particularly high-concept kitchen. He does not succeed.]

Representative quote, as visualized above:
Piers: Because "rooms," you know, that so 20th century.
Caroline: [channels Jim Halpert in a look to the camera]

How to get it: If you're in the U.S., The World's Most Extraordinary Homes is available to stream on Netflix.

Rec. #647: Quote from a Fictional Character #102

"At last, after everything that's happened, it looks as if a future of some kind for the BBC is finally underway, and perhaps, for the moment, that's all that matters. Perhaps it's enough that the night is still young."

--- Narrator (David Tennant),

from the final scene of season/series 3 of W1A, 2017

(Rec. #601)

[Also, from slightly earlier in the episode: "Can I just say, guys, is it just me or have we basically just saved the BBC?" --- David Wilke (guy on the far right in the image above)]

Rec. #646: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #96

[Originally posted November 24, 2014.]

"Your sister's not a cold-blooded murderer. She's never been a planner."

--- Karen Tyler,
Wonderfalls, 2004
(Rec. #2)

Also:

List #8: Smart, Non-Blockbuster Crowd Pleasers

List #24: A List of Lists So Far

List #29: So You Love the Cast of Hannibal, but Wish Watching the Show Itself Weren't So Psychologically Damaging 

Quote from a Fictional Character #14

Rec. #645: Revisiting List #60: Happy Birthday, Kate Beaton

[Originally posted September 8, 2016.]

 

Who: Cartoonist, children's book author, web comic artist, proud Canadian

Hark! A Vagrant, website

(Rec. #95)

(List #21)

Never Learn Anything from History, comic collection, 2009

Hark! A Vagrant, comic collection, 2011

(Rec. #186)

(Gift Idea #2)

Step Aside, Pops, comic collection, 2015

The Princess and the Pony, children's book, 2015

(List #57)

And! She has a new book coming out! King Baby is on its way, and Beaton is doing a tour for it.

Rec. #644: Lost, Stolen, Blown Up, and Fed to Pigs

What: With the recent devastation of the fire at the Brazil National Museum, it seems appropriate for a brief meditation on loss and what happens when we build a culture on whatever's left. (Not even getting into the many issues about what any given society has selected to keep.)

As the title suggests, this piece from The Guardian looks at several specific artworks that we no longer have access to --- for various reasons.

Representative quote: "Van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece holds the dubious distinction of being the most-stolen artwork in history. The object of 13 crimes over six centuries, it has been burgled, all or in part, six times."

How to get it: "Lost, Stolen, Blown Up, and Fed to Pigs" was published in The Guardian this past May. Its author, Noah Charney, also has a book on the topic titled The Museum of Lost Art.

Rec. #643: Victoria Coren Mitchell's Introductions on Only Connect

What: Victoria Coren Mitchell hosts the quiz show Only Connect (see Rec. #580), and she does a superb job. For example, she opens every episode with a short, genuinely funny introduction delivered blithely in very challenging circumstances --- no live audience; just six nerds with stage fright who can, at best, manage an awkward chuckle.

Representative quote:
"Hello and welcome to Only Connect, and this is a semifinal. Things don't get much bigger than this, although as the word 'semi' suggests, they do get a LITTLE bit bigger."

How to get it: Many, many episodes of Only Connect are available on YouTube. Do check out Rec. #580 for more information.

Rec. #642: Endless Imitation

What: Despite its name, the band Duologue has five members.

[I did my usual "quick Google search to see if they're obvious monsters" and discovered no compelling evidence either for or against. (For example, someone's made some bizarre decisions about which accounts the band's official Twitter should follow. A lot of parody accounts and American dude actors of a certain age.)]

Anyway, I like this song.

Representative lyrics:
And you were the only real thing I could find
But I know, that given time
I'll move on, I'll be fine
And I'll find someone new, who I'll love as much as you

How to get it: "Endless Imitation" is from Duologue's debut LP, Song & Dance.

Rec. #641: TwitRSS

What: I am a fervent proponent of RSS readers (see Rec. #404). I genuinely don't know how you prevent the internet from making you insane without one.

TwitRSS.me is a great tool that generates an RSS feed for any Twitter account. This means you can easily create your own Twitter timeline without any of Twitter's "promoted" tweets or noise from accounts you don't follow. You don't even need to have a Twitter account yourself.

How to get it: First, you'll need an RSS reader (again, see Rec. #404). I promise they're easy to set up and use, and they solve so many of the common complaints people have about getting content online.

Rec. #640: Revisiting Quote from a Fictional Character #60

[Originally posted February 17, 2015.]

"The people you work with are people you were just thrown together with. I mean, you don't know them, it wasn't your choice. And yet you spend more time with them than you do your friends or your family. But probably all you have in common is the fact that you walk around on the same bit of carpet for eight hours a day."

--- Tim Canterbury,

The Office [UK], 2001

(List #9)

(List #32)

Rec. #639: Revisiting List #49: A Few of the Best First Seasons of TV I Watched in 2014

[Originally posted January 8, 2015.]

Blandings
(Rec. #379)

Representative IMDb episode synopsis:
"Freddie comes to Blandings with Paquita, a Portuguese night club dancer who speaks no English but whom he has married. Wrongly believing her to be a princess, the snobbish Connie is impressed. She is less enamored of the fact that her niece Gertrude wants to marry Beefy Bingham, a clumsy, penniless vicar."

Representative quote: "Clarence, that doesn't even qualify as a lie. That's just noise leaking out of your face."

Family Tree
(Rec. #370)

Representative IMDb episode synopsis:
"Tom sees a photo of his great grandfather Harry in costume for 'The Mikado' and travels with Pete to the Regents Theatre, whose archivist reveals that not only did Harry have a - very tiny - part in a play starring Laurence Olivier, but he was also one half of a celebrated pantomime horse."

Representative dialogue:
"My bravery, my kind of innate courage ..."
"What courage and innate bravery?"
"I was the first out of our group to wear skinny jeans."

London Irish

Representative IMDb episode synopsis:
"Following a drunken wedding party, Bronagh wakes up in the bride's dress, which she stole, next to toddler Frankie, for whom Niamh is acting as nanny. Hearing that Dermot, a man they all hated, has just died, they head off for the wake anyway."

Representative dialogue:
"Now Niamh, don't get your hopes up --- this party might be shite. We don't want a repeat of the U2 concert, do we?"
"I didn't throw that rocket."
"You did throw that rocket, we all know you did. Though why you had a rocket and how you sneaked it into Wembley remains a mystery."

Rec. #638: Revisiting List #61: Unpretty Women and Their Cities

[Originally posted September 28, 2016.]

I had some complicated reactions to this article from The Telegraph and this article from The Guardian, but they did make me think about a few recent(ish) documentaries that, to different extents, foregrounded their profiles with the framing of the subject as "not beautiful/pretty."

Here's to them. And to their cities.

Finding Vivian Maier:
The thoughtful, skilled work of a street photographer daylighting as a nanny is discovered after her death. Represent, Chicago! (streaming on Netflix)

Iris:
Iris Apfel, fashion icon, putters through New York City. Not unlike Bill Cunningham, Apfel has been graced in her old age with an unbreakable aura of adorable eccentricity. (streaming on Netflix)

Public Speaking:
Fran Lebowitz talks and thinks and talks some more. As her friend Toni Morrison says, Lebowitz is "almost always right, but never fair." (For more Lebowitz, see Rec. #188 and Rec. #347.)