The holiday is over. Crankiness is back in vogue.

Look at this poor old General. He bought one of those wedge devices that tilt your laptop keyboard towards you, making it easier to type, but he’s using it backwards. So sad.

photo cranky1If he thought he had carpel tunnel before, just wait about six weeks. He won’t be able to grip that coffee cup to his right.

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I tried on two separate occasions to see Christian Marclay’s award winning The Clock—once when it played in a Chelsea art gallery and again when it was at Lincoln Center. On both occasions, the lines were so long that I couldn’t get in. It just started a six-week run at MoMA and I was finally successful.
The Clock is a movie that’s 24 hours long. It’s made from thousands of brief excerpts from movies dating back to the silent era. In each clip—some just a few seconds long, others a minute or two—a clock appears or a specific time is mentioned. It’s either prominently displayed or somewhere in the background. The conceit is that the time displayed the movie is the exact time that you’re watching the film. You can, literally, set your watch to the film. It’s pretty brilliant stuff. As the scenes whiz by, you get to feel like a big smarty-pants if you can identify the movie clip. MoMA is sponsoring 24-hour screenings on the weekends.
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We got 11-Year Old Daughter a phone. It’s not a smart phone. She’s too young for the internet. She can text and phone her friends. She is absolutely giddy over it. A fountain of happiness. Here’s her first text message to me, sent while I was at work:

photo cranky3Do you know what I love about this? I love that she used “as well” instead of the more pedestrian (albeit, grammatically correct) “too.” It sounds richer.

22 thoughts on “The holiday is over. Crankiness is back in vogue.

  1. That 24 hours thingy at MOMA sounds Wonderful and Torturous, ALL at the same time. It makes me wonder about why people do or ‘create’ the things they do? In a way, it sounds totally crazy—In another way…I will bring a Bag full if Sandwiches to keep my going in that 24 hours..(24 Hours???)Love what your 11 year said in her text…”You, as well”…Perfect!

    • While I can’t imagine sitting there for 24 hours, I have to admit that it was kind of hard to tear myself away. There’s no end to it — it’s just a big loop — but it’s so fun to watch that it’s difficult to stand up and walk out while it’s still running. Really unique.

  2. There will always be Hipster Douchwits and Elder Halfwits to make us feel simultaneously better AND worse about life. The better? Schadenfreude…So the dog is texting you. Has a cat ever sent you a text? i think not…

  3. People were queuing to see a 24-hour movie? Were they carrying their own urine bags or wearing nappies? I would guess movie scenes where the time is given are pretty forgettable. There are surely exceptions which I cannot think of.

    • There are people who claim to have seen all 24 hours, but the room didn’t smell bad so who knows how they pulled it off.One obvious, unforgettable scene is in the classic Gary Cooper cowboy yarn High Noon, which they use to dramatic effect.

  4. Re the hipster (or as we call them in Lancashire, “dickhead”)–it’s up to the management to tell him to talk more quietly, and to sit properly. If people have to be treated like children then so be it.Do you know, I wish he would come to Lancaster and behave like that. He’s get his fucking head kicked in.And on that seasonal note of bonhomie… 🙂

    • Where is the threshold between live-and-let-live and you’re annoying the piss out if me? It’s a moveable line depending on the weather, my mood, the angle of the sun and time of day. But on this particular morning, that threshold was crossed. My charity towards my fellow man violated.

  5. Hope you had a good one, Mr, and Santa provided. It’s considered cool to sit on the floor in a cafe in New York? I love the peculiarity of trends.Happy next year.

    • Happy Next Year to you, as well! This is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone sit on the floor of a coffee shop. Once does not a trend make. Who sits on the floor in New York?! They’re filthy!Santa bought himself an iPhone 5 for Christmas.

  6. Would it be infra dig to show the old man how to use it?Great you found the right present for your daughter and, as expected, a love affair is developing twixt you and Coco:)

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