Dorothy Parker

Very recently I've go acquainted with the works of Dorothy Parker. She was an accomplished writer/journalist/critic, best known for her witty, satirical articles in New York Times and Vanity Fair in times of such great authors as F.Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.

Here an excerpt from her review of an Oscar Wilde's Ideal Husband production (Vanity Fair, November 1918):  "Somehow, no matter how well done an Oscar Wilde play may be, I always am far more absorbed in the audience than in the drama. There is something about them that never fails to enthral me [...]. They walk slowly down the aisle and sink gracefully into their seats, trusting that all may note their presence, for the very fact of their being there is a proof of their erudition. From the moment of the curtain's rise they keep up a hum of approbation, a reassuring signal of their patronage and comprehension. "Oh, the lines, the line!" they sigh, one to another, quite as if they were the first to discover that this Oscar Wilde is really a very promising young writer; and they use the work "scintillating" as frequently and as proudly as if they had just coined it. Yet there is about their enjoyment a slightly strained quality, almost as if they were striving to do what should be expected of those of their intellect. It isn't he sort of enjoyment that just sits back and listens; it is almost if they felt they must be continually expressing their appreciation, to show that no epigrams get over their heads, to convince those about them of their cleverness and their impeccable taste in drama".

a cheer-up that hits the spot

Sometimes after spending a silly amount of hours in a University library (silly = more than 10) and writing up a perhaps not-so-silly report or dissertation our minds simply shut down. Personally I cherish these moments for one, slightly disturbing reason - because it gives me the unique sense of leaving my spectacular personality and stepping into the shoes of an average, McDonald-loving, crap-telly-watching individual. So in a way it's a harmless way of trying out a membership in the other, bigger part of the society without the threat of catching measles.
And in those moments simple things make me chuckle: forgetting to turn off a tap, singing a song to myself badly or doing a little tap dance in front of the local co-op. And upon arrival home and switching on my battered HP laptop - playing something from the silly-yet-wickedly-funny lot...

Today, my YouTube search recommends Christopher Walken and his Weapon of Choice :)

Enjoy!

PS. Try out "Christopher Walken as the Black Angel" as well :)