[BRIEF NOTE] Things That You Never Expect to See in Print

From S.T. Karnick's article "Dead Be Not Proud", written for the right-wing/libertarian website Tech Central Station:

[I]n Shaun's slow but steady growth into real manhood, one can see intimations of the evolution of American and British society after the September 11 attacks, as our blithe 1990s culture was jarred into sobriety. Shaun of the Dead brings back the stiff-upper-lip, muddling-through, stolid British attitude of years past, without any overload of irony, using humor and excitement to make it palatable and appealing to contemporary audiences.

The American version of this attitude -- dogged determination combined with pragmatism and a persistent sense of humor -- has likewise become increasingly familiar here as the War on Terror has progressed. This is an act of rejuvenation more impressive than an army of zombies.

[BRIEF NOTE] "Pearls" and Breakfast at Tiffany's

I went to the ROM again this Friday night. I'd intended to attend the JazzFM.91 concert featuring Jeff Healey, but the tickets all went within a half-hour of being made available to the public. I prepped nonetheless--blue blazer over red polo shirt, shaved, hair-gelled--and went to catch the "Pearls" exhibition and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

"Pearls" was an interesting exhibition, despite the ten dollar entry fee. Among other things, it made Girl With a Pearl Earring (my review is here) more comprehensible by highlighting the extreme scarcity of pearls well into the 19th century. Cultured pearls have allowed for a democratization of pearl ownership over the 20th century, perhaps diminishing the allure of pearl ownership. One thing that I never quite realized is that a pearl is the product of the immune system, that each pearl represents a successful effort to encapsulate a foreign contaminant.

Breakfast at Tiffany's was definitely an interesting film. I've never read anything by Truman Capote apart from In Cold Blood, though I am somewhat familiar with his reputation. Audrey Hepburn gave an excellent performance as Holly Golightly, of course, while the romance and other narrative threads were entertaining. (Paul Varjak was also a compelling character.) It struck me that her personal project--the construction of a highly public and prominent self, a highly successful and satisfied self, all in the context of a cosmopolitan world culture--could be that of all people in the early 21st century, at least that of all people with the cultural and economic autonomy needed to engage in such experiments.

Now, I'm off to Church Street. See you all later.