Edward Copeland at Edward Copeland on Film has tagged me, which must mean he doesn’t like me. Join the club, buddy!
People who have been tagged are required to reveal eight facts about themselves and to post and obey the following rules, which I’m copying from Edward’s site and to which I’ll add my own anal-retentive commentary, because somebody really needs to revise them for clarity and elegance.
Rules
- We have to post these rules before we give you the facts. [“The facts” suggests that we’ve already been told to what that phrase refers, but we don’t get to that until the second rule.]
- Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves. [But I thought we had to post the rules first. And are the facts and habits(?!) truly “random,” or should we choose them to somehow be meaningful?]
- People who are tagged write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. [This seems redundant, along with maddeningly inexact. Must I create a new blog about these eight things?]
- At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog. [A philosophical question: Where is the end of my blog? And why would I need to be reminded, “Don’t forget … to read your blog?”]
Eight Facts About Culture Snob
- I underwent surgery to repair bilateral hernias on June 20, 2007. This is my excuse for publishing so little here recently.
- I abandoned participation in organized sports in sixth grade, because I was awful at everything – except maybe soccer.
- For dinner last night, we ate barbecued-pork sandwiches, a potato side dish, and a mozzarella/tomato salad. The first two came from Cooking Light recipes. Then we watched Jaws.
- The first DVD I bought (probably in April 1999) was The Truman Show.
- As a child, I was afflicted with warts. Among many remedies that were tried, liquid nitrogen worked best, although it left significant scars on my right wrist and thumb.
- I began brewing my own beer in May. The second batch was brewed yesterday.
- On the day I was born, “Bolivia nationalizes the American-owned zinc mine of Matilde,” according to Wikipedia. The Grateful Dead play the Fillmore East.
- On September 7, 1998, the Boston Red Sox defeated the God-Damned, Mother-Fucking New York Yankees 4-3 in a game that my mother and I attended. It remains the only game I’ve seen at Fenway Park.
You’re it; sorry; and thanks for participating in the Misunderstood Blog-a-thon
- Pat at Lazy Eye Theatre.
- Joe at This Distracted Globe.
- Glenn at Stale Popcorn.
- Oggs at Oggs’ Movie Thoughts.
- Bob at Forward to Yesterday.
- Candycanesammy at Thoughts on Films.
- Bob at Eternal Sunshine Of The Logical Mind.
- OKonheim at The Sophomore Critic.
Of course I like you. Ouch on the surgery. I just picked eight people at random of my blog list whom I didn’t think had been tagged yet (and I still managed to hit one person for the second time). I am still, however, waiting for someone to explain to me the proper pronounciation of meme and what exactly the word means and where it came from.
Ed —
“Meme” rhymes with “dream.” Prior to these crazy things, it primarily an idea that spread virally. Actually, some philosophical types argues that memes are literally viruses, though I’ve never been able to understand that. Personally, I think it works well as a metaphor.
Memes are especially common in poliitics, but they’re all over. To me, memes are a pretty good explanation of fashions in things like film criticism. For years, Chaplin was thought of as pretty much the all time greatest silent comedy filmmaker. Then, one day, it was Keaton. Not sure if that started with Sarris, Kael, or someone else, but once it was out there Keaton was suddenly way better than Chaplin to most.
Wikipedia has a pretty solid definition and history of the term meme.
Thanks for the tag Culture Snob. No seriously…It’s my first in the, ahem, blogosphere, so I’m kinda excited about it.
I’m sure it’ll pass though.
OK, my response is up here.
Hahaha. I loved your analysis of the Rules. Makes me realize what it would be hearing Woody Allen comment on the rules of Fight Club.