More likely it's because there is nothing much happening to report on, and I really don't want this to turn into a Bridget Jones–esque log of my daily vital statistics or a public form of psychotherapy.
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| This is the Belarusian poster for Bridget Jones Diary. |
Or I can blame social interaction. I saw and talked to a lot more people in the last four days than I usually do. I spend a lot of time alone and silent during the week (I'm not looking for sympathy; it's fine!), and I'm considering the theory that when I have the opportunity to converse with actual living people, maybe I use up all my "material" and have nothing left to write about.
In the course of these multiple social interactions, I heard three separate recommendations for the AMC series The Killing. All of the past twelve episodes are available online at amctv.com, I discovered, in anticipation of the finale, which will air this Sunday. I watched the first two hours, and I enjoyed it. It's moody, mysterious, and . . . I'm trying to come up with another M word. . .
That's another thing. I feel I have lost much of my ability to intelligently critique anything––TV shows, movies, novels. For example: Netherland.
It was. . .uh. . .good.
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| "It's about. . . this . . .whale." |
For a former English major, this is a sorry state to find oneself in. In which to find oneself. It's not that I can't form an opinion, it's that I can't be bothered to come up with a intelligible way to express it. It's purely mental laziness. If I were back in college and had to write a paper on Netherland, I like to think I'd be able to reach into my English-major toolkit and identify the major themes, make a solid case for a few good symbols, cite some relevant excerpts, and present my opinion in full sentences.
Is this another thing for me to "work on" this summer? Will there be stickers?
Pilates update: I took a tough equipment class yesterday. I will say that, in general, the classes here have been more strenuous and less––what?––ethereal than the classes in L.A. It's not a bad thing, it's just different. I've got a mat class scheduled for tomorrow at noon.
Now look at this Belarusian poster for 50 First Dates.
Ha ha. Funny.
I hear the Danish original of 'The Killing' is superior - that could just be reflex snobbery, of course - but I don't think there's any straightforward/legal way to see it in America at present.
ReplyDeleteWriting an academic book report (reaching into your toolkit and identifying major themes etc. etc.) is not the same thing as expressing an opinion you already have. The latter should be very pleasant and simple and not require much conscious thought... as long as you can actually focus your attention on the opinion in the first place. That's what takes some concerted effort, especially in these distracting times. I find that it's the same task as focusing my attention on anything else. You can practice on anything - e.g. a picture of a doggie, if that seems more accessible. Good luck.