Always a schmaltzy ballad writer to me

Billy Joel is a fine performer and singer, and I don't think I am going out on any sort of limb when I say that. He is universally popular, I think he is one of only a few artists to go Titanium (1 billion albums sold). His music is good, but I've consistently found him to be something of a lazy songwriter. His lyrics are often a narrative, but sometimes they are silly and sappy in a pointless way. My most damning example is "Always a woman to me". On first glance, the lyrics are evocative of a lost love, but they are really just about incredibly mean woman. Of course, I can't expect Joel to write horrid women the way Fitzgerald does, but come on Billy. If only you could make us understand why you like this ice queen. To borrow a phrase, she appears to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

I think this entry peaked with the title. This is what happens when you rush to finish before Studio 60 starts. I will not apologize.

Sorkin on crack is still better than 99% of Hollywood

Studio 60's first episode pulled down fine ratings, and it is already being declared a hit, which in television is a self-fulfilling prophesy. As long as people have decided your show is a hit, it will stay on no matter how bad it is (Yes, Dear--I'm looking at you.)

The fact of the matter is Aaron Sorkin is probably the best screenwriter working today. Much has been made of his rapidfire dialogue full to the brim of sparkling wit and even the lowliest characters are towers of erudition. His stuff is always a joy to behold, the smartest people you can think of being very fast and funny. It is, of course, not realistic--nobody is that smart and sharp all the time--but who the hell cares? It's a scripted drama, people should sound and be smarter than they would be in normal life. From 'A Few Good Men' to 'Sports Night' to 'The West Wing' and now 'Studio 60', Aaron Sorkin has been dazzling us, and he deserves the incredible fame and fortune he has.

But beyond that, I love Aaron Sorkin because he represents that greatest of all literary characters--the tortured genius. The only story that gets more coverage that Aaron Sorkin's genius is his drug problems. Even people that don't like Aaron Sorkin's shows admit he is a supremely talented writer, just as those who cannot stop praising his writing must confess that he is a self-destructive typhoon who has never been able to fully control his demons. I have always been fascinated by people like Aaron Sorkin who are so phenomenally talented, so intellectually and creatively blessed, but are so deeply and tragically flawed. I don't mean to sound like a high-handed moralist, but Sorkin knows that he has had problems in the past. Maybe that is simply part and parcel of being a great writer--Fitzgerald, Hemingway, AA Milne, voracious drunks all. It's almost as if brilliant people have an incredible fire for a brain, but sometimes they need to extinguish it for fear that left unabated, it would burn them down. Watching him rise again and again, you realize that a mind like Sorkin's cannot be contained. His characters are fuller than almost any other on TV, and his stories of competent people who lean on each other are as compelling now as when he wrote sports night 8 years ago. He truly is a golden boy, and I hope his flame burns for years to come. Or at least until Studio 60 can hit syndication.

Tea and Sympathy

As I write this on a rainy Friday afternoon in New York, I am drinking a hot cup of peppermint tea. While I can think of no better way to start a morning than a strong coffee, tea is an afternoon drink and must always be treated as such. That being said, I must admit that in the past few years, especially after moving to New York, I get faintly embarrassed at buying, preparing, and consuming tea--a feeling that is greatly exacerbated by my preference for mint tea. This unease isn't because I dislike tea--far from it, obviously. It is more that I don't like the idea of other people on line with me at the market seeing my mint tea and associating me with the strange Moby-inspired trendiness that is part and parcel of tea subculture.

Tea has been around, according to my research, for about 75 million years, and I have reliable evidence that dinosaurs drank it regularly. It is a staple drink of many cultures, including India, which would explain my early introduction to the brew. But in America, the 1990s saw a huge popularity for all things Eastern--Anime cartoons, Chinese/Japanese tattoos, Henna--and tea was part of that resurgence to be sure. While coffee has a distinct European context, tea is Asian, and therefore seen as more exotic. Coffee is fuel--it's aggressive and capitalist and people drink it with one hand while reading the Wall Street Journal and firing their assistant. Tea is serene, contemplative, reflective and something you indulge in while cultivating your own garden and massaging your chi and feeling a breeze lick your face and open your kimono in an indecent manner. It's not clear to me why these stereotypes exist, seeing as my process for making either is more or less the same, but they are indelibly stamped in our minds, or for the sake of this argument they are. I would imagine that many young people who drink tea drink it to be associated with this intellectualism and serenity, as if either of those can be achieved through hot drinks. This is probably why whenever I buy mint tea (the only other tea I like is English Breakfast, but I don't even like that too much) it always comes with philosophical saying that look like they came out of a 9th graders term paper.

I dislike the whole packaged smugness that surrounds tea now because I think it creates and encourages a mysticism and quiet superiority that isn't real. Tea does not have healing properties just because wise, bearded Asians people drink it in movies. It is nothing more than leaves boiled in water. Stop selling me tea where every bag has a quote from Homer or Ralph Waldo Emerson. I can't buy coffee with quotes from Voltaire on the bag--because it would be stupid. Tea is a fine product without anyone ascribing supernaturalism to it.

Hipsters ruin everything.

Colbert brings rooms together

Despite the fact that we all had work to do, my roommates and I came together to watch Stephen Colbert and a New Jersey Congressional candidate in the 3rd District (I don't know, nor will I look up his name). It was one of Colbert's best pieces--a truly magnificent performance. Of course, after the show, we all broke off to our caves to finish whatever work our dark overlords deigned important, but for a brief moment we were witness to comedy at its finest. It was the kind of thing that envelopes its observers in pure joy, and releases a warmth and serenity that holds within it the secret to a better tomorrow.

I think I've oversold it.

An Urgent Announcement

I am writing to say that I have my computer back, which means I can blog with impunity. But not right now, as I don't have anything to say.

Just wanted to keep you abreast.

Charlie Brooker is a hate-filled genius

One of my favorite news paper columnists is a British writer named Charlie Brooker. He writes for the newspaper The Guardian, and has previously hosted and written for radio and tv. He is also one of the meanest and most misanthropic writers I've ever seen. His work now mainly consists of television reviews and free form essays he composes on fanciful and not quite realistic topics. I love them. He writes with a sort of vengeful lyricism and is profane with a peerless elegance. I suggest you (and I speak now of the wasteland of souls and thesis papers that is the blogosphere) check out his work. There are also tons of his clips around which are fun as well.

This post was not one of my usual whinefests, but rather an attempt to share some things that amuse me. I will return to the rancor in short order.