stranger things will come your way
It seems like the majority of bloggers are divided into two camps on The Huffington Post:
- Some have decided to dismiss it out of hand, and criticize the shit out of it. Though they won't admit it, I think it comes down to petty, childish jealousy.
- Others just don't care one way or another, and it's not even on their radar.
The two walk into my bedroom. Me? My feet still in cement…eyes still glued to the Vision; Suicidally thinking, Could this be the 7th Mrs. Evans?He doesn’t even introduce us, but with great aplomb, turns to the Vision, “Get Undressed.”
Undressed!?
In less than a minute my future wife was shoeless, meshless, and boaless…
Blake tells the Vision to lie on my bed, and spread her legs. That did it!!! Hallucinating graduated to hyperventilating!
I rushed out of the room to look for something to put over my head. This cocksucker’s got me on the run before I ask my first question! I grabbed for a shopping bag, lifted it over my head for close to a minute. Quickly lifting it high, I spouted, "Be with you in 10 minutes, Blake, I’m on the phone with the chairman of the company!" Back went the bag went over my head…. Five minutes of inhaling gave me back my equilibrium. I ain’t braggin'…but if this happened to a non-pro, he’d be flat on his ass in a cold sweat, mumbling to himself, which is what I’m sure Blake had planned for me.
Poor Blake, he picked the wrong guy to headfuck.
Robert Evans, like William Burroughs, truly writes in his voice. I'm not sure if that makes sense, so let me try to explain: If you've ever heard Burroughs read from Interzone, for example, I think you'll agree that the difference between reading the words and hearing the words from WSB is the difference between looking at a picture of the moon, and riding the damn rocket there yourself. It's the same way with Evans. If you like any of the things I like, I am almost certain that you'll like The Kid Stays In The Picture.
Comments
Book or movie?
Posted by: joann | May 17, 2005 9:35 AM
Well, the book is great, but you've got to hear him perform it. So if you could only pick one, I'd get the movie.
Posted by: Wil | May 17, 2005 9:38 AM
I think the sheer lack of comments since 9:04 am may give a clear indication that most of us are not quite sure what the hell you are talking about.
Though with this particular post, you may have achieved a new world record for the largest collective group to have simultaneous perplexed looks on their faces.
....where's that dam number for Guiness Book....
Just bustin'....I'm use to just reading your posts, being entertained and then moving on. Too much brain power involved in this one. Such is the plight of the MTV generation
Posted by: fatsvernon | May 17, 2005 9:39 AM
I'm confused too, as to what you are talking about.
Though the intro for me to Huffington's blog is mind blowing.
But I can't find the Evan's posting?
Posted by: evalucent | May 17, 2005 10:14 AM
Really makes your head explode. . . .
Ummm, that didn't cum out right. . . .
Somebody, turn on the damn lights!
:')
Posted by: Nyarl | May 17, 2005 10:29 AM
Noted.
Gratitude.
Posted by: naiah christine earhart | May 17, 2005 10:46 AM
I agree with evalucent. I have no clue what you are talking about Wil.
Posted by: Sue R | May 17, 2005 10:50 AM
"\Wil ....and didn't think THP had anything relevant to offer me . . . then I read this fucking awesome post by Robert Evans:"
Does your wife know you are planning a threesome? ;)
Posted by: Ben O | May 17, 2005 10:56 AM
I suppose I speak for all WWdN readers when I say...
*blink*
Posted by: AJ | May 17, 2005 11:01 AM
The Huffington Post, IMHO, is one of the best things to come to the web in a long time.
The concept, as I understand it, was to create the ultimate antithesis to the Drudge Report.
And how can they miss if Walter Cronkite and Larry Gelbart are both columnists for THP?
Rock on, Arianna!
Posted by: ShelaghC | May 17, 2005 11:11 AM
Ok... Wil's post makes much more sense if you RTFA.
Oops.
Posted by: AJ | May 17, 2005 11:13 AM
Oh my.
Wil, you are the first person I have ever encountered that thinks Bob Evans rocks. I have a large respect for a man who was once married to Ali McGraw (and a larger respect for the man who stole her away), but I can't say I have ever looked at Evans with anything more than amusement. He's a shameless self-promoter, and more than a little nutty.
Posted by: Marty McSuperFly | May 17, 2005 11:16 AM
I gotta recommend adding the Huffington Post raw feed to your RSS reader (Sage on Firefox, for me). If you're online often enough, it provides amazing content. Jim Lampley is particularly good.
I hope it's a success, because I love it, though I have no idea what their business model is.
Posted by: tim | May 17, 2005 11:56 AM
I gotta recommend adding the Huffington Post raw feed to your RSS reader (Sage on Firefox, for me). If you're online often enough, it provides amazing content. Jim Lampley is particularly good.
I hope it's a success, because I love it, though I have no idea what their business model is.
Posted by: tim at May 17, 2005 11:56 AM
There's also LJ feed for livejournal users at huffington.
I suspect they covered pretty much every blog on the internets.
Posted by: ShelaghC | May 17, 2005 12:26 PM
Well, I hate to sound like an idiot on here, but I'm a bit lost too. This huffington post thing is supposed to be a big deal? Why?
I went there and it just looks like a regular news site. What gives?
If there's something everyone else is interested in and finds cool then gosh darn it I wanna jump on the bandwagon too and follow the rest of the sheep!
::sarcasm:: But seriously, anyone? Importance of this webiste? Anyone?
Posted by: MaraJade | May 17, 2005 1:51 PM
No offense Wil, but WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! Put it in words where we can all understand! Sorry. Got carried away. But really what are you talking about. Don't understand. Anyway. *HUGS* and lots of em.
Laney
p.s.- you are lookin good!
Posted by: Laney | May 17, 2005 2:14 PM
Robert Evans is a legend in his own mind, AND in Hollyweird. He's over the top to be conservative.
I think Wil totally dug his post, because of the way he wrote it, [one of those writer things, huh?] and he just wanted to share his excitement/appreciation.
As for Ariana Huffington's new blog central station... the hype is because she's one of the more well known political "analysts" out there and she's got politician and celebrity friends that are gonna be posting to her site. [big whoop to me, but others are excited at the possibilities. That's fine.]
Posted by: EdwoodCA | May 17, 2005 2:42 PM
Ummmm maybe a bit tooooooooo much cold medication? =)
Posted by: Kataz | May 17, 2005 2:58 PM
Jesus, people. Ain't that hard. You want a Wil-Decoder Ring? Here you go.
Wil was reading The Huffington Post. He used to be blase about it, but then he read a Robert Evans post, which he quoted above.
He said he loved how Evans wrote, and compared it to Willam Burroughs, but he goes on to say that as much as he loves to read Burroughs' work, that Burroughs' work comes MUCH more alive when the author reads it himself, which Wil heard on Interzone.
And if you like what you read of Robert Evans', up there, then Wil suggests you watch The Kid Stays in the Picture.
THSitP happens to be an auto-biographical film on Robert Evans, the head of Paramount studios that brought the film company back from the brink of death in the late 60s, early 70s, with films like Rosemary's Baby, the Godfather, and Love Story.
It's a pretty good biography, really well done, but whether it's all fact or heavily dosed with self-agrandized fiction, that's another argument. As a film with an unreliable narrator (a la Edgar Allen Poe's Tell-tale Heart, where you can't really trust 'em), it's a fucking hoot, 'cos Evans narrates it in his gravelly, seedy, fuck-em-all kinda raspy voice. The whole film's him telling his stories about who fucked who and how good he is at fucking everyone else in order to make his films.
Pretty fun.
So. That's what Wil was getting at. Here's a tip: When something's disjointed, go the fuck back and re-read it, and do a little math in between the lines. 'course, it helps to know who Robert Evans and William S. Burroughs is.
Yes, I tend to be this arrogant and blunt all the time. If you like it or not, you can come and tell me so.
http://thelastditch.blogspot.com
Posted by: scribecalledsteff | May 17, 2005 5:24 PM
(I really hate it when people make it sound like the writer is the one failing, when it's really just the reader being a bit ignorant of the subjects and too unfocused to get what's being said.
It's insulting to someone who's making the effort to try and convey something they feel excitement or moved about, and that's what Wil was trying to do. Being a writer, a real writer, requires a lot of courage.
Don't shoot them the fuck down. It's rude. If you don't understand what's being said, maybe you shouldn't jump to the conclusion that the author's done a bad job. Often, that IS the case. This time, it is not. It's purely you.)
Posted by: scribecalledsteff | May 17, 2005 5:28 PM
Thanks to those who explained it politely. I don't think anyone was accusing Wil of being a bad writer. I think we were all expressing our lack of interest (well, piqued now) in what the huffington post was.
Oh well. All cleared up now. But I think those of us who didn't understand could have done without the swearing at us. Thanks anyway.
Posted by: MaraJade | May 18, 2005 6:17 AM
oh gawd Evans is brilliant, The Kid Stays IN The Picture is amazing, but his cartoon is off the charts... "Kid Notorious" is a gas. And he has a cat named Puss Puss.
"All characters and events are fictional. Celebrity voices are impersonated but not Robert Evans, who is voiced by Robert Evans, who may or may not have slept with your wife. Program may contain coarse language and or adult situations and or childish situations."
On the Huffington Blog:
Hilary Rosen bashing Apple for iTunes/iPod limitations... this coming from the woman who led the RIAA and its member music labels to war against Napster! What a laugh.
--------
Posted by: B | May 18, 2005 11:38 PM