Comments on: George Saunders liked it

George Saunders liked it

31d1 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:25:08 -0800

OK, Here I go, I'm going to make this whole website right now on this dry-erase board.

By: Krrrlson

Krrrlson — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:30:12 -0800

Please add Web 3.0 to tags.

By: eustacescrubb

eustacescrubb — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:30:22 -0800

I can't decide if links to page four resulting in a 404 error is intentional or not.

By: WPW

WPW — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:34:30 -0800

I love it.

By: jayder

jayder — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:39:50 -0800

I think it's dumb. Too gimmicky.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:39:54 -0800

A crumby commercial?

By: rafter

rafter — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:39:59 -0800

Looking forward to this. Me and You and Everyone We Know ranks among the best movies I've ever seen. ))<>(( forever.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:40:13 -0800

Hi Miranda July!

By: grobstein

grobstein — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:40:59 -0800

This is pretty cute, I guess.

By: djgh

djgh — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:41:25 -0800

I love the idea, but (and this could be due to traffc), it's awfully slow. She's also right that no one has time for all the song and dance, even if it does add a nice personal touch.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:42:14 -0800

A picture is worth a thousand words.

By: iconomy

iconomy — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:42:21 -0800

*erases the extra c in reccomendations and adds an m*

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:44:47 -0800

(how come the top of my fridge never looks that undusty?)

By: phaedon

phaedon — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:44:50 -0800

song and dance = boring. lighting the stove = satanic fun.

By: muddylemon

muddylemon — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:45:51 -0800

...and that is why we don't make websites on dry erase boards.

By: BeerFilter

BeerFilter — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:47:51 -0800

What a cute advertisement.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:55:38 -0800

Me and You and Everyone We Know ranks among the best movies I've ever seen. Seconded.

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 19:57:19 -0800

Meh. Would have been better in Flash. And this time I'm actually not joking.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:00:21 -0800

ya know, this made me smile..... clever, funny.... thanks....

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:00:57 -0800

I like it.

By: jcruelty

jcruelty — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:04:44 -0800

i clicked through all the way, so i guess i find her charming.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:06:13 -0800

I liked it but yeah... took way too long. I want the book though. I hearted that movie too... I like her quirky style. :)

By: bhnyc

bhnyc — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:08:27 -0800

i have a big crush on miranda. Me and You and Everyone We Know ranks among the best movies I've ever seen. Thirded.

By: localhuman

localhuman — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:12:09 -0800

unThirded

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:12:31 -0800

You know, if you wanted to read Miranda July's book but were wearing an inappropriate color, you could probably just take the jacket from a color-matched book and put it on her book. Also, I think she burned her oatmeal.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:16:28 -0800

A crumby commercial? posted by puke & cry Rather a clever commercial, I thought.

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:17:40 -0800

I feel like she's tricking everybody.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:19:07 -0800

It's published by Scribners but I thought I was getting a whiff of McSweeney's in there. Lo and behold, there's the obligatory Dave Eggers quote. Shit, I bet Chris Ware chose the jacket colors and Heidi Julavits has already finished her gushing review.

By: aaronetc

aaronetc — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:19:21 -0800

I feel like I ought to loathe everything Miranda July does. And yet... I don't.

By: intermod

intermod — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:19:30 -0800

Me and You and Everyone We Know ranks among the best movies I've ever seen. Thirded. unThirded Re-thirded. It's all I came in here to say.

By: hurdy gurdy girl

hurdy gurdy girl — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:22:33 -0800

Me and You and Everyone We Know ranks among the best movies I've ever seen. Seconded / Thirded / Unthirded / Re-thirded Fourthed. In fact, "back and fourthed--forever!" Thanks for the link--I found it charming also. I think only Miranda July could pull off the dry-erase fridge/stove webpage design!

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:22:36 -0800

I still can't make through the whole thing. It just goes on and on. You people talk like I should know who Miranda July is. Is this one of those blog things I'm missing out on?

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:22:50 -0800

Fourthed.

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:23:13 -0800

Damn. Fifthed, then.

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:24:08 -0800

Not a blogger, puke & cry; a filmmaker. Probably in a similar category to Wes Anderson, if I'm any judge.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:27:07 -0800

SIXTHED

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:28:12 -0800

Who the Hell is Miranda July, and when the Hell did she break into my kitchen?

By: joannemerriam

joannemerriam — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:35:25 -0800

I want some of that oatmeal. I bet she makes it with lots of brown sugar.

By: Jon Mitchell

Jon Mitchell — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:40:16 -0800

That was pretty cute. I would be much more inclined to buy her book if she had included a link to one of her stories, though, rather than subjecting me to a seemingly endless barrage of self-consciously faux-precious whimsy. Still, I'm a bit of a sucker for precious whimsy, faux or otherwise, so i might well check out her films. Is there a name for the Wes Anderson/Dave Eggers/Demetri Martin/ Sufjan Stevens/McSweeney school of whatever the hell it is they're doing yet?

By: Samuel Farrow

Samuel Farrow — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:43:26 -0800

So this dry-erase board, it vibrates?

By: blaneyphoto

blaneyphoto — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:45:39 -0800

crapdotcom.com

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:49:00 -0800

huh, That was cooler than I expected. It was charming and pleasantly funny in a mild and friendly way. Sounds like her movie may be worth seeing and maybe her book worth reading too.

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:00:26 -0800

Is there a name for the Wes Anderson/Dave Eggers/Demetri Martin/ Sufjan Stevens/McSweeney school of whatever the hell it is they're doing yet? The Regressivers

By: Dave Faris

Dave Faris — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:30:23 -0800

I stopped clicking after three pages. I cannot abide by a website advertised to feature a dry-erase board, but that is actually presented on the top of a refrigerator.

By: kisch mokusch

kisch mokusch — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:33:34 -0800

So where can I get that demonology book? It looked interesting..

By: oddman

oddman — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:45:37 -0800

Seventhed.

By: blacklite

blacklite — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:47:07 -0800

That was fun. You people who thought it was too slow need to relax.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 21:59:16 -0800

Is there a name for the Wes Anderson/Dave Eggers/Demetri Martin/ Sufjan Stevens/McSweeney school of whatever the hell it is they're doing yet? It's called, in this brilliant essay, the new male infantilism...

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:00:37 -0800

I seem to be one of the few who thought that Me and You and etc. was a boring turd of a movie.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:11:29 -0800

seconded. nothing like making your real life self-indulgent laughable PC crap art into a movie about a character who does self-indulgent laughable PC crap art that no one gets cause they're not brilliant like her. Gotta give her credit for discovering meta-self-indulgence I guess.

By: eustacescrubb

eustacescrubb — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:13:21 -0800

It's called, in this brilliant essay, the new male infantilism... Wow, what a shitty essay. Style over substance, anyone? I'm not a huge fan of any of the artists in the essay, but basically the whole point of it is that some dudes who are famous this 15 minutes aren't as macho as the dudes who were famous a few 15 minuteses ago. Give me a fucking break. I want the 10 minutes I spent reading that back.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:17:01 -0800

oh and bonus points for the sounds-good-but-actually-utterly-vapid-intellectual-junk-food-closet-Taliban-in-PC-clothes-bullshit premise of "the internet stops people from communicating in this awful modern world of ours and oh yeah the media makes young girls slutty omg"

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:18:12 -0800

didnt read it, but anyone who conflates Dave Eggers (real artist) and Sufjan Stevens (not so much) in any way is full of shit.

By: bobo123

bobo123 — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:21:11 -0800

I seem to be one of the few who thought that Me and You and etc. was a boring turd of a movie. Yo, here too. I thought it was boring and I'm a Tsai Ming-liang fan. It sorta fits in with Garden State as a annoying cute romantic indie-type film ("precious" as one reviewer put it) that I've seen too many times.

By: Artw

Artw — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:22:45 -0800

That was fun. I think I'll have to buy that. I might even wait till the tour gets hear and get it then.

By: HyperBlue

HyperBlue — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:32:28 -0800

I heart Me and You and Everyone We Know too. ))>< )) back and forth scene had me laughing so hard i cried. the rest of the movie pleasantly reminded me of a quirkier em>Napoleon Dynamite (yes it is possible). I need a good laugh. Think I'm going to watch it again right now. Thanks for the link. Didn't know it was Miranda until I clicked through. Low bandwidth haters will complain. If you can't/don't wanna click through to July's Bio here ya go [from her website]: Miranda July is a filmmaker, performing artist and writer. She grew up in Berkeley, California where she began her career by writing plays and staging them at the local punk club. July's videos, performances, and web-based projects have been presented at sites such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and in the 2002 and 2004 Whitney Biennials. Her short fiction has been published in The Paris Review, Zoetrope All-Story, and The New Yorker, and a collection of stories is forthcoming from Scribner in spring 2007. July created the participatory website, learningtoloveyoumore, with artist Harrell Fletcher and a companion book will be published by Prestel in fall 2007. She wrote, directed and starred in her first feature-length film, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, including the Camera d'Or. July is currently working on a new performance. She lives in Los Angeles

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:22:23 -0800

drjimmy11 typed "didnt read it, but anyone who conflates Dave Eggers (real artist) and Sufjan Stevens (not so much) in any way is full of shit." Your favorite dot dot dot. Also, anyone remember a similar concept page that went around the webosphere in the late 90s? If I remember correctly, the idea was that every member of school faculty had to have a homepage. This one dude didn't have a computer so he sarcastically drew a homepage on paper, including a bad drawing of himself, fake links, etc. And then someone else scanned it in and made the links work. Also also, who else screamed "What a huge stove!" when they got to page 27?

By: palmcorder_yajna

palmcorder_yajna — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:29:33 -0800

Well, Eggers compared the July's book to Lorrie Moore's work, and given that (a) I'm a complete Lorrie Moore addict; and (b) Lorrie Moore hasn't published a new book in almost a decade, I think I'm probably going to have to give it a shot.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:52:55 -0800

Terrible design... it took me 5 minutes to find the tiny red navigation arrows in the bottom right, due to winamp occupying that space.

By: bru

bru — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:03:25 -0800

Thanks, 31d1, excellent post. The slide show is clever, low tech and funny. It shows to every non-techie around that it is not that complicated to tell a good story. Good point. It also shows that she is bright and funny so I visited her site and now I want to know more. Well played, Miranda, well played.

By: serazin

serazin — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:14:23 -0800

This is now my favorite website - ever. I thought Me, You, and Everyone We Know was so-so - lot's of potential that for me, didn't go anywhere, but as a video artist, I think Miranda July is fucking sharp, brand-new, and squeezes me in the heart. This website cinched my crush on MJ. Nice one.

By: beerbajay

beerbajay — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:52:59 -0800

Charming, if uneven.

By: zouhair

zouhair — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 01:32:07 -0800

is she single?? :P

By: sidereal

sidereal — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 01:34:31 -0800

In the video clips on the meandyou website, she said "like" 12 times and "y'know" 17 times, which means that I'm too old for this sort of movie.

By: meh

meh — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 04:37:15 -0800

Cute.

By: Rock Steady

Rock Steady — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 04:55:38 -0800

I thought it was going to be the new UPS website.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:04:02 -0800

This has everything but the kitchen sink.

By: Anything

Anything — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:05:05 -0800

Fun.

By: cubby

cubby — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:54:00 -0800

I have the same teapot as Miranda July. I am going to assume this makes me cool; please do not contradict me.

By: saturnine

saturnine — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 06:43:35 -0800

Great website... I mean fridge... I mean gas stove... I mean, I liked it!

By: dobbs

dobbs — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 06:54:30 -0800

Not a blogger, puke & cry; a filmmaker. Ah... not exactly. Well, yes, she's made films, but before that (and still) she was a musician and a audio collage artist. Folks might also dig Learning to Love You More. Years ago she did some fantastic audio clips for people to listen to while in elevators. I think the elevators were at the Whitney, but I can't recall. They used to be online. Can't find them now.

By: trishthedish

trishthedish — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 06:59:40 -0800

I think its fabulous. The only thing its missing is some quirky magnets.

By: exparrot

exparrot — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 07:03:25 -0800

omg. magnets are so....web 1.0. Magnets via ajax...that load in the background...that's what is needed. Magnets that can be shared with other web fridge sites! (call my attorney!)

By: ryanrs

ryanrs — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 07:35:36 -0800

Result: Failed validation, 4 errors.

By: ryanrs

ryanrs — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 07:36:40 -0800

))<>((

By: cortex

cortex — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:12:31 -0800

God, that's brilliant.

By: cortex

cortex — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:39:20 -0800

I still can't make through the whole thing. It just goes on and on. It's like a three minute read.

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 09:16:22 -0800

This vaguely reminds me of the interface to Joel Hodgson (of MST3K fame) 1999 website.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 09:26:25 -0800

I still can't make through the whole thing. It just goes on and on. It's like a three minute read. Last night there was a 15-20 second lag time between pages for me, which kind of slows the whole thing down. I could've made oatmeal in the time it took to get to hers.

By: lunalaguna

lunalaguna — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 09:31:51 -0800

I want to hate Miranda July for being so twee and precious, but, damn, she does it better than anyone else. And for all the McSweeney's haters: who else has beautifully printed books; unending support for new writers; quirky, surreal storefronts; a nonprofit promoting literacy; and John Hodgman? Is there a name for the Wes Anderson/Dave Eggers/Demetri Martin/ Sufjan Stevens/McSweeney school of whatever the hell it is they're doing yet? I was flipping through a magazine recently, and the writer called it tweemo. I then vomited.

By: Jon Mitchell

Jon Mitchell — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 10:13:39 -0800

Tweemo Oh, yuck. That won't do at all. On the other hand, I was pretty pleased to come across the word Emover to describe the asymmetric emo fringe.

By: signal

signal — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 15:09:11 -0800

Genuis.

By: Help, I can't stop talking!

Help, I can't stop talking! — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 15:21:44 -0800

I'm just glad that she took a risk and did something with personality. It would be so easy to do a simple page with reviews and an author bio and some other lackluster, obvious choices; I think it's great that she tried to give a little flavor. Besides, the page provides a nice glimpse of her sense of humor and narrative style; it's probably as good an indicator as any of whether you'll like her book.

By: Help, I can't stop talking!

Help, I can't stop talking! — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 15:22:42 -0800

PS: I found A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius to be gimmicky and overrated. Sorry, Eggers fans.

By: chrispy

chrispy — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 16:20:59 -0800

I'd love for someone to explain the appeal of her work. I watched the film the other week and the tweeness just drove me nuts. And ultimately I just couldn't see anything there, just a kind of vapid celebration of eccentricity without any insight. Or put another way, a bit like a feature-length version of that "You don't have to be mad to work here... but it helps!" poster. Anyhow, rant over, I would genuinely like to know what the appeal is, several good friends recommended the film very highly and I feel I'm missing out on something.

By: rollerball

rollerball — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 17:14:24 -0800

i liked the site. i liked but didn't love the movie. What i did love was that it had Jason Pierce (Spiritualized) singing a Trogg's song I'd never heard him cover before. nice touch!

By: The Deej

The Deej — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 18:55:12 -0800

I. LOVE. IT.

By: Sparx

Sparx — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:21:06 -0800

Dammit. I don't even have any yellow or pink clothes. I'll just have to groove to the quirky websiteness of it all and hope the stories are of similar quality.

By: ed

ed — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:44:07 -0800

I'm not a fan of Dave Eggers. I think Miranda July is okay and that Dave Eggers' plug has nothing to do with the worthiness of the book in question, which I have not read and am thus unqualified to comment upon. I think this site is a cute gimmick. I also think this site's cute gimmick is underwhelmed by the plugging and the lack of a sample. I think the more egregious sin here is that such a message was sent under the auspices of getting you to buy things and that if this had been Nike or Pepsi, you would have raked the site over the coals and called for blood. But seeing as how Miranda July is somewhat cute and talented and hey possible single, you bought into the gimmick instead. Wikipedia, if it can be believed, says that Miranda July hasn't had a day job since she was 23. Ask yourself: who are the real suckers? Ask yourself: why doesn't Miranda July work in advertising?

By: Rumple

Rumple — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:55:49 -0800

uh, ed, so what if she hasn't had a day job since she was 23? She's an artist. Maybe she manages to sell her work. Maybe that means she is a successful artist. Maybe you don't like successful artists? Based on this post, it appears she does work in advertizing, when necessary. I don't disagree this link is getting cut a bit of slack on the pepsi-blue front, though. pssst she's more than "somewhat" cute

By: holgate

holgate — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 22:40:34 -0800

I love this site like I loved the web back in 1995, when all the cynics were still on USENET.

By: Help, I can't stop talking!

Help, I can't stop talking! — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 07:05:29 -0800

Sorry, ed, but I'm decidedly homosexual, so the fact that Miranda July is cute and single can't consistently be assumed as the motivation behind enjoying her site. Besides, she never mentions being cute or single on the page and provides only a blurry snapshot of herself as a child, so I don't think there's evidence of her trying to win us over with her sex appeal. You're right that if this site were put up by Nike, it would be a different story, but that's because a major corporation can throw a bajillion dollars at their web design: a lone author's creatively thrifty, self-made approach is kind of scrappy and authentic, while a multi-million dollar corporation's thrifty, self-made approach would come across as a big lie.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 08:16:27 -0800

It should be noted at this point that Miranda July isn't cute.

By: YoBananaBoy

YoBananaBoy — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:39:07 -0800

that certainly killed this post.

By: Sparx

Sparx — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 04:19:57 -0800

I have never seen a picture of Miranda July nor read nor seen her work - in fact, I've never even noted her name previously (though through this discussion it's apparent I've vaguely heard of her work, but I wasn't cognisant of the fact before this thread as I've never read or seen any of it) That said, as an impartial web-working person, this site had some charm. Mind you - I didn't hit usenet until '96. So perhaps I'm missing out on something.