Comments on: Metafilter wrote on your Wall.

Metafilter wrote on your Wall.

blue_beetle — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:36:50 -0800

Hamlet as a Facebook News Feed

By: indiebass

indiebass — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:49:03 -0800

I should not have liked it that much. But I did.

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:50:01 -0800

Ophelia joined the group Maidens Who Don't Float. Heh.

By: youarenothere

youarenothere — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:53:47 -0800

*chuckles lightly* That was pleasantly funny. Thanks.

By: never used baby shoes

never used baby shoes — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:54:03 -0800

That was cute. I also enjoyed the Corrections to Last Month's Letters to Penthouse Forum.

By: NoMich

NoMich — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:55:28 -0800

Speaking of McSweeney's: McSweeney's Rejects Mike Mussina's Seventh Consecutive Submission. HA!

By: giraffe

giraffe — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:13:00 -0800

Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent. Sarah Schmelling's 10th grade English teacher didn't fully explain the the two meanings of "nunnery." I did laugh at "Polonius thinks this curtain looks like a good thing to hide behind." Good stuff.

By: jonp72

jonp72 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:13:07 -0800

Polonius is no longer online. Heh!

By: cerebus19

cerebus19 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:18:24 -0800

Sarah Schmelling's 10th grade English teacher didn't fully explain the the two meanings of "nunnery." If she'd written "Hamlet thinks Ophelia should work in a whorehouse," lots of people wouldn't have understood the reference.

By: Jody Tresidder

Jody Tresidder — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:46:31 -0800

I also enjoyed the Corrections to Last Month's Letters to Penthouse Forum. You, me and just about every other person here I reckon! (But we really* read it for the featurette about Hamlet!) *true, it was very cute!

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:48:30 -0800

Am I the only one who thinks Dave Eggers is a gen-X Garrison Keillor knockoff? And McSweeney's is his twee A Prairie Home Companion?

By: Hollow

Hollow — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:02:06 -0800

Facebook feeds don't work like that. Humbug.

By: xod

xod — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:02:27 -0800

Am I the only one who thinks Dave Eggers is a gen-X Garrison Keillor knockoff? And McSweeney's is his twee A Prairie Home Companion? Nope. But I still haven't heard an argument, despite their frequency, supporting the accusations and dismissals.

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:11:57 -0800

Am I the only one who thinks Dave Eggers is one of the great writers of our time and the knee-jerk hipster dismissals tend to come from people who care a lot more about sounding cool than actually, you know, reading his books or anything? that's not to say McSweeney's is all good stuff, the paper magazine in particular publishes a lot of those cookie-cutter MFA stories, but they are not written by Dave Eggers.

By: fiercecupcake

fiercecupcake — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:22:20 -0800

I like it!

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:28:51 -0800

Am I the only one who thinks Dave Eggers is one of the great writers of our time God I hope so. Also, hipster as the new, all-purpose MeFi insult is pretty lame.

By: grobstein

grobstein — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:01:42 -0800

Don't forget "twee!"

By: wemayfreeze

wemayfreeze — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:13:32 -0800

Am I the only one who thinks the new Facebook UI is awful and potentially disastrous?

By: cobaltnine

cobaltnine — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:16:57 -0800

I found McSweeney's to be very hit or miss. I used to think it was 'hit,' and then I read 'The Children's Hospital.' Most of it, at least. Turned me off most of the McSweeney's experience.

By: mrzarquon

mrzarquon — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:27:28 -0800

drjimmy- yeah, I hear more criticisms of his work on the grounds that "he sucks because I say so and because he's the hip thing to read." Well, yeah, because he's a good writer, people read him. That is how it works. I honestly doubt there is the level of scenesterism in literature as there is in music. Oh man, I made this girl I like this really awesome anthology of late 19th century german philosophers, and to spice it up a bit, I snuck in a few chapters from Franz Boas's Mind of the Primitive Man. Also, Eggers uses his popularity to push for after school tutoring and literature programs for children.

By: cavalier

cavalier — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:09:33 -0800

God Bless 826! What a lovely idea! (wears pirate shirt with pride)

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:14:06 -0800

Also, Eggers uses his popularity to push for after school tutoring and literature programs for children. That's not philanthropy. It's job security. Also, anyone who thinks that Dave Eggers is "One of the Great Writers of Our Time" needs to get out more. I'll bet Jonathan Safran Foer makes you cry and laugh at the same time too. And you love yourself for doing it. These are pale shadows of the real thing, pal. They're generational panderers who've cribbed a few codes from real authors and have learned to reproduce them for an audience of lazy narcissists. The notion of the aesthetic encounter as a confrontation with the new is not to be found here. Read some Cormac McCarthy. Some Ian McEwan. Some Murakami. Some Roth. These are authors who have something to say to you, the reading of whom will show you things about your world you cannot, or will not see on your own. There's nothing wrong with Eggers, just like there's nothing wrong with candy. But too much of it will rot your teeth. And if you begin to mistake it for real food, you're in for a hell of a stomachache.

By: abulafa

abulafa — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:14:24 -0800

(These do-gooders are everywhere).

By: MiltonRandKalman

MiltonRandKalman — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:49:37 -0800

Some Ian McEwan. These are authors who have something to say to you, the reading of whom will show you things about your world you cannot, or will not see on your own. I never heard of Ian McEwan changing the lives of thousands of at-risk children. Put down the pen, and go outside and change the world. How's that for an author with a statement?

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:58:29 -0800

I miss the "is" in Facebook statuses.

By: eyeballkid

eyeballkid — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:04:07 -0800

I never heard of Ian McEwan changing the lives of thousands of at-risk children. Put down the pen, and go outside and change the world. How's that for an author with a statement? By that logic Bono is the greatest songwriter in history ( and Bill Gates the bestest programmer ever!!!)

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:34:07 -0800

Some people read McCarthy and Murakami and Roth and Eggers and Rushdie and yes D. F. Wallace and the ever-hated S. King and Calvino and Eco and Updike and sometimes even People magazine and Ecclesiastes all in the same day and also manage not to get in sissy slap-fights on the internet about whether or not the 973rd most widely-read writer in the U.S. is more or less twee or noteworthy or hipster than the 976th most widely-read writer in the U.S., then drawing some ridiculous conclusions about readers of those writers and posting them on MetaFilter so we can figure out who is the "best" or "most advanced" reader as if spending a few hours reading Eggers or Uncle John's Bathroom Reader or the back of a box of Cocoa Crisp is, like, morally worse than not reading at all or taking a shit or watching baseball or posting on MetaFilter

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:48:46 -0800

Put down the pen, and go outside and change the world. How's that for an author with a statement? Yeah, that's nice of him and all, but because the author is a good fellow is not the reason I and a lot of other people read books.

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:49:06 -0800

Optimus Chyme, you misrepresent me. As I say above, I see nothing inherently wrong with reading Eggers. A literary omnivore is an unqualified good. The problem is, and I'm not being snooty about this, honestly, that plenty of lazy people feel like Dave Eggers speaks to their heart and is, therefore, "The Greatest Author of Our Time." He's a mildly entertaining, generationally-specific diversion. Nothing more. It's not elitist to point out that the crown doesn't fit. Indeed, a nice discussion about the shape of the crown would be a good thing to have. Far better than this poorly written run-on sentence of yours, frankly.

By: kaspen

kaspen — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:54:23 -0800

Metafilter: generational panderers who've cribbed a few codes from real authors and have learned to reproduce them for an audience of lazy narcissists

By: waraw

waraw — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:27:00 -0800

you made my brain hurty

By: The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew

The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:34:00 -0800

Felix- not to say that I disagree with you (because on a base level, I think you're spot-on) but cool out, dude. Just because someone only reads Tom Clancy and Michael Crighton and Dan Brown or only reads Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss does NOT mean that they need to be or should be the subject of vitriol that intense; even though there are much better writers out there.

By: Solon and Thanks

Solon and Thanks — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:38:37 -0800

I met Dave Eggers once and he told me he doesn't like hummus because it smells funny. For that, he is dead to me.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:03:29 -0800

Am I the only one who thinks Dave Eggers is a gen-X Garrison Keillor knockoff? And McSweeney's is his twee A Prairie Home Companion? You know Prairie Home Companion is a radio show, right? I don't think I've ever heard Egger's voice... I think a better comparison to Eggers is Plimpton. I've enjoyed his writing, but he really excels as an editor.

By: wildcrdj

wildcrdj — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:06:28 -0800

Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent. Sarah Schmelling's 10th grade English teacher didn't fully explain the the two meanings of "nunnery." Hmm, while I know it can mean both, it always seemed clear he did mean a convent. The bit about not breeding sinners, for example. The whole bit seemed to be far more about removing her from the whole exercise of sex and romance, the brothel connotation just doesn't fit the text. Googling it seems to reinforce my belief that while it could have meant either, Shakespeare did indeed mean a nunnery in the sense we now think of it.

By: shakespeherian

shakespeherian — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:22:37 -0800

I think a better comparison to Eggers is Plimpton. I've enjoyed his writing, but he really excels as an editor. Yeah, I like Egger's writing okay, usually I get pretty tired of it and wonder what the big deal is, but I very much appreciate his approach to other things (nonprofits, editing, etc.). And the obvious care and concern he has for books as physical objets d'art makes me very happy.

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:25:00 -0800

Just because someone only reads Tom Clancy and Michael Crighton and Dan Brown or only reads Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss does NOT mean that they need to be or should be the subject of vitriol that intense Did I come off as vitriolic? Sorry, that wasn't my intent. I get a little irritated with the way that new, young authors get puffed up, promoted and smashed into the voice-of-a-generation mold. I get all excited by the press, devour the book, enjoy it for a couple days, and then realize that it's not all that rich. It makes me feel like I've been had. Actually, it's the reason why I'm holding off on reading Keith Gessen's book All the Sad Young Literary Men, because the reviews I've read have had that same breathless quality to them. Best to let the dust settle this time and to read it in a quieter moment. My point is, I guess, that I'm arguing with myself & not just the Eggers fanatics here. I think the best thing you can do if you love an author is to knock him around a little bit. The good ones take their bruises and come out looking stronger for it. Apologies all around if anyone thought I was being a dick.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:49:10 -0800

Other Hamlet-based LOLs: If Henny Youngman had portrayed Hamlet

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:59:06 -0800

The Onion is reliably funny. Thanks for that one, NoMich. The Facebook thing was meh.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:17:42 -0800

Wow. Does anybody read books for the sake of enjoying them anymore? It's like half the people in here are more concerned about publically defining themselves by the authors they read and being able to name-drop them on the internet than actually about.. you know.. reading.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:21:23 -0800

Like, I haven't even heard of McCarthy or Murakami or Roth or Eggers or any of the authors being discussed above, but I totally agree with Optimus Chyme's sentiment. Also I totally fucking love reading. I go through about 2 books a week. However, I'm too afraid of getting on the wrong side of the seemingly ongoing conflict the pretentious literary folk everywhere on the internet start up everywhere they go to even name the authors.

By: Greg_Ace

Greg_Ace — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:41:33 -0800

tehloki: However, I'm too afraid of getting on the wrong side of the seemingly ongoing conflict the pretentious literary folk everywhere on the internet start up everywhere they go to even name the authors. Yeah, but now people will just figure you read, like, Harlequin Romances or the National Enquirer or something...and probably not in the ironic, hipster way either.

By: fantabulous timewaster

fantabulous timewaster — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:45:34 -0800

I thought that Dave Eggers' memoir "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" was pretty okay. And every time I think of this, I get a silly little smile. If the book had been better, it would have lost something. Like this Hamlet thing. Not earth-shattering. But thought-provoking.

By: shii

shii — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:44:20 -0800

Bernstein's Law: Nobody has actually read both "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" and "What is the What."

By: fantabulous timewaster

fantabulous timewaster — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:58:48 -0800

shii, never heard of it

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:36:12 -0800

Bernstein's Law: Nobody has actually read both "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" and "What is the What." I have! Or does this mean I don't exist? If I don't exist, then who am I?

By: bibliowench

bibliowench — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:57:00 -0800

I thought the original McSweeney's article was funny. But somehow the mockup of it as an actual facebook format is ten times funnier. as for the week-old debate, I like Heartbreaking Work

By: grouse

grouse — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:40:08 -0800

Is it okay if I like McSweeney's but didn't care for A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius? Or is that cognitively dissonant?

By: fantabulous timewaster

fantabulous timewaster — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:29:24 -0800

grouse, cognitive dissonance is awful good.