Sunday!

Saul Degraw says:

As a former theatre person, I have all sorts of friends who made it farther in their artistic/creative careers and seem to come up everywhere and know everyone. One friend from undergrand seems to be personal and professional friends with some big name internet writers like Bertlasky, Marcotte, Mike Daisy. Freddie DeBoer, etc. It is always a bit odd to see these people comment on his facebook feed especially when he is writing about mundane things like a BBQ.

Now I am not the only person who did not make it very far but I do admit to tinges of jealousy because it seems like someone I know is always doing something amazing. There was an n plus one essay I read this week on the feeling.

https://nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/facebook-ade/

I also finished The Rise and Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachmann. Something about the writing of the novel compelled me to read it to the end even though I felt that many of the characters were cardboard cliches. The story is about a young woman who is whisked away from her father at ten by a trio of people and therefore ceases to have a conventional life. The trio were the cliches. There is a woman who can be charming but also extremely moody, hot and cold. An intellectual Russian with a curmudgeonly streak who is kind-hearted to the the protagonist, and their ring leader who is a “charming” ne’er do well who sees the world as a filled with marks as using the girl to help con people. Typical cons would be taking her to a fancy restaurant on her birthday, seducing the waitstaff and then sneaking out before paying the final bill by leaving his jacket (purchased cheaply at a thrift store) drapped on his chair. Or they would go to a busy train station and convince someone to give the protagonist 500 dollars in exchange for a bigger promised reward later.Report