little bit of this, little bit of that

“Hey, um, you know that episode where the horse has to give Ethan a pep talk, after Ethan finds out his crush only asked him to the dance because her friends were having a dorkiest date contest? In all the shots of the horse, you can see a paper coffee cup on the kitchen counter, but in the shots of Ethan, the coffee cup’s missing. Was that because the show was making a statement, about the fluctuant subjectivity of memory and how even two people can experience the same moment in entirely different ways? And I didn’t have the heart to be, like, “No, man, some crew guy just left their coffee cup in the shot. ” So instead, I was, like “Yeah. ”

Blade Runner 2049 (2017, dir. Dennis Villeneuve)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) dir. Stanley Kubrick

“I’ve wanted to go into construction since high school. I used to help my dad out all the time. Everything in our house we built ourselves. But my teachers tried to steer me down a different path. They’d encourage me to ‘figure things out.’ They’d say: ‘Why don’t you do this?’ or ‘Why don’t you do that?’ But I chose construction because it’s what I like to do. I got my union card at eighteen. The pay isn’t bad. I get benefits. It feels good to be young and working every day. But I see all these advertisements on the subway, and they basically say: ‘If you want to be successful, you have to go to college.’ All my friends went to college. Some of them have liberal arts degrees that I didn’t even know existed. A couple more dropped out. The ones who graduated can’t find jobs and have a lot of student debt. But they still look at me like I’m on the wrong path. When I tell them I can help them get a job in construction, they always say the same thing: ‘Why would we want to do that?’”

soo u just gonna scroll past without saying shalom?

“AND JUST LET HIM FUCKING DIE?”

— Nina Cassian, from “Tirade for the Next-to-Last-Act,” wr. c. June 1969

BoJack Horseman 5x11, The Showstopper

“I was working as a prep cook at a BBQ joint in Harlem.  I got off work early one day, and I discovered my wife with another man.  That was the beginning of all this.  I’d been with her for twenty-one years.  I was devastated.  I got right back on the bus and headed back to the city.  I went straight to the bars on 42nd Street. I got wasted every day.  I lost my wallet, my phone, my contacts.  I didn’t want to do nothing.  I just said ‘F it.’  I’ve been out on the streets for eight months.  When it’s time to rest, I find a place to sleep.  But I spend most of my time here on this block.  These are the best people on this block.  I’ve never experienced so many good people in my life.  Some of them help me out every single day.  They say: ‘What are you doing out here?  We’ve never met anyone like you.’  Lily and her daughter brought the whole family to meet me on Thanksgiving.  I felt like a celebrity.  Then there’s Cheryl with the glasses who just walked by a couple minutes ago.  Love her.  John and his wife, love them too.  David and Michael are the best.  And what’s up to my man Sean from the beauty parlor.  Shout out to T and Marianne.  So many good friends on this block.  But they aren’t going to see me much longer because I found a program that’s going to give me a place to stay, and a job cleaning the streets.  I’m done with this life.  I don’t belong here.  And I know my grandkids miss Grandpa.  So if you don’t see me here soon, you can say: ‘He’s done it!  He’s gone!’  But I’m going to shock everybody.  Cause I’m coming back with Christmas cards.”