February 20, 2006

boat of many crullers

How did I miss The Holy Tango of Literature? Awesome. And thanks to Anne for the tip.

The Dolly Parton Hoot Night went decently--Lisa and I did two songs (me singing and playing uke, her playing clarinet): "She Never Met a Man (She Didn't Like)" and "Down from Dover." Technical difficulties, but whatever, we had fun. 17 acts, sold out, line extending out the door of Mississippi Pizza. I was one of I think two men on stage all night, not counting Splendora, the drag queen in the fabulous fringe-y Dolly dress. Or the woman in Porter Wagoner drag.

Album I am attempting to wrap my brain around: Sparks' Hello Young Lovers. I mean, I like it--I'm just baffled by it.

I have been reading really terrible superhero comics all weekend, particularly recent Green Lantern stuff. By "terrible" I don't mean "trashy and lightweight," I mean "pretentious and point-missing." Look: Green Lantern is a comic book about will made manifest in the world. There's a whole apparatus it built up in the '50s and '60s and '70s to reinforce its themes, about the structure within which efforts of will can operate--the brilliance of the GL Corps is that it suggested that collective organization can be more effective than free agency, & the Guardians of the Universe are a metaphor for philosopher-kings etc. And the "yellow flaw" is crucial as an indication that will alone doesn't do the trick in every circumstance. But for the past 15 years or more--especially in the post-Hal Jordan-goes-nuts period--Green Lantern has been partly about limitless power as an abstraction, and mostly about the science-fictional apparatus it's wrapped up in. People: that is NOT THE INTERESTING PART.

Fortunately, I think I may have found an appropriate outlet for my fuming irritation. Stay tuned.

Posted by Douglas at February 20, 2006 9:29 AM | TrackBack
Comments

You know what's a great contemporary GL story that totally gets that point? DC One Million.

Posted by: gabe on February 20, 2006 5:42 PM
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