Je t'aime..., 2008

I like: Permanent Monday, back at long last!

"The sign does not warn of traditional attack, but an assault on aesthetics: the dog's ugliness itself requires wariness."

U & I for the third time

Dizzyhead Jason—our Canadian correspondent!—asks: What's the best thing you've read all year? It's like j'aime/pas without the pesky pas!

Any takers? E-mail: thedizzies at gmail dot com.

Jason's list: "I think it was probably Ooga Booga but also...Michael Tolkin’s Return of the Player (which I found weirdly delightful) and U & I (for the third time). And the latest Derek McCormack, of course, The Show that Smells—coming to a bookstore near you in fall ‘08..."

(Derek is Jason's roommate...read this rave of The Haunted Hillbilly!)

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Can't get enough of Dizzies Team Member Matt? Listen to his commentary for the new DVD of Gymkata.

Snow crash

More from Jessica Cutler:

I like: olive oil cake

I don't like: snow, people who say they like snow

Send your lists to thedizzies at gmail dot com.

The Pillow Book of Parkus Grammaticus

Back when the Likes/Dislikes meme started, I drafted a longish and quite confusing introduction that jumped off a recent viewing of Chris Marker's Sans Soleil and that film's use of the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon. I deleted it—basically the point was that the lists of "Things to stop the heart" or whatever struck me as related to the whole L/D form. Now, recently, and coincidentally, both Selfdivider and I've Been Reading Lately have blogged about the PB...so I'm off the hook!

(And of course everything can be related to this.)

Two technical notes:

1. Jenny tells me that if you align a photo "left" (rather than "center") in a blog post, the reader will be able to click on it to enlarge. Did not know that!

2. Though I've tagged all the various "Likes and Dislikes" entries, if you click on the tag (try it here), you only get to read the most recent 20 entries. Annoying!

Dr. Who vs. Matthew McConaughey!

Dizzyhead Mike gets in on the likey/no likey action—

Likey: popcorn, outer space, seitan, Lee Perry, snoozin, soup, Jean
Luc Godard, Marx (both Bros. and Karl), Curb Your Enthusiasm, the
Village Discount Outlet, mobile computing, train rides, my wife, "free
jazz," Louis Zukofsky, sweeping, blazers, seltzer, the San Francisco
Sweater Company, walking, Derrida, the beach, pizza, pragmatism,
Projective Verse, brick sidewalks, early Nas, inexpensive sneakers,
potato chips, CSNY (at least the first two albums), local television
news, social justice, Dr. Who, bagels, Nick Twemlow's Karate poems,
the New York Post, 45s, Madlib, leg room on planes, conservation,
celebrity news, Robert Duncan and Michael Palmer's Field Theory
lecture, dialectical materialism . . .

No likey: riding in cars, people who take Foucault's early work
seriously, no exit, mail order, ideology, "Hotel Chevalier," late Nas,
"traditionalists," hippies, waiting, grammar, Fox News, Matthew
McConaughey, Tom Waits, driving through Pennsylvania, repeating
myself, print media, wasting food, sour kraut, turbulence, formal
dinners, books about Freud that are barely about Freud, Brazil nuts,
new age music, Robert Frost, trying to be shocking, strict
rationalists, entitlement, damp weather . . .

Autumn vs. flight delays

The proprietor of Cromulent shares her likes and dislikes:

I like: black coffee takeaway, red wine, gin, cheese, strawberries in season, macarons, autumn, After the Quake, The History of Love, The Art of Loving, continental philosophy, romanticism, new journalism, Gelly Roll Lightnings, moleskine notebooks, writing letters by hand...

I don’t like: bad subway passenger etiquette (not stepping aside to let passengers out, leaning on the pole in a crowded car, etc. etc.), elevators that stop on every floor, flight delays, slow pedestrians, umbrellas...

(Go here for the complete list...and send yours to thedizziesATgmailDOTcom! The contest is still going! It's not even really a contest!)

* * *

Unrelated: I saw an episode of Cavemen—and kind of liked it?

Spaniels vs. camping!

The "Washingtonienne" (Jessica Cutler) gets in on the j'aime meme—here's an excerpt:

I like: spaniels, Art Deco, Miami, palm trees, Las Vegas, going topless, tiki, rare meat, pencil skirts, wiggle dresses, orchids, calacas, "red sauce" Italian restaurants, disco fries, Chinatown, Coney Island, Baltimore...

I don't like: camping, drinks made from mixes, not having a reservation somewhere, bistro menus, taxes, pale skin, long engagements, charity events, high-maintenance relationships of any kind, sunflowers, "country" decor...

Isn't it time you sent me yours? Address: thedizziesATgmailDOTcom.

Unexpected honesty

Over at the NYRB blog, some likes/dislikes, minus the dislikes:

"Silence, the company of friends, unexpected honesty, reading, going to the pictures, dreams..."

Who is the author?

(Via Levi, who has tons of Halloween posts up at his blog.)

* * *

New creepy New-York Ghost is out, featuring seasonally appropriate work from Erica Lee, Derek McCormack, and Aimee Kelley.

The girl who works next to me

From Dizzyhead Chrita:

I like: prime numbers, hope, time travel, puns, cooking, baseball, driving, dogs, Mega Man 2, ironing, irony, new haircuts, neckties, coffee and cigarettes, "filibuster," watching others watch my favorite movie for the first time, the fact that it was easier to find items for this list than for the next, Grant Morrison, newly washed old bedsheets, Stop Making Sense, being made to laugh, my niece, onions, etymology, goldfish, the girl that works next to me, the present.

I don't like geometry, guilt, Hemingway, shoes, cooking, hippies, chocolate, cute, clever, the Doors, how everyone who likes the Doors loves the Doors, awkward amounts of time, 6 P.M. Sunday, optimism, cats, snow, shaving, cold feet, marijuana, thinking about it, August, cops, touching, "irregardless," eyeglasses, not knowing, the past and the future.

Burt offerings

The mighty Steve Burt weighs in on j'aime/je n'aime pas over at Harriet.

J'aime (partial list): Game Theory (the band); white stripes (not the band); Jenny Toomey; basketball (even the men's game), baseball, when discussed by ardent fans; the feijoa (still my favorite fruit), and more recently the mamey sapote, the monstera, and the Honeycrisp apple, invented in Minnesota...

Je n'aime pas: game theory (not the band); White Stripes (the band); Pat Toomey; American football; baseball, when I am expected to watch a whole game; bananas, mashed potatoes and nectarines; small yappy dogs...

"Let's go out into the nature"

Besides "making lists," Dizzyhead Andrea (wife of Team Dizzies Member Rob!) likes:

Feeding people, fat kids, monkeys, ice cream, the Staten Island Ferry, bourbon, dogs, especially the ones who look big and fierce (but are invariably gentle and sweet), the countryside, snow, laughing (possibly at monkeys), beer, beaches, sunlight on water, boats, Martha's Vineyard, Martha Stewart, the way Rob watches movies with so much enthusiasm and excitement, Nelly Bly, Amy Sedaris, Mabel Normand, hash browns with bacon and coffee (optimally followed by a day of playing the snow), amoral Czech fairy tales, mermaids, Simpsons Halloween specials, obscure NYC history, Dracula (the novel), Coke (the beverage), the New York Public Library, John Barrymore, The Golden Girls, Absolutely Fabulous, House MD (Seasons 1 & 2), cheesy ghost tours, the haunted house ride at Disneyworld, strong hot tea, a hot bath, my mother's expressions of disgust ("Phooey!"), her insults ("Space-cadet schmuck!") and her little turns of phrase ("Let's go out into the nature"), Dorothy Shaw and Lorelei Lee, and any friendship where you would split your last dime/cup of coffee with your girlfriend when stranded penniless in Paris.

...and dislikes:

Pantyhose, never having enough time, global-warming-deniers, shopping, air conditioning, cars, bad lighting, House MD (Season 3), spots (I'm a grown woman, dammit!), people who look at your computer monitor over your shoulder, pigeons, the sound of styrofoam being crushed/ripped, Times Square, Upper East Side bars, weak water pressure, and American cheese, unless it's in a grill-cheese on white bread and served with lots of ketchup

Howard Hawks vs. the phrase "tone poem"!

Dizzies Team Member and Termite Artist Rob has submitted his list; isn't it time you sent in yours? (E-mail to thedizziesATgmailDOTcom, include your blog address if I don't know you!)

I Like:
Fart jokes, Hollywood musicals, skepticism, morning smiles, Andrea's eyes, awkward silences, Westerns, Nietzsche, genital herpes commercials, tailgating before Bills games, BBQ, Proust, ridiculously long David Bordwell blog posts, Howard Hawks, sleeping in, movies over 7 hours long, crime fiction, fantasy sports, concerts in the park, cigar smoking, joking with dad, Carl Dreyer, polemics, scotch, high-fives, falling leaves, jazz clubs, drunken arguments, the Best of Christopher Walken on SNL DVD, stand-up bass, country music, Will Ferrell, snowstorms, jukeboxes, tracking shots, cable TV, Dairy Queen Oreo blizzards.

I Don't Like:
Self-righteousness, Broadway musicals, indie rock, ’60s music nostalgia, ’70s movie nostalgia, olives, the phrase "tone poem", whining, the Miami Dolphins, loud neighbors, cults of personality, organic food stores, Noam Chomsky, humidity, rudeness, Dane Cook, rum, fake smiles, hangovers, Bluetooth headsets, idealism, iPods, cultural studies, moving out, self-pity, quick zooms, the WNBA, dictators, weak coffee, ideologues, plugged toilets.

In other news, the New-York Ghost has emerged...

It's a wonderful list

Poundstone delivers!

J'aime:
Morels, pear butter, hush puppies (fried batter!), coconut ice cream, crème brulée, cold sesame noodles, Noah's Bagels (faux-New York bagel chain found only outside of NY), the smell of gasoline, the smell of calamine lotion, the odd euphoria you sometimes feel when entering a tunnel, early risque comedy albums (Rusty Warren, Blowfly, etc.), New York tabloid headlines, Bizarro (newspaper cartoon), Mark Twain, Cyprian Ekwensi, Robert Benchley, Ludacris, Jane Austen, Chick Austin, Richard Dadd, the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Disney Concert Hall, Euler's equation, Gödel's proof, Moebius strips, iPhone, contrails, cumulonimbus clouds, drug stores (to browse, not to buy anything), foreign candy bars (just to look at the packaging), junk mail, case histories of "abnormal psychology," Edgar Allan Poe on gardening and interior design, chihuahuas, CuteOverload.com.

Je n'aime pas:
Chocolate-chocolate chip, buffalo wings, the portrait drawings-from-photographs the Wall Street Journal runs, the abbreviation "IMHO," Don Quixote, The Tale of Genji, Charles Dickens, impressionism, Leger, Damien Hirst, country music, torture porn, Microsoft Windows, William Faulkner, Ernie Kovacs, It's a Wonderful Life

Wag the dog

Earlier I wondered about the spelling of "Jaime" Sommers, the main character in the Bionic Woman. Is "Jaime" a new twist (post–Jaime Pressly) on the more phonetically clear "Jamie," or was it ever thus? (Our "j'aime/je n'aime pas" contest got me thinking about it in the first place.) Check out what Dizzies chief of research Hannah dug up:

According to the Immediate Past President of the American Name Society, Lindsay Wagner's Bionic Woman was indeed a J-A-I-M-E. Ms. Pressly was born in the middle of the show's run. He adds, "Some people have speculated that the spelling Jaime was a deliberate alteration so that the name looks like the French phrase 'J'aime,' which means 'I love.' But it may just be an arbitary [sic] respelling of Jamie. Though not quite as common a practice as it is today, there were plenty of people back in the 1970s who would respell names to make them more 'unique.'"

Hannah wonders: "Might all this qualify as a ouroboros? Or is it more akin to a puppy chasing its own tail?"

(Image taken from here.)

Slate blue vs. bread!

From Dizzyhead Gautam:

I Like:

DVDs, cheese, right angles, pillows, T-shirts, clocks, magnets, posters, cats, chocolate, books, Dr Pepper, milk, rubber bands, photography, garlic, avocados, my iPod, Jack Daniels, paperbacks, the Criterion Collection, slate blue, pushpins, postcards, sandals, hardwood floors, rugs, fire escapes, the subway, coffee, mint, Gmail, roller ball pens, cracking my knuckles

I Dislike:

being bored at work, bread, waiting for the subway, tucking my shirt in, bad wireless connections, spam, loud talking, smoking, messiness, dogs, people who talk to me on the street, bad perfume, arrogance, conservatism, ketchup, people who stand still on both sides of the escalator, bugs, eyelashes that get stuck in my eye, dust, people who just don't get it, Ayn Rand, oily skin, blisters, unnecessary
paperwork

In the company of j'aime

Dizzyhead Bill writes:

Shirley Jackson (who'd be in my J'aime list) did a like/don't like passage in her unfinished novel "Come Along With Me":

"...I like everything about big department stores except shopping in them. I do not like salesgirls and their manners, and having to buy my dresses in a special behemoths department, and I do not like the stupid mockery of people who enjoy keeping you waiting; I do not like credit offices, but I enjoy quarreling over a bill."

* * *

Shirley J. brings to mind Shelley Jackson, who'll be reading with Samantha Hunt, Kelly Link, and Lucy Corin this Friday—what a lineup! It's for Tin House's Fantastic Women issue.

* * *

False Etymology of the Day: the word gem comes from a corruption of j'aime.

Freudian slip

From Dizzyhead Brent (whose two-part Rivette epic concludes in the latest Cinema Scope):

I LIKE
Coffee, cigarettes, pasta, pizza, De Quincey, Bresson, Astaire, Kinks, cats, the first and middle fingers

I DON'T LIKE
Most other food, Kieslowski, Updike, The Doors, insects, Freud, the ring finger

I LIKE DON'T LIKE
Nabokov, Beatles, dogs, people, thumb

* * *

Bonus post—etymology of the day: "A 'rival,' for instance, is someone you are bickering with over river water rights." (A.E. Stallings at Harriet)

And: Over at the PEN America blog, David Haglund digs up a great George Plimpton memory, a name-dropper's delight in which a bit of advice from Steinbeck compels GP to address Jean Seberg while writing about going to a baseball game with Marianne Moore.

I've been liking lately...

Dizzyhead Levi contributes a dazzling list to the j'aime/je n'aime pas contest—here's a sample:

Likes: Rocketlass, baseball, distance running, Anthony Powell, cooking, gin martinis, Wodehouse, well-written history, Don Knotts, Jim Edmonds, film noir, crime novels, pizza, my bicycle, vintage suits, penguins, Chicago, New York, London, Murakami, public transit, steaming bowls of chunky vegetable soup, fake-meat bratwursts, sudden downpours on city streets, birds, Emmylou Harris, Melville, singing along at the top of my range to Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square Club, Johnny Mercer songs, chili, James Kochalka, Iris Murdoch, Spider-man, Peter O'Toole, Yi Yi...

Dislikes: telephones, pre-packaged food, gardening, The Old Man and the Sea, Sting, the Olympics, The Corrections, the Yankees, the Green Goblin, Bush, Cheney, sophistry, cars, anise, absinthe, tattered used books, The Science of Sleep, non-gin martinis, the fact that Idaho and Illinois have the same number of senators, Finnegans Wake, prog rock, smoky bars, mass-market paperbacks...

Make sure you check out the rest at his superior blog, I've Been Reading Lately.

Jamie's crying

Dizzyhead Hannah finds a likes/dislikes list...

Take a look at ELOISE. She's got those lists galore....For instance, from an early edition: "Here's what I like to do Make things up. Here's what I hate Peter Rabbit." [sic] and stuff, although I don't know if it is the website or the girl herself.

...and offers some insights into the Jaime/Jamie controversy:

[Here are] the relevant entries in THE OXFORD NAMES COMPANION, reordered for dramatic purposes --

Jamie (m.), occasionally (f.) 1. (m.) Scottish: pet form of JAMES, used especially among Lowland Scots, in contrast to the Highland form HAMISH, which is derived from a Gaelic form. 2. (f.) English (esp. U.S.): recent adoption as a feminine equivalent of JAMES, influenced by the fact that -ie has come to be regarded as a characteristically feminine ending, except in Scotland.

Jaime (m., f..) 1. (m.) Spanish form of JAMES. 2. (f.) English (esp. Canadian): apparently a respelling of the female name JAMIE.

When the sky is white

Dizzyhead Bess weighs in with her likes and dislikes—niiiice:

I like:

the scent of oranges, coffee, patchouli, toasted bread, podcasts, the A train, London, patios, the ocean, Murakami, Calvino, Benjamin, hosiery, rooftops, possibility, 17th Street, the University of Washington campus, print media, ivy, text messaging, drugstores, manicured fingernails, humidity, silk, sleigh beds, oriental rugs on wood floors, eyes that change colors

I don't like:

baseball caps, FM radio, stale air, one-story houses, Duane Reade, laugh tracks, capers, strong-smelling fish, pork rings, strip malls, firearms, deserts, when the sky is white

I'm continuing the contest for one more week, so send your entries to thedizziesATgmailDOTcom!