Anyone else think this woman is extremely unfunny?

[AllenLowe]

http://thebloggess.com/

article in the times today tells us she got a zillion bucks for her new memoir. Her blog is cute but nothing special. Reminds me of a lot of the social commentary on This American Life.

[BERIGAN]

OH I don't know, this seems kinda funny(which is different than extremely unfunny! )

I think I’m at a fancy hotel because I can’t tell what’s in the bottles. At no point on this bottle does it say that it’s lotion. I’m pretty sure “emotion body milk” is semen. I have an entire bottle of free semen and I have no idea what to do with it.

[Tim McG]

OH I don't know, this seems kinda funny(which is different than extremely unfunny! )

I think I’m at a fancy hotel because I can’t tell what’s in the bottles. At no point on this bottle does it say that it’s lotion. I’m pretty sure “emotion body milk” is semen. I have an entire bottle of free semen and I have no idea what to do with it.

I wonder who the hyper-hipster PR yutz is who came up with the description.

[AllenLowe]

it's amusing, but in a very ordinary, obvious way, as all of this woman's stuff is. I find these kind of "success stories" very depressing.

[Tim McG]

it's amusing, but in a very ordinary, obvious way, as all of this woman's stuff is. I find these kind of "success stories" very depressing.

Banality sells.

Just ask milk toast queens Rachael Ray and Heloise.

[T.D.]

FWIW, I clicked on your link, perused the blog for about 15 seconds, and couldn't bring myself to read any of it...

There's a virtually infinite supply of smug self-absorbed bloggers out there. Ragging on any particular one seems like shooting fish in a barrel.

[AllenLowe]

well, this one just got a zillion dollars for a memoir. So she's asking for our attention.

[JSngry]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/us/jenny-lawson-goes-from-misfit-with-blog-to-author-with-deal.html

Ms. Lawson, whose memoir presents a skewering, but deeply affectionate portrait of her family, in the vein of David Sedaris’s “Naked,” grew up in tiny Wall, Tex. Her father was a taxidermist prone to keeping bobcats and wild turkeys as pets. Her neighbors regularly invited the family over to swim in a pool created by water from an open-air cistern that was used to clean pigs. (“Right here is when people begin to say, ‘I don’t believe any of this,’ and I have to show them pictures or get my mom on the phone to confirm it, and then they get very quiet,” Ms. Lawson writes, of the pig pool excursions.)

Elsewhere in the memoir, she blends surprising honesty with acerbic wit, discussing her struggles with anorexia as well as a series of miscarriages.

I get very upset when people like this find success in life instead of just going away to suffer in silence.

Fucking worthless pieces of shit, they are. They do not deserve to live, much less make money.

On the other hand, good for her! She'll not get any of my interest or money, but I've had a life just fine without her presence, and can continue to do so. So, win-win.

[Peter Johnson]

Once again, jsngry puts into words the thoughts I have but couldnt express any more competently. Just...really???!!!

[sonnymax]

So this woman gets "a zillion dollars" while you're still trying to raise funds for your latest recording. Gee, life isn't fair. That doesn't make her any less talented, and it certainly doesn't make her "extremely unfunny". I'll support your musical efforts, Alan, but I won't attend your pity party.

[Chuck Nessa]

Never heard of her. Why are you drawing attention to her?

[Tim McG]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/us/jenny-lawson-goes-from-misfit-with-blog-to-author-with-deal.html

Ms. Lawson, whose memoir presents a skewering, but deeply affectionate portrait of her family, in the vein of David Sedariss Naked, grew up in tiny Wall, Tex. Her father was a taxidermist prone to keeping bobcats and wild turkeys as pets. Her neighbors regularly invited the family over to swim in a pool created by water from an open-air cistern that was used to clean pigs. (Right here is when people begin to say, I dont believe any of this, and I have to show them pictures or get my mom on the phone to confirm it, and then they get very quiet, Ms. Lawson writes, of the pig pool excursions.)

Elsewhere in the memoir, she blends surprising honesty with acerbic wit, discussing her struggles with anorexia as well as a series of miscarriages.

I get very upset when people like this find success in life instead of just going away to suffer in silence.

Fucking worthless pieces of shit, they are. They do not deserve to live, much less make money.

On the other hand, good for her! She'll not get any of my interest or money, but I've had a life just fine without her presence, and can continue to do so. So, win-win.

Exactly, Jim.

I never even heard of this Jenny Lawson until this thread...no kidding.

Edited May 7, 2012 by GoodSpeak

[.:.impossible]

First I've heard of her. Didn't take the time to click the link.

[AllenLowe]

sonnymax - thanks for your musical support but I'm a little sick of people questioning my motives, thank you. I continue my work through thick and thin, 'I never feel sorry for myself, and I bring ATTENTION to things because I remain engaged with the things that engage me - should I not complain about the Koch brothers because you'll tell me I'm jealous of the billions they give to Republicans? And btw it doesn't matter whether or not I bring attention to her. She has an audience.

she is extremely untalented, btw. And unfunny. There is a certain mediocrity that surrounds a certain type of NPR-styled social observer, which she personifies.

though I suppose the things you criticize you criticize on deep principles only. Thanks for letting us know.

and just to add, Sonnymax, fuck you.

Edited May 7, 2012 by AllenLowe

[thedwork]

yep - i'm breaking my rule of not posting directly to anything generated by allen lowe...

i blame jenny lawson. i agree completely that her blog is mind numbingly self-indulgent, tediously self-referential, and so high on the cutesie-clever meter that it's to the point of causing a mild stroke. fuckin' lazy ass, middle of the road, puerile lowest common denominator garbage. about the only positive thing i could muster to say about what she's done is that she's somewhat motivated. she's doing something. but i guess she's proven that that's not always a good thing?

"Look how quirky and clever I can be everyone. Wasn't that last pun/observation funny and clever? I'm so un-serious, relaxed and hip w/ my clever cleverness and post-modern observations about the quirkiness of our topsy-turvy world. Aren't we all (especially me) so sophisticated and whimsical?! Oh... Buy my book."

it shoulda been Lawson having this conversation w/ tyler durden instead of edward norton (after which durden could've invited her to his club). "How's that working out for you, Lawson?":

Edited June 26, 2012 by thedwork

[JSngry]

Man, it must be a drag to deal with shit you don't like.

[Jazzmoose]

Well, this is an entertaining thread.

- I think it's part of the zeitgeist -

I thought Mingus took care of that damned thing.

[robertoart]

So this woman gets "a zillion dollars" while you're still trying to raise funds for your latest recording. Gee, life isn't fair. That doesn't make her any less talented, and it certainly doesn't make her "extremely unfunny". I'll support your musical efforts, Alan, but I won't attend your pity party.

I will only attend if there's music.

[robertoart]

I wouldn't say that it's all women at all.

I could easily lump those male hip-droll

experts Ira Glass, Garrison Keillor, David Sedaris,

and a few other annoying NPRistas into the mix.

Oh. So it's NPR that is responsible for these guys!

I will be extra cautious when I am searching archived Marion McPartland shows and old Lou Donaldson interviews

I thought the blogsphere was running it's course. Perhaps it will be middle aged wits that keep it propped up as the younger communities move towards newer social-media.

Here is another blogger - turned author, who was a hit on the academic-talk circuit here in Australia a few years ago. Blog was called 'stuff White people like'.

The link below was about Black music.

My link

#116 Black Music that Black People Don’t Listen to Anymore

November 18, 2008 by clander

All music genres go through a very similar life cycle: birth, growth, mainstream acceptance, decline, and finally obscurity. With black music, however, the final stage is never reached because white people are work tirelessly to keep it alive. Apparently, once a music has lost its relevance with its intended audience, it becomes MORE relevant to white people.

Historically speaking, the music that white people have kept on life support for the longest period of time is Jazz. Thanks largely to public radio, bookstores, and coffee shops, Jazz has carved out a niche in white culture that is not yet ready to be replaced by Indie Rock. But the biggest role that Jazz plays in white culture is in the white fantasy of leisure. All white people believe that they prefer listening to jazz over watching television. This is not true.

Every few a months, a white person will put on some Jazz and pour themselves a glass of wine or scotch and tell themselves how nice it is. Then they will get bored and watch television or write emails to other white people about how nice it was to listen to Jazz at home. “Last night, I poured myself a glass of Shiraz and put Charlie Parker on the Bose. It was so relaxing, I wish I had a fireplace.” Listing this activity as one of your favorites is a sure fire way to make progress towards a romantic relationship with a white person.

Along with Jazz, white people have also taken quite a shine to The Blues, an art form that captured the pain of the black experience in America. Then, in the 1960s, a bunch of British bands started to play their own version of the music and white people have been loving it ever since. It makes sense considering that the British were the ones who created The Blues in the 17th Century.

Today, white people keep The Blues going strong by taking vacations to Memphis, forming awkward bands, making documentaries, and organizing folk festivals. Blue and Jazz music appeal mostly to older white people and select few young ones who probably wear fedoras. But that doesn’t mean that young white people aren’t working hard to preserve music that has lost relevance. No, there are literally thousands of white people who are giving their all to keep old school Hip Hop alive.

Even as you read this, white people are telling other white people about the golden age of Hip Hop that they experienced in a suburban high school or through a viewing of The Wackness.

If you are good at concealing laughter and contempt, you should ask a white person about “Real Hip Hop.” They will quickly tell you about how they don’t listen to “Commercial Hip Hop” (aka music that black people actually enjoy), and that they much prefer “Classic Hip Hop.”

“I don’t listen to that commercial stuff. I’m more into the Real Hip Hop, you know? KRS One, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, De La Soul, Wu Tang, you know, The Old School.”

Calling this style of music ‘old school’ is considered an especially apt name since the majority of people who listen to it did so while attending old schools such as Dartmouth, Bard, and Williams College.

What it all comes down to is that white people are convinced that if they were alive when this music was relevant that they would have been into it. They would have been Alan Lomax or Rick Rubin. Now the best they can hope for is to impress an older black person with their knowledge.

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[rostasi]

Oh. So it's NPR that is responsible for these guys!

I will be extra cautious when I am searching archived

Marion McPartland shows and old Lou Donaldson interviews

Well, they certainly are making a decent living and gain lots of attention

thru NPR. Don't know if it's their only gig, but they are certainly trotted out

with extended strides during the Beg-a-thons. One of the reasons we got a

Squeezebox (accordion) was because we were ready to upchuck

every time we had to hear Sedaris' "Billie Holiday" shtick for the umpteenth

time (as well as during the NPR fawning right-of-center false equivalencies).

As for Mr. Glib's House of Black Music/White People Dichotomies,

I'll defer to "Tyler" on this one.

[Pete C]

I find these kind of "success stories" very depressing.

If you get depressed by other people's success you need to either:

a) Stop seeking "success" as in fame or monetary reward (you're already a success in the most important sense)

b) Take up Zen Buddhism or something like it*

or

C) all of the above

I used to want to be famous, and got pissed off at undeserved "success." Now I don't want to be famous and I don't give a shit about anybody else's success (except to be happy when friends and those I admire achieve it).

*I'm not a Buddhist, but one might call me a Zen atheist.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Pete C

[Pete C]

Today, white people keep The Blues going strong by taking vacations to Memphis, forming awkward bands, making documentaries, and organizing folk festivals.

Not only did I take a vacation to Memphis (about 10 years ago, during the Beale Street Music Festival), but I took a great 3-state Delta blues tour with Tad Pierson and his '55 Cadillac.

http://www.americandreamsafari.com/

[Neal Pomea]

Cute. Trying to insult some kind of music (more precisely, the people who like it) by saying it's irrelevant.

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." -- Monk.

[Pete C]

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." -- Monk.

The attribution to Monk is incorrect. No definitive answer, but there's a fair amount of citations for Martin Mull, but it could be as early as Clara Schumann.

[GA Russell]

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." -- Monk.

The attribution to Monk is incorrect. No definitive answer, but there's a fair amount of citations for Martin Mull, but it could be as early as Clara Schumann.

I didn't know that there was any controversy about this! I thought that it was Charles Mingus who said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture."