That's complete nonsense, I know, but it's the best way to introduce Michiko Kakutani. There's a good explanation for that from Monsieur IOZ, where I snagged this snippet from Christopher's comment:
intemperate blog entries and Howard Beale-like outbursts are cheered as expressions of a collective distemper.
I have no idea what that means, but I can spot the rage of a philistine easily. The incoherence of it is grounded in senior middle management entitlement. The offending parties must read her mind, as she can read theirs, in order to know what they've done to provoke.
Cutting loose like that is a generic corporate behavior. A little bit of power brings out the worst in poorly socialized people. And I think it explains the overwhelming managerial class support for a state that's policed from the creche to the grave. They want to abuse people and they want to feel safe doing it. The end result is a country that's impoverished to provide bodyguards for shit-flinging senior book reviewers, among others.
Hyperbole? Try walking into any corporate tower in any major US city.
Comments (6)
I enjoyed the original article IOZ was referring to mainly for the Jonathan Safran Foer roast. What a worthless turd that guy is.
Worst writer ever. A GF at the time tried to get me to read Everything is Illuminated because she thought it was AMAZING, and forced me to go see the film. I couldn't get through the first chapter. Just terrible. The film was one of the most torturous things I have ever endured.
Posted by FB | August 17, 2010 9:47 AM
Posted on August 17, 2010 09:47
Ain't that the truth, about corporate towers...
Posted by Jack Crow | August 17, 2010 12:16 PM
Posted on August 17, 2010 12:16
Did SMBIVA sign a cross-promotion deal with IOZ? Has the ever-elusive "synergy" been attained?
Posted by gluelicker | August 17, 2010 12:22 PM
Posted on August 17, 2010 12:22
gluelicker: Be sure to visit the Cafe Press tee shirt shop where one can also buy coffee mugs and motivational posters! heck, I would buy an Amphibestra tee shirt!
Posted by bk | August 17, 2010 12:55 PM
Posted on August 17, 2010 12:55
gluelicker, not yet. But it's a good idea from my perspective. I like what the grown-up anarchists have to say most of the time. It's challenging. IOZ writes at a level I can understand, and still be challenged to think just a little bit more.
bk, I hear the Wobblies have their eye on Cafe Press. They're going to start making motivational bricks.
Jack, I used to think it was merely self-importance that had them staffed with rent-a-cops. But the snake pit atmosphere in the offices—the bullying, passive aggression, spite and rampant theft—makes the lockdown look almost rational. They could, of course, stop what they're doing and strive for decency, but that's antithetical to the corporate creed.
FB, I've been blessed with a complete lack of acquaintance with Foer. Thanks for the warning.
Posted by Al Schumann | August 17, 2010 2:37 PM
Posted on August 17, 2010 14:37
http://www.counterpunch.org/yates08172010.html
A little off topic but related and worth a read through.
Posted by boink | August 17, 2010 4:07 PM
Posted on August 17, 2010 16:07