Persiflage

Persiflage Says, Part Deux

Persiflage returns to bestow upon you culture and taste.  And to smack any possessing the gall to disagree with her pronouncements.

Persiflage is...

Reading: A.S. Byatt's The Virgin in the Garden.  Reading Byatt is akin to having a conversation with Persiflage's mother.  Neither has quite mastered the intricacies of flipping the "off" switch to the monologue.  Both A.S. and Persiflage's Mom often offer interesting and provocative contributions, yet the recipient quickly becomes wary of the abstruse and seemingly incessant verbal flux.  The Virgin in the Garden left Persiflage irritated and weary.  Also stiff and tense, since whilst reading she unconsciously adopted the defensive tactic most frequently employed during maternal interactions: holding as still as possible in the hopes that, by feigning death, her conversational partner would at last recognize the futility in continued onslaught.

Listening: To all Wolf Parade, all the time.  Apologies to the Queen Mary is a record collection must-have.  "Apologies" is an album you feel, an album of silken raggedness with insightful lyrics and complex instrumental meshings and arrangements.  Buy it.  Now.

Attending: A performance of Handel's Messiah, the first concert Persiflage has attended in several years where she ran no risk of returning home with beer-drenched socks.  This, in itself, left her feeling swank and self-congratulatory in the eclecticism of her taste.  Persiflage, who was raised by Sesame Street to expect constant sound-bite entertainment, was impressed that the performance managed to command her attention for three full hours.  The obvious highlight of the afternoon was the Hallelujah Chorus, but the final Air, performed by the soprano and first violinist, was full, haunting, dramatic, and memorable.

Watching: Miranda July's performance-piece-cum-film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, which reminded Persiflage of a digital-age Free To Be You and Me.  July's film, carrying a heavy-handed message on the prevalence of disconnection in contemporary society, is rife with those prickly, awkward, embarrassed-for-the-character moments which made Persiflage desperately yen for a breath of fresh air.  This effect Persiflage did not appreciate, since she inhabits a land of frozen arctic tundra and did not particularly wish to venture out of doors.  This film had its moments, particularly those when the viewer was allowed to contemplate the gorgeous cinematography, but Persiflage found it ultimately trite and unsatisfying, with cartoonish characters and a halting plot.

Reading: W. G. Sebald's Austerlitz, a delicate and moderate gift to Persiflage's brain after the excesses of Byatt.  Sebald's last work winds and twists as the reader follows the digressive conversation between the two main characters, but Sebald was a master of his craft and never allows the reader's interest to wane.  Sebald's scholastic digressions are in stark contrast to Byatt's, as they always augment, however subtly, the line of plot and story.  Austerlitz is a dark and gorgeous contemplation of memory and history, with sparse tinges of hope which are all the more exquisite in their subtlety.

Persiflage's Game of the Week: The Indianapolis Colts continue their pursuit of a rare undefeated regular season when they take on the 8-5 San Diego Chargers, perhaps the best mediocre team in football.  The Chargers can't afford another loss as they attempt to stake their claim on an AFC wildcard berth, but the Colts are chasing history, and Persiflage feels that the hackneyed phrase, "team of destiny" may not be a misnomer in this instance.

Persiflage Says...

...to do the hokey-pokey and shake yourself about.  No, not really.  No.  No, seriously, stop it!

In what she hopes will be a recurring feature, Persiflage will offer her suggestions on what to- and, more amusingly, what NOT to- read, watch, wear, see, or pop into the CD player.  (And when Persiflage "suggests," she means it with the force of a Soviet-era dictator.  Capisci?)

Persiflage is...

Watching: The first season DVD of Coupling, the BBC sitcom "about nothing but sex."  Persiflage had caught episodes of this show in the past, and found them to be hilarious to the point of inducing convulsions.  This compilation, though, came up short.  Although there are moments of snort-provoking high comedy, the jokes overwhelmed the otherwise inferior writing, leading to choppy and insipid results.  After only two episodes, Persiflage found five of the six main characters so shrieky, grating, and unlovable that she considered purchasing illegal street Valium as a coping mechanism.  (Note to the DEA: she did not.)

Reading: Nadine Gordimer's The Pickup.  Gordimer, a Nobel laureate, writes about Africa and the Mid-East in a way that's thought-provoking and free from easy moralizing or fatuous platitudes on diversity and tolerance.  Gordimer's characters are nuanced and complicated, and she draws atmosphere with a few evocative strokes.  Her prose can be stark and frustrating, yet Persiflage found it ultimately rhythmic and concise.  For Gordimer, creating an artistic work of words doesn't interfere with the telling of a story.  The Pickup, written in 2001, contains themes of communication and rejection; belonging and transience, and the perpetually lingering shadows of what we do and what we do to one another. 

Wearing: A delicious BCBG cocktail dress. At least, she would be were she not broke.  This is ideal holiday style.  The ombre tinting is subtle and sophisticated, making it so much more than yet another little black dress.  The velvet bodice shapes and flatters without unnecessarily constricting.  The length is universally appropriate, yet the strips of silk create a sexy and slightly dangerous vibe.  (The lining of the skirt is full-length, so as to preclude any undesired flashing.  As for desired flashing, you're on your own.)  Note to interested sugar daddies: Persiflage is a size 2. Her mailing address is available upon request.

Watching:  Good Night, and Good Luck.   Persiflage watched this black-and-white movie in its entirety without consciously realizing that she was watching a black-and-white movie.  That's how seamlessly George Clooney's film wraps the viewer into the aura of the 1950's.  Smooth and sleek, with quiet tension and moderated anger, the only sour note was the rather poorly integrated romantic sidestory.  Persiflage was particularly impressed by the film's conclusion, not in jubilant celebration, but in pragmatic recognition of this as a single victory in the ongoing debate which some persist in characterizing as a war rather than a dialogue.

Listening to: Bedouin Soundclash's Sounding A Mosaic.  When did it become so trendy to be Canadian?  Persiflage, in her (unusual) ignorance, suspected our Neighbor to the North was only good for underage drinking, legalized gambling, and hockey prodigies.  Along came Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, et. al., to prove her wrong.  Persiflage stands corrected.  Bedouin Soundclash's album blends reggae, jazz, and an urban sound to create uniquely luscious melodies.

Persiflage's Game of the Week: Undefeated USC takes on 9-1 UCLA in Matt Leinart's final appearance in the Coliseum.  Are the Trojans already looking ahead to January 4 in Pasadena?  Will Reggie Bush's dreams of cradling Heisman interfere with his ability to cradle Leinart's bombs? Will someone beat Persiflage about the head for this well-intentioned effort to introduce suspense into a foregone conclusion?  Also, Army takes on Navy in this 106th service academy matchup.  Although not remotely relevant to the outcome of...anything, Persiflage is a sucker for tradition.  And men in uniform.