In Fangirl Praise of Lileks

Filed under:Authors,Reviews — posted by Anwyn on March 9, 2007 @ 11:19 am

Best Word Use of the Week: Rectitude.

If there’s any industry that makes your scam-hackles rise, it’s the car-repair world, but these guys impressed me from the start with Conspicuous Rectitude. Maybe it’s a Minnesota thing. It’s certainly an American thing: six months after a repair job, they agreed without hesitation to revisit the work, because Mister Customer Almighty’s precious quarterpanel was 3/8” out of alignment.

I need car guys like his, but that’s beside the current point: Lileks has a precision of expression that is tough to stop short of the event horizon that sucks you into the Pretentious Zone, but he does it day after day. You’d think it’d be easier to do in a column limited to 300 words, but the Bleat is better. Slice-of-life paragraphs incisively expressed, political opinions that lazily skewer the pomposity of the day without any venom or dirty pool, and now and then he pulls out a Jane Austen word like “rectitude.” Add to all that, he apparently manages to write like this while having stayed at home with his daughter while she was preschool-aged and now continuing to be her main source of company, authority, and homework help during the school week.

If I could write one-tenth as well as that, I’d write instead of edit for a living, but I like to think the ability to size him up is what makes me a pretty good editor. I’ll take what I can get. And keep reading, avidly.

Dave at Battlestar Ridge

Filed under:Cool,Television — posted by Anwyn @ 9:03 am

He visited the set. He totally sucks. And I can’t even read the post yet because I haven’t watched the episodes in question–still catching up after being sick. Ah well. I couldn’t resist reading the part about Mary McDonnell, though–apparently she is indeed as cool as she seems:

So impressed is she by my brother’s research capabilities, Mary will continue to pop out throughout the afternoon and evening to ask him for more information, including at least one more song (wondering whether “Bus Stop” was a Beatles song or a Hollies song– the latter, as we confirmed via the now-invaluable PDA).

Talking to Mary during these breaks, and watching her playful demeanor with the actors and crew, it’s easy to recognize her incredible charisma. She’s one of those rare women who walk into a room and make everyone, men and women, instantly laugh & smile. Oh, and she’s also beautiful– never a bad trait in an accomplished and talented actress.

I’ve loved her since I saw Sneakers. Nice to know she acts like a human being, not necessarily Hollywood being. Welp, more incentive to finish up the episodes in question so I can read and salivate over Dave’s post. But he still sucks. So say we all.

H/t Bryan at Hot Air.



image: detail of installation by Bronwyn Lace