Genius As I'm sure many of you know, the MacAurthur genius grants have been awarded this year. While I think that the rampant branding of all the people as being of genius caliber is a bit much, I don't begrudge anybody being given 500 large to keep doing what they're doing. No - I begrudge many of these "winners" for entirely different reasons. Most of them a snarky reflection of my bitterness. Terry Belanger - Terry really likes books. That's it, he got half a million dollars because he thinks that books are the bees knees. Don't get me wrong, I love books too. I think they're great, and hope that they are around forever. But, you know, I'm pretty sure they will. In the write up about him there is this, "...Belanger is making the world a more secure place for the irreplaceable legacy of the book." Uh, did I miss our being projected in a b-move, dystopian future where robots from outer space are rampaging across the planet destroying every book they find in an attempt to exact a revenge that we are too pea brained to understand? I didn't think so. Majora Carter - While I really admire her dedication to making the South Bronx a better place (it ain't so great right now, let me tell ya) it's not really like she's, you know, saving the world. Couldn't they have found somebody who's working really hard to save everybody? I bet Jesus would love that kind of walking around money. Though I'm not sure his robes have pockets. How bout this MacAurthur genius grants people - I've been unwaveringly dedicated to making my life better for over three decades. Could I get $100 or something? Joseph Curtin - He makes violins. Claire Gmachl - I actually have no beef with her winning. I just had to mention her because she's a "laser technologist", and I can't shake the image in my head of her working diligently at Princeton to create the next step in Pink Floyd laser light shows. Coming to a planetarium near you!!! Jonathan Lethem - "Weaving the conventions of noir mysteries, westerns, science fiction, and comic books into narratives that explore the relationship between high art and popular culture." Jesus fucking Christ people! Do any of you even know who Paul Auster is? I suppose it could have been worse, they could have picked Dave Eggers.
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