1 august 1998		rainbow high they need their escape, and so do i
The quote of the day: The best thing about this country is that it's suddenly become France. -- Daniel Schorr, Morning Edition, commenting on L'Affaire Lewinsky Running news: None today.		I got together with online buds today. At Du-Par's, for the French toast. We were there for 4 hours, squeezed into a booth in the back. Two of them were in town as finalists for the Disney Fellowship--they were notified earlier this week, and next thing they knew they were installed at the Universal Hilton and getting asked, "Who are your literary influences?" and "What are the last few movies you've seen?" I could answer one of those. I haven't the slightest who my literary influences are. Boy, am I glad I didn't get stuck with that one out of the blue. (Of course, I didn't enter the Disney Fellowship competition.) Hm. Harlan Ellison and Gore Vidal for my essay writing, definitely. Stephen King and Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene for my fiction writing. "Um, actually, I've never read any Hemingway that I particularly cared for, to be honest." Boy, wouldn't I have sounded stupid. (Please, no e-mail on whether or not you agree.) Well, I was never a lit major. Actually, I was, but everyone hush up about that, because I never finished that degree, only the Linguistics one. There's recently been a flare-up on diary-l about the worth of online journals. This again. I don't know why the concept of standards--whether personal or universal--frightens people so. The idea that all things are equal sucks, okay? If all things are equal, all things are crap. Honestly, do you have no way of judging two candidates for the same position, whether it's journals or ice creams or TV shows? If so, I feel sorry for you: discrimination and standards are pretty much all we have to wade through the mire. And you deserve all the crap sitcoms involving two guys, a girl, and a pizza parlor that you can stand. For me, the American ideal is not that "Everything is equal" but that "Anyone and anything can earn greatness, not because it has greatness thrust upon it." (I hated The Lion King because of its glorification of "the divine right of kings." Bullshit. Earn the job, mo'fo. There are other beasts in the jungle.) The diary-l discussion has inspired me to update Why Web Journals Suck a little. However, there doesn't seem to be any way of easily pointing out what the new sections are, so forgive me if I haven't marked them. I watched Evita tonight. Not a good movie. Not just because of La Ciccone, who is actually pretty good. (The movie's little more than an extended music video at times.) And certainly not because of Antonio Banderas, who is great in his part: funny, angry, charismatic. So far, Jonathan Pryce has barely registered, so I can't say anything about his part.
		I blame Alan Parker's direction--what's with the soldiers singing in the shower? the continual flashbacks (which go way beyond the musical's use of them)?--and the musical itself, which is seriously flawed. The musical doesn't have a point of view. It doesn't show Evita as a multi-faceted character filled with self-contradictions, but as whatever the current song needs her to be. We don't understand why everyone loves her, let alone tolerates her. Copyright 1998 Diane Patterson Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com