back in the days before television, i would listen to a voice on the radio for years without ever seeing the man; then when i finally met this speaker in reality, his appearance surprised me: his face did not match that familiar voice, the combo clashed. now, in the days of silent cinema, i watch movie after movie starring my favorite movie stars, without ever once hearing them speak; so, when talkie pictures are invented, i will be shocked to hear the voices of my favorite actors: they will seem incongruous, incommensurate. thus, voice and visage are not a fusion but an emulsion, or rather they are a jarring collage, like those egyptian gods that pair human bodies with heads of beasts
last night we watched the first of the last two films by charlie chaplin: a king in new york. it was not as painful as limelight, but it does not have the magic of all his feature films from the kid to the great dictator (i also would include monsieur verdoux) i like the idea of making a u.s. film depicting europe, as he did so often, and then turning around and making a film about new york produced completely in london. i also like that chaplin pokes so much fun at the united states for its anticommunist paranoia this country deserves to be teased for that relentlessly as well as for many other things
lastly a word on the recent holiday season (i wrote the following when i was furious about it yesterday but in the meantime i have calmed down nonetheless i will share the thoughts that i roared during my fit for the sake of honesty the only edit i allowed myself to make to the tirade is that anywhere i had written the word fuck i changed it to the word annihilate so as not to cause offence now i close this parenthesis and open the complaint) all i want is stability in my daily life so that i can ignite wildfires in the mind but this christmas season has been the worst unstable nightmare i say annihilate christmas i have not had a single moment of stability in the whole month surrounding this evil holiday this unholy day of waste i hate mammon worshiping antichrists who pose as angels of light but turn everything into hell i repeat annihilate christmas i vow to avoid christmas entirely next year my heart is for the spirit of giving and friendship not christmas annihilate christmas
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