Fool

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Another book ticked off in my attempt to catch up to the output of the funny, filthy, Christopher Moore.

It's the Shakespearean tragedy of King Lear, as told by one of the plays' minor characters, the Fool, named Pocket. Pocket is a wise fool who is in Lear's good graces, and can get away with R-rated insults to the nobles that frequent the King's castle. He can also get away with X-rated hijinks with the ladies, too.

Along the way there's a lot of wordplay, violence, anachronism, and theft from other plays: dialog mostly, and the Macbeth witches show up to play an important part in the plot. At one point, Pocket tells a sad lady of how St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland; in return, he's told the "most wondrous miracle of how St. Cinnamon drove the Mazdas out of Swinden."

But since this is a Shakespearean tragedy, we already know pretty much how things are going to end: with nearly everyone dead. (Moore doesn't feel constrained by the Bard's story; there's at least one significant difference.)

And amidst the humor, bloodshed, and smut, there's (surprisingly) a very serious core, having to do with Pocket's origin story. No spoilers here however.


Last Modified 2024-01-25 10:01 AM EDT

URLs du Jour

2018-04-02

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  • Another good guys vs. the bad guys compare-and-contrast lesson in Proverbs 14:16:

    16 The wise fear the Lord and shun evil,
        but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.

    Stupid fools. Pissed off and yet feeling a false sense of security.


  • George F. Will notes a curious stampede, and says wait a minute: Who Will Pay for Paid Family Leave?

    The recent bipartisan budget agreement, which indicates that ten-digit deficits are acceptable to both parties even when the economy is robust, indicates government’s future. So does government’s pregnancy, which was announced nine months ago by this tweet from Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.): “In America, no family should be forced to put off having children due to economic insecurity.”

    The phrase “due to economic insecurity” is a way to avoid saying “until they can afford them.” Evidently it is now retrograde to expect family planning to involve families making plans that fit their resources. Which brings us to the approaching birth of a new entitlement: paid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child. This arrival will coincide with gargantuan deficits produced primarily by existing entitlements.

    As always, Democrats are relying on Republican fecklessness, spinelessness, and gullibility. Usually a safe bet.


  • NYT columnist Bret Stephens writes on The Outrage Over Kevin Williamson and his upcoming writing gig at the Atlantic.

    Dear Kevin,

    You had the right to remain silent. Now every word you’ve ever uttered, and every one you ever will, can and will be held against you.

    I’m sorry to have to write you, for two reasons. Sorry, first, that you have to endure having your character assailed and assassinated by people who rarely if ever read you and likely never met you. Sorry also that your hiring as a writer for The Atlantic has set off another censorious furor in media circles when surely there are more important subjects on this earth.

    This is in counterpoint to a Michelle Goldberg column that argued, no, KDW, should not be permitted to write for the Atlantic. Outside the "parameters of acceptable argument", dont'cha know?


Last Modified 2024-01-25 10:01 AM EDT