Pullman/Lynch

Sometimes it is just good to know that you aren't the only one.
Julie Klausner has a weird crush on Bill Pullman, too! I've been kind of wanting to rewatch Lost Highway, but Alex put a temporary moratorium on watching David Lynch films. The reason? He's taking an ENTIRE CLASS on David Lynch next quarter. Color me jealous.

Lady Stuff

On a Winfrey Family Vacation a couple of years ago (which took place on/near a mountain and involved staying in a cabin, as do all Winfrey Family Vacations), Alex brought along a book called Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me. The book consisted of (mostly) humorous essays by comedians, writers, and comedy writers about, you guessed it, the things they learned from the women who dumped them. I brought along East of Eden, because I entertained foolish hopes of using the car time to work my way through a classic. I ended up not even opening East of Eden and instead reading Alex's book when he finished it. A lot of my favorite comedians were represented (notably, David Wain, whose contribution was among my favorites) and I enjoyed the book.
After I'd finished it, Alex asked if it was weird to read a whole book chronicling mens' relationships experiences (and it was all men...no lesbians allowed here!). Well, no. Actually, it wasn't weird, because welcome to the whole wide world of comedy, film, and literature. While I consciously and unconsciously seek out the work of female comedians, writers, and directors, there's no denying that even underground/independent art forms are predominantly male. Of course, this isn't really anyone's fault, and it isn't even inherently bad. Like I said, I really enjoyed Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me. But did I feel like the book was intended for me? Did I feel like I was in on the joke? No way. But that's okay.
When I read Julie Klausner's fantastic book I Don't Care About Your Band, I thought "Finally! It's Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me, but for women!" It was everything the other book had been: witty, smart, in turns hilarious and heartbreaking. But this time, I didn't feel like I was sitting in the corner watching everyone else have fun. Julie Klausner was a woman making astute pop-culture references and identifying with a Muppet. She was funny, and she didn't have to pretend to be a man in order to get a laugh.
All of this is one big rambling way of saying that Julie Klausner is on one of our favorite podcasts, The Sound of Young America. TSOYA has had interviews in the past with some of my favorite smart, funny ladies (Miranda July, Charlyne Yi, Sloane Crosley, Maria Bamford) as well as lots of smart, funny men. The best part of this interview is that Julie Klausner comes across as a very nice person, because as you know, Alex and I have a hard time liking a comedian if they seem mean-spirited. Julie Klausner also compares her book to Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me, saying, "I didn't dump you. You were terrible, and then you disappeared."
Truly a woman after my own heart.

Thursday Night Jams

So I love Julie Klasner. Who doesn't? And it turns out her taste in music is nearly identical to mine, aside from all the musicals. Her playlist is absolutely perfect: Carole King, Fleetwood Mac, even The Carrie Nations. The best choices, though, are Carly Simon's "Coming Around Again" (which is one of my favorite Carly songs, and which JK describes perfectly: "You can't not love Simon's amber-honey voice sprawling over those choruses and belting those jaded, bittersweet truisms about what it's like to grow up.") and this Dolly Parton song, which I'd actually never heard before. It's now permanently lodged in my brain.

Lady Comedy

I found a new hero and her name is Julie Klausner. I plan on making a post about her book, which I read this weekend, but until then...here's this video. I couldn't handle how hard I laughed at this. Other things I couldn't handle: how pretty Julie Klausner is, how much I wish I had hair exactly like hers, how beautiful that dress looks.

Also (can you tell I fell down the rabbit hole, here?) I found this really wonderful essay JK wrote on Hannah and Her Sisters. I've watched this movie multiple times and never once thought about how shitty Woody Allen was being to Mia. Quoth Julie: "Because the cruelty of using poor, fabulous Michael Caine to say what you can’t, in public, to your partner once she is out of character, exceeds the terrain of narcissism and bleeds into some kind of gruesome art. Making this movie to talk to Mia about her adoption hobby, her selflessness, and her general wishy-washiness was a poisonous simulacrum—like talking through one of your Barbies during playtime with your sister. And nobody should learn they’re adopted from Skipper."