Dunder Mifflin Is A Part Of..Say-ber (Sabre)

North by Northwest

I think I first saw North by Northwest when I think I was around nine or ten, I loved it instantly. Interestingly on-point with today’s Russian-US spy conspiracies with the added accuracy of the US going “eh”. Similar to soap operas, it’s a comedic-drama (more known now as dramedy) where it’s so ridiculous how things keep going so wrong (the miss-identification, the murder, the blanks). A good film on its own (and according to many) this was also my first introduction to Cary Grant, creating its own place of nostalgia for my film list.

The house at the mountain scene and the train are what I think of when I think of this film.  While I don’t particularly remember what happens where or when, constant nods to its presence in tv and other films reflect its relevance not just for me as it is an instant classic that will always be able to be enjoyed.

PS—Shout out to Rear Window, while actually released prior to North by Northwest I saw after but connect the two more than I do Rear Window’s Remake (Distubria) due to their aesthetic. I like this film as well for its suspense and alloying you to unfold the mystery with “Jeff” as opposed to just watching him

I haven’t seen this episode yet but oh my, it’s glorious

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Cure of the Black Pearl

It’s a little ridiculous, and it’s been a while so I can’t say for sure, but the original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is one of my favourite movie stories of a romantic relationship because the relationship between Will and Elizabeth that is, actually tolerable.

While much of this might be due Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth that curses, is dominant, assertive in the film and in her own life, their relationship seemed like a better understanding than is what usually portrayed in stories (fiction and non-fiction). Friends, with a real partnership who happen to be romantically involved where neither acts better than the other and both feel the other is better than them. 

*Shout out also to Knocked-Up and This is 40 stars, Pete and Debbie

Parts Unknown

Libraries are not just about books and education; sometimes a connection doesn’t come from a written word or common experience but the opening up of one’s experiences and becoming vulnerable. Libraries have all different mediums for these connections and sometimes the break in the sentence, flutter in the eye you experience directly adds to the depth of the spoken word that cannot be expressed by their writing. Diversity in writing, community and stories includes diversity of media.

Ugh; Anthony Bourdain’s Buenos Aires episode. I hope you can hear us all now, you did so much more than just shove food in your mouth. 

Highlighting the significance of how the food is prepared to the culture and history and individual--it’s why the show wasn’t called something generically--food “Unknown”, but parts unknown. 

Parts of diets we don’t know of, parts of the world we don’t know of, parts of ourselves we don’t know of. 

Thank you, I miss you--> I’ve been missing you

so metropolitan museum of art has a register of books they’ve published that are out of print and that you can download for free! they’re mostly books on art, archeology, architecture, fashion and history and i just think that’s super useful and interesting so i wanted to share! you can find all of the books available here!

Deangelo

Deangelo’s Best Moment: Season Seven, Episode Twenty-Three: The Inner Circle

When he brings up positive changes as negative changes in his (first) conference room meeting post-Michael:

The he plans to leave the office at 5pm

That the company will send Darryl to business school, full ride

He’s getting Toby a new chair

Ice Cream Thursdays

Deangelo’s Second Worst Moment: Season Seven, Episode Twenty-Two: Goodbye, Michael

When he cuts out two huge corners of the cake, eats one with his hands, and then leans in close to yell “No!” at the cake.

Deangelo’s Best Line: Michael’s Last Dundies

When he see’s Meredith’s place and tells Michael “This reminds me of Katrina”

DeAngelo’s Most Memorable Moment: Season Seven, Episode Twenty-Three: The Inner Circle

His fake juggling routine

Born a Crime

Trevor Noah’s (current host of The Daily Show) autobiography Born a Crime about an illegal child born in South Africa during apartheid is not the traditional rags-to-riches story you would expect. He does express breaking out of apartheid and the circle of ‘black payment’ but all before the success of who he is today, actually in only one sentence, as part of background information, does he mention his comedy, his touring and this is all before he came to the states or even left South Africa.  His story of rags-to-riches focuses on the better life he got in South Africa thanks to the willfulness of his mother and some random luck. 

There are a few reasons I love this book so much, for starters, I hear Trevor Noah in every word written, I'm not reading the book, I’m hearing him tell me his story and while watching The Daily Show provides his voice and talking mannerisms the actual art of showing and not telling, portraying his humanness in the story, that’s the beautiful part and it’s not because of The Daily Show. Giving a personal and historical understanding of his experience growing up under apartheid is great for all the obvious reasons: the picture he paints, the life different from ours that he introduces us to, but what he does so seamlessly is showing us our stories within his. 

Once I got old enough I knew I was privileged. Not from the specifics of being white or an upper-middle-class background--everyone I knew was like that, but I did understand that growing up in the states that I always had food and I’d go to college. Growing up Trevor shows us that while very different, that he can show us his world of apartheid and our world all at once, the specifics are different, but the stories are the same: racism, fear, fake personas, heartbreak, domestic violence

He brings us into the understanding of how again were just different types of toasted bread (because really, races aren’t even different types of skin, it’s literally just different levels of shading, this is all so ridiculous--but anyway), how some of us were in to level seven and others 4 and others only level one but we’re all still bread. 

Clark Green

Clark’s Best Moment: Season Nine, Episode

When Dwight tells him “ The bubble wrap is the only thing that is stopping his suit from getting wrinkled. These meetings are all about presentation”

And he responds “that’s actually really smart—God, if only there was any other use or situation for that kind of knowledge”

Clark’s Worst Moment: Season Nine, Episode Two: Roy’s Wedding

When he uses Erin’s gullibility to get her to his apartment alone for a “reporting job”

Clark’s Best Line: Season Nine, Episode Eleven: Suit Warehouse)

When describing Jan’s sexual appetite “Women reach their sexual peak at whatever age Jan as last week. I mean, if it was….like making love with a wild animal. But not like a cougar, like you might think.. It was…uh…like a swarm of bees. Bees that just find something wrong with every hotel room”

Clark’s Most Memorable Moment: Season Nine, Episode One: New Guys

When he walks right across the slack rope

The thing with telling “cliche” stories, but with representation, is… these stories aren’t cliche for us.

Picture this. The people at the table next to you have been getting chocolate cake as a dessert for YEARS. After every meal, they get a chocolate cake. Now, it’s been years, and the people at that table can barely stand chocolate anymore. They want maybe a cheesecake. Or lemon mousse.

But your table? Has NEVER had chocolate cake. Mousse is also good, but you are SO hungry for that chocolate cake, cause you never had it before, and it’s brand new for you, and you’ve been watching the other table eat it for YEARS.

That’s what’s like getting a “cliche” story that’s representative. Has it been done a million times before? Yes. Has it ever been done for US? Well… no. Maybe it’s the 500th chocolate cake in existence, but all the other chocolate cakes weren’t meant for us (girls/PoC/queer folk/disabled folk/etc)

So it being cliche is not a bad thing. You may not want chocolate cake anymore. But we want our slice too.

Hailed, Held, Hung

While my main venture into a library will be for books, as previously stated they are also community centers and should me a resource to increase opportunity and equality of the local residents. A recent episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj looked at another form of inequality, unequal access to the internet.

The internet had become an additional resource all residents in the U.S. and in other developed nations need to have in order to be a successful part of society. Further than the internet, more accurately it’s the instant access to the internet via smartphone but even if not instant the internet has replaced many telephone, mailing and older forms of communication and information access, especially when it comes to research, employment and getting assistance. And again, libraries were part of making up for these inequalities for those who cannot afford, understand or otherwise access the internet.

Unfortunately, again libraries and the communities who need these opportunities and access are hit the hardest. Closing libraries, shorter operating hours and fines related to late library books are creating a further divide. As the world progresses, we have to make sure that not only we don’t leave people behind but that we are doing what we can to rise everyone up together