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We watched Jon Stewart’s Irresistable tonight, which is worth your time. It’s hard to discuss it without ruining it, but it’s an interesting look at the American (and increasingly British) political system. It’s not perfect by any means and there are a couple of misfiring bits and it was possibly a bit patronising in seeing the rural people of mid-America as all lovely and wise and the influencers of the political system as all self-indulgent and ultimately foolish. I wondered if there was a film in the idea of actors doing a film satirising privilege and the love of money, whilst being paid huge amounts of money and travelling in private jets, but it was only a fleeting thought. Because ultimately the heart of the film is in the right place and cleverly subverted expectations. I’d felt uncomfortable about another aspect of the film but that was brilliantly addressed at the end of the film in one of the best moments I’ve seen on screen for a while.
There was a scene where a working man was cleaning his oily hands and it took me back to childhood and my dad and me cleaning our hands with Swarfega in the sink. I hadn’t thought about Swarfega for ages. And it was a Proustian moment as I recalled the texture and colour (green? pretty sure, but I have aphantasia) and smell (I might have the smell version of aphantasia as well because I can almost recall it, but it’s sort of in the back of my nasal cavity like a ghost’s fart). I might have to buy some now, if it’s still going, but why wouldn’t it be?
We drank some wine which had a bit of a strange metallic after taste. For me anyway. My wife didn’t taste it. I checked to see if metallic taste in the mouth was a symptom of Covid 19 and it was. Shit.
Then I remembered that I’d slightly burst the liquid dishwasher tablet when I’d loaded the machine and got a bit on my finger. I wondered if a bit had ended up in my mouth. Was that better or worse that Covid? Is concentrated dishwasher tablet poisonous? What a pointless way to go if so. I know it’s something like this that will get me in the end. My death will be funnier than my life.
Another retro AIOTM. Hope you’re enjoying this time travel. I started vaguely thinking about doing a lockdown version of this on Twitch today. But the book needs to be finished first. Also nothing is occurring to me.
