It

I began the day sitting outside, enjoying the cool morning air and sharing a cup of coffee with a nearby Steller's Jay. Then I booted up the laptop and checked my e-mail only to discover that once again (maybe for the last time) I've been tagged to play along with a meme, which means , according to the dictionary, "an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation." Or as Pierre Fournier (the rascal who tabbed me for the meme) of the gruesomely great Frankensteinia blog puts it, meme is a fancy word for "Tag, you're it!" Thanks Pierre.

Here's what I had to do:

1) Pick up the nearest book.
2) Open to page 123.
3) Locate the fifth sentence.
4) Post the next three sentences on your blog and in so doing...
5) Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

Well, I was outside and not near any book so I figured, "I'll pass on this one." Then I remembered how much I missed feeling part of the blogosphere when I was without a computer for a month or two. Here was an easy way to re-connect. Oh, what the heck...

So, back inside I go to pick up a book sitting on the coffee table...oh this is too perfect: The Playboy Interviews: The Directors (recommended earlier this year by Michael at The Evening Class). Flipping down to page 123, we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of an interview film critic and cinema professor Arthur Knight conducted with actor/director extraordinaire, Clint Eastwood back in 1974. Counting five sentences down from the top (including one partial sentence from the previous page) leads to the following three sentences...

Eastwood: I've got a six-pack of beer under my arm, and a few pieces of paper, and a couple of pencils, and I'm in business. What the hell, I can work in a closet.

Playboy: What does Malpaso mean?

Could that have turned out more mysteriously? I mean, what the hell is Clint doing writing in closet with a six pack of beer? And just what does Malpaso mean? Well, there's no use in trying to resist. Back out on the deck I go with a fresh cup of coffee to read the complete interview with Eastwood. Hey, that Steller's Jay has brought along a few friends. Wish they'd pipe down; I'm trying to read...

Five bloggers tagged for the meme (let us see what's in the book nearest you guys):

Jennifer MacMillan, who sees through Invisible Cinema
Brian Darr, who raises Hell on Frisco Bay
Mike Phillips, who fearlessly composes the Goatdogblog
Adam Ross, who always entertains us with great DVD Panache
Shahn, who shakes up Six Martinis and the Seventh Art

(*it means bad pass or bad step.)

Comments

[Pierre Fournier]

Woah! Great entry, Thom. Thanks for this, and I'll be following your trail to those 5 other blogs.

Cheers!

[Thom]

Happy your happy with it, Pierre. It was good fun. After finishing the interview I'm craving some vintage Eastwood. Where did I leave The Beguiled DVD. . .

[jmac]

"Reading" Playboy for the "interviews," okay, whatever you say. :)

That excerpt is so surreal, it's beautiful!

[Thom]

--"'Reading'" Playboy for the 'interviews,' okay, whatever you say. :)"

Yeah, I'm beginning to think I was ripped off. I mean, I checked every page of the book, and nothing but interviews! :D

As for the meme, "surreal" is the way to put it. It's like overhearing the middle of a conversation without any context whatsoever. I'm thinking of doing it again, at random pages, just to see what other interesting non sequiturs appear.