I forgot to mention that Marcus Zusak was blogging on insideadog (I accidentally typed insideadag—Lili, I think we need a name change! Inside-a-dag is a much more accurate name for the writer-in-residence blog!) last month. Oops. You can still go over and read the archive.
This month it’s the fabulous Simmone Howell, whose debut novel, Notes from the Teenage Underground I gobbled up some time ago. Wonderful! You should all go over and say hi.
I’ve also been asked by a couple of folks to blog about the Paris-Hilton-in-gaol thing. I have no idea why anyone would want my opinion on that. I try as much as possible not to think about the Paris Hiltons of the world when there are far more interesting and talented people out there like Lindsay Lohan.
Do I think she should go to gaol?
That’s kind of complicated. I’m not convinced that gaols are the best places for rehabilitation of wrongdoers. But I certainly don’t want rich people to be treated any differently to anyone else. So, yes, she should disappear from view for 45 days. But mostly I kind of don’t care.
What I really want is for her to disappear from view for a lot longer than 45 days. For no one to have heard of her. I know we don’t live in a meritocracy, but I really really wish we did. I’m sick of vast amounts of press being given over to people who don’t actually do anything like Paris Hilton or the British royals. Who cares what Diana’s little boys are up to? And why? What a waste of words, pixels and space. Gah.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against gossip. I loves it. I just wish we confined ourselves to gossiping about the people we know and people who do stuff not people who happen to be famous solely because they managed the tremendously difficult task of being born.
Thus endeth the rant.
i am most fond of your rants.
though actually diana’s boys aren’t all that little any more. make me feel ancient for having been around (& concious) when they were born…
Marrije: male children are always their “boys” no matter how old they get. Scott’s grandmother refers to her “boys and girls” and they are all considerably older than Diana’s children.
i am most fond of your rants.
You’re always encouraging me to be bad! I am sweetness and light. Sweetness and light, I tell you!
i know! i am knitting you a little pink sweater! with a sweet pink zombie on it! do you like angora?
Pink! Angora! You win! I will rant whenever you want me to rant!
I do think this Paris Hilton thing is stupid. I mean, she completely broke the law, so why should she not go to jail? I even saw that some people sent Arnold Schwarzenegger (okay, don’t laugh, that last name is IMPOSSIBLE to spell) a petition, saying how Paris Hilton “brings excitement to their otherwise rather mundane lives.” Crap, crap, crap.
ahhhh, paris hilton. ahahahahahahahaaaa. i actually don’t pay all that much attention to what celebs are doing, which is why, when people say things to me such as, “OMG REESE AND RYAN BROKE UP,” and I look at them and go, “reese and who did what?” i tend to get looks of incredulity, often accompanied by comments such as “what cave have you been living in for the past twenty years?” *shrugs* 😛
Wow. In my amazingly USian vocabulary (southeast Michigan), I definitely read “Gaol” with a hard “G”, and wondered when they were sending her to another country, instead of jail. Maybe they can send her to a jail in Gaol.
ohh so “gaol” is jail?? i didn’t know that.. i think we should do what hank wants to do to hitler and put here in the evil baby orphanage haha
evil baby orphanage?
I would rather read about royals who actually have some sort of ‘official’ connection to our country, rather than reading about the “aussie” princess mary…
And at least the royal british family are only in the paper when they break up or if they go dressed as a nazi to a party a week or so before their grandmother is due to visit germany…instead of every. single. week. Even when all they’ve done is change their ‘style’ even if they haven’t really.
and paris hilton should have gone to gaol years ago.
Yeah, Evil Baby Orphanage is definitely the place for Paris. That would really decrease World Suck. She wouldn’t have become famous and I would have never had to hear that stupid song she released.
The only foreseeable problem would be that she later finds out who her parents are and then the press has a field day with the fact that the Nerdfighters stole her and put her in the Evil Baby Orphanage, thus making her famous anyway. But then everyone would know that she was evil, right?
there was some idiotic protest up in one of the new england states (i think it might have been up near boston, mass.) it was something like “free paris” or something along those lines. the one girl who they intervewed said that people would be out of a job if paris went to jail. (by the way, this girl was a professional paris-impersonator. yes. they do exist. shocking i know.) this is stupid. she broke the law she goes to jail. end of story.
on a lighter note, i just started reading i am the messenger by marcus zusak last night. im on page 169. (my new favorite number. 13×13.) it is sooooooooooo good. wicked book. you people should read it. now. is he Australian? Just wondering because he uses fun Australian words like you have in magic or madness and magic lessons.
i don’t know what she’s done recently to warrant a prison sentence (or is it just a lifetime achievement type thing?) but what if she went to prison and bangkok hilton got a reality show with nicole richie? now that would be worth watching.
good point nichole..OMG i hated her song which it didn’t help that it was highly repeatitive and could get stuck in your heaf very easily. she should have been arrested just for that. We should have snotty rich orphanage for all the people that make americans look like dim-witts cuz shes not really evil just very highly rich and blonde
my comment up there is awaiting moderation? haha
I agree with you 100% about Paris. I hate it when people get famous solely because of their parents…
Hey, um, is “gaol” just an Aussie thing? Or is a good deal of the US saying it too? Because I’ve never heard that before…Mmm maybe I’m sheltered here in NYc and cut off from the states around me…
Ummm… well the whole Paris thing. I could care less but celebrities should be treated like normal people. Marcus Zusak’s book the “the book thief”. it was awesome.
britanne, i’ve never heard gaol before either. (im fron PA) it means jail right?
@Dess-yes, gaol is, I believe, slang for jail.
Paris Hilton. Of course, everyone is talking about her. I couldn’t agree more. Pari Hilton is famous for being famous, rich, pretty, and for drinking and partying. Just because she was born with good genes with a silver spoon in her mouth doesn’t give her the right to do whatever she wants. What have she ever done? She should be forced to go to a rehab center, not sent to jail, though she did do wrong. It might do her some good.
If I was to hear about gossip, I would rather it be about people I knew, people I cared about. Or at least people like Lindsay Lohan or Hilary Duff, who, despite being party girls, actually have a career.
You do rant quite a lot. *laugh* But I enjoy your rants, because you state your true opinion. In this case, I agree 100%.
Notes is a fabby book.
Although I realize that only North Americans incarcerate people in “jail” rather than “gaol,” I’m still partial to our more phonetic rendition of it.
I knew a girl in grad school who seemed to think that Oscar Wilde’s last poem was about his “Reading Goal,” i.e. how many books he hoped to consume.