Somebody Please Stop the Foers
Dear Washington:
Next time you see a Foer Brother (you’ll be able to recognize them by their wire-rim glasses, sensible-but-disheveled style of dress, carefully cultivated air of quiet superiority, and the smuggest little smirk you’ve ever seen) — be it New Yorker Jonathan Safron, or his DC-befouling kin, New Republic editor Franklin and this new Joshua character — please, please, please do your old friend Wonkette a favor and punch him right in his self-satisfied mug.
Joshua Foer remembers thinking he did not have a chance to win the USA Memory Championship. That wasn’t his goal. The D.C. resident was participating as a lark, for a book he is writing that explores and demystifies memory.
[…]
But as it turns out, Foer remembers a lot of things — such as how to duplicate a shuffled deck of cards or memorize a list of 100 numbers in five minutes.
Oh boy! He won a fucking memory contest! We hear he’s really good at crossword puzzles and Scrabble, too — hey, you know, we think we read that in a fucking personal essay in The Atlantic, or maybe a think piece in the Times Magazine. Jesus, can’t you fuckers go 20 minutes without trying to “explore” something? Why don’t you demystify that uncanny urge we get to punch a wall when we see your name in the paper?
D.C. Writer Gives Unforgettable Performance [WP]
READ MORE: foers, franklin foer, jonathan safran foer, joshua foer, new republic, writers
Dude, harsh!
I wouldn't mind having me some of those Foer advantages--whether that means an intellectually nurturing childhood or simply the benefits of flat-out nepotism--but I'm not sure hating on them is the way to go. They at least seem to do something generally harmless and maybe even a little helpful with the family name and braininess.
by Smitros on 03/13/06 03:23 PM
Actually it was a personal essay in slate. I think you're just jealous. And Father Foer should start bottling and selling his stuff. I bet it'd go for $4,000 an ounce on the Upper West.
by Juvenal on 03/13/06 03:26 PM
Wow. I feel like I just stepped into some version of a Hebrew pissing contest. An intense experience for this goy. Whatever did this guy, these guys, do to one of you?
by MSM Hack on 03/13/06 04:32 PM
Dear God, how many of them are there? Will they all be commenting?
by papalovesmambo on 03/13/06 04:39 PM
I dunno. Have any of you ever actually READ interviews with novelist Foer? They actually distill the phrase "pompous and nerdly" into a liquid, and DRIP IT ON YOUR FACE.
And seriously? Loud and Close is NOT THAT GREAT. I mean. It's not a BAD book, but it will be forgotten next year.
Remember Michael Cunningham? Yah. Didn't think so. But his books are way better.
by Alfonso X. Alfonse on 03/13/06 04:46 PM
Look like shifty Al Quaeda Members to me...dark hair, weird noses, smug expressions, are they taking 747 flying lessons?
by Synoia on 03/13/06 05:26 PM
I thought "Everything Is Illuminated" showed very strong potential (and there was some beautiful writing in it), but that it was bogged down in pretentious sloppiness. I also felt like I was too much of a goy to understand what kind of point he was trying to make.
by caroline m. on 03/14/06 08:51 AM
Novelist, Memory Man, Editor of some magazine that doesn't have enough pictures in it.
What's the big deal? I could kick any one of these guys asses in Super Tecmo Bowl -- and I'm not even talking about using Dave Meggett as a Kick Returner.
by colinsmith on 03/14/06 03:43 PM
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