Don't think I've ever made a #mcm or #wcw post on social media...but to use a cliché, there's a first time for everything!
I only started watching "Gilmore Girls" for the first time this year, right before the reboot came out on Netflix. I fell in love with the show on episode one, and quickly realized that, for once — and in contrast to at LEAST the last two seasons of "Once Upon a Time," my other TV addiction — it was largely because of the writing. GG is the best-written show I have ever seen/heard. The original, that is; the reboot was jarring and weird, complete with that ridiculous musical that took up like 1/3 of one of the four episodes (which Lauren apparently enjoyed, but I fast-forwarded through on the first viewing, something I have literally NEVER done before).
So, even though I pretty much hated every bit of the reboot, I still wanted to read her latest book, the memoir-ish one called "Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls." I finally got around to it this weekend, and I was not disappointed. At first, even as I read the first chapter, I worried it would be another fluffy celebrity slushpile in disguise, but it wasn't. Lauren Graham is as sharp (maybe more so) and witty as the character she played so well for so long. Great advice, pretty woman, decent writer (maybe I should give her more credit?). Plus, I found out her beau went to my alma mater! So cool!
Here are some gems I captured while reading:
If you're a writer, actress or fellow creative trying to make her way in the world, check out this book! And let me know what you think!
A post shared by Caitlin Buxbaum (@chitlinfork) on
I discovered this book after I had sprained my ankle this summer, two days before an Ultimate tournament I had been looking forward to for weeks. There was no way I could play, so naturally, I threw myself into living vicariously through any means necessary and available. I do this when I can't do a thing, like sing or play guitar or run or ski or play ultimate — I must suddenly become an expert on the subject by all my book learnin'. (I did also find a documentary on Ultimate's beginnings, narrated by Alec Baldwin, which I have yet to watch.)
My searching expanded from Facebook, where a friend posted an article about one of the greatest Ultimate players of the day, who I later found out hailed from my home state of Alaska! Then of course I read more articles and discovered that Joel Silver, the guy who produced "The Matrix" (AND "V for Vendetta," "Die Hard," and the first RDJ Sherlock movie) is also credited with the invention of Ultimate Frisbee! On the east coast, in 1968/69 (the latter year claimed by stereotypical college-age Ultimate players who prefer dirty humor). Look it up.
What these images don't show you, however, is the utter artistry of Gessner's writing, his dedication to the craft of composing sentences that describe the spiritual — yes, I said spiritual — side of Ultimate. Few amateur players, I think, experience Ultimate in the way Gessner has; few professionals, even, might share his mystical view of what some still deem a ridiculous sport. But I'm telling you, this guy nails it.
Ultimate Glory, as Gessner says early on, is not a history of Ultimate. There are pieces of that within the story, but the book is really about Gessner's journey through life, of which Ultimate was (is?) a big part. He made a lot of mistakes, pulled a lot of pranks, spent a lot of his time under the influence and depressed, but along the way he managed to be a respectable player (in terms of skill, maybe not personality...) and an amazing writer.
Honestly, I'm amazed I didn't dogear more of the pages with all it's poetic prose and witty wisdom (is that a thing?), but here are a few of my favorite passages — see if you can guess why:
From "East Coker" by T.S. Eliot
So, lots of different kinds of highlights you can see here (hopefully). Maybe less about Ultimate than you expected?
In any case, if you are a literary type or a Frisbee fanatic (or, preferably, both), you should read this book. Or if you're just curious about this mythic sport thing! Give it a go. See what you think. And then let me know!
I don't know if this ever happens to you, in some fashion, but sometimes I'll see a photo — or snap one, in my mind, of a scene before me — and think, 'that belongs in my writing somewhere.' My whole 2015 NaNoWriMo novel started in 2012 with the image of a youngish guy in a white T-shirt driving an old red truck down a rainy Canadian highway. We hadn't seen anything but semis for hours and even those had been going by less frequently when I saw him. I don't even know anymore if it WAS a young guy in a white shirt, but I that's how I remember it, that's what fed the idea. I immediately wondered who he was and where he was going, all by himself in the middle of nowhere.
Today, a distant photographer friend of mine (shout out to @sarahjchaput) posted a picture on Instagram that reminded me of this moment :)
