I'm more of a Sh*t, Shower, Shave kind of guy. Even so, when I first encountered the phenomena that has evolved into the Eat, Pray, Love franchise several years ago, I was curious... having read that part of the book's tale unfolds on my beloved island of Bali and in one of my favorite villages there no less...
Borrowing a copy from a friend, I immediately jumped ahead to read the sections pertaining to author EG's experiences in Ubud, a once sleepy village soon to be overrun with middle-aged, sooth-seeking divorcees haggling fiercely in the local marketplaces to save a penny on the myriad hand-carved wooden door-knockers shaped like giant penises (peni?, penis?, penis'?). But that's because of the movie release, a topic we'll get to soon enough. As I began to read the book... or at least the part occurring in Ubud, I grew more despondent... and soon was fighting the urge to throw up in my mouth with each newly turned page. So full were these pages with shallow, venal, banal, pseudo-spiritual bat-shittery that I barely finished the chapter. It goes without saying that the remaining parts of the book went unexplored, at least by me.
And I haven't seen the movie either. This may leave me unqualified to offer any succinct commentary on either the book or the film. Comedian Lewis Black has, however, done both and offers the following, taken from last night's The Daily Show With John Stewart:
2 comments:
Tony! We’ve built ramparts and moats all around Ubud. We found every old Dutch cannon we could lay our hands on, and our perimeter is secure.
My good friend, this is not the time to come and visit us here in Ubud. Please wait until we’ve had that mother of all cremations, one that even Saddam would have been proud.
I say...Eat, Pay, LEAVE! Get ‘em out of here please!
Your armed and ready buddy, Roy
Om Swastyastu Roy, Eri & the boys,
I may not be able to wait for that cremation. I've for an itch and a powerful hunger for babi guling from the highway warung between Tabanan & Desa Tegalmengkeb. Ida Bagus Adi & Putu love it there too!
You might fortify the village perimeter by bringing in some of those newly rediscovered tigers from West Tabanan to hunt down those newly arriving cougars...
Give my regards to Hans,Brian and the rest of the Ubud loonies.
Om santi santi santi om
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