The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

"Okay, Okay, enough of all that. New strip Wednesday afternoon. "  See, we shoulda took bets.

Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: The sincerest form of flattery  (Read 2421 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

pmcd9

  • Mod Squad
  • Dude since Knucklehead times
  • *
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 608
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 12778
  • The Kid is up to no good
    • View Profile
The sincerest form of flattery
« on: March 22, 2005, 03:28:52 am »
I believe I've stumbled across a case of Achewood plagiarism.  I was listening to either Fresh Aire or All Things Considered yesterday morning [ain't I the coolest?] and David Edelstein was reviewing the new Woody Allen movie Melinda and Melinda.  The online version of the review is here.  He summed up his review with this little tidbit "he still can't bring himself to regard comedy as anything but a diversion on the way to the grave."  I seem to recall he said "mirthful diversion" on the radio, but whatever.  Is David Edelstein plagiarizing Chris Onstad?

~Paul
Logged
I hope I never have to refer to a scone in spoken conversation.

Bozack

  • Most Melancholy of Batmen
  • Onstad's Left Shoe
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 10
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 1651
  • stop this car, i'm getting out
    • View Profile
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2005, 03:48:06 am »
Hmmmm. I googled "diversion on the way to the grave," and it only brought up two articles, both by Edlenstein, both about Allen. I'm not going to say it's plagiarism or borrowing, but it's not a common phrase.
Logged
Hey, things are going okay now!

jough

  • God's Own Dick
  • Administrator
  • Philippe is standing on it.
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 948
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 6871
  • If you've got the time, we've got El Guapo.
    • View Profile
    • poetry archives
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2005, 05:34:18 am »
A momentary diversion on the road to the grave was something that Mark Twain wrote about... somethingorother.  Poker maybe?

Anyway, it is definitely NOT an Onstad coinage.
Logged

miles

  • Stinkfist
  • VIP
  • Ocular Shenanigans
  • *
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 10030
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 3476
    • View Profile
    • Last.fm
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2005, 06:49:17 am »
Quote from: "jough"
A momentary diversion on the road to the grave was something that Mark Twain wrote about... somethingorother.  Poker maybe?

Anyway, it is definitely NOT an Onstad coinage.


It sounded so familiar to me too when I read it on the site, but I can't find anything much like it on the web.  Really, really familiar though.
Logged
Order is indeed the dream of man, but chaos, which is only another word for dumb, blind, witless chance, is still the law of nature. - Wallace Stegner

Beatrice

  • Todd
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 10
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 280
    • View Profile
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2005, 04:30:35 pm »
Twainage.
Logged

wombat

  • English-Speaking Pizza
  • Mod Squad
  • Dude since Knucklehead times
  • *
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 644
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12493
  • Yeah man, these are pugs, not some fuck*ng lolcat.
    • View Profile
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2005, 05:40:21 pm »
I just searched half a dozen Twain web sites (I'm home sick from work - great thing to do the first week on the job, sigh) and didn't find anything like this.
Logged
What is this, the fuckin' Algonquin Round Table or some shit?  - Nabu

If you're going to change your life then you have to change it every day, not just the days the world isn't taking a shit on you. -Doc

pmcd9

  • Mod Squad
  • Dude since Knucklehead times
  • *
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 608
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 12778
  • The Kid is up to no good
    • View Profile
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2005, 06:16:43 pm »
I've only heard that expression from Onstad, but it does sound very Twainlike and we know Onstad is a fan.  I think the salient point though is did David Edelstein steal it from Twain directly or did he steal it via Onstad?

~Paul
Logged
I hope I never have to refer to a scone in spoken conversation.

Franz.

  • Dr. Kisses
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 1
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 35
    • View Profile
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2005, 07:44:35 pm »
It may sound Twainlike, but I can't find any evidence that Twain ever said it or anything close to it, and I was an English major with ways of finding such things.

Anyone?

[ Franz. ]
Logged

slink

  • Mod Squad
  • Ocular Shenanigans
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 47
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 3051
  • Слінк Ядранко
    • View Profile
    • OMD on MySpace
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2005, 07:49:30 pm »
I had come across it pre-Onstad's usage, but not from any particular source as far as I can recall, only as a phrase used occasionally.
Logged
FOOD CHAIN! GET USED TO IT!

wombat

  • English-Speaking Pizza
  • Mod Squad
  • Dude since Knucklehead times
  • *
  • Tiny cans of Dr Pepper: 644
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12493
  • Yeah man, these are pugs, not some fuck*ng lolcat.
    • View Profile
The sincerest form of flattery
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2005, 01:44:06 am »
This is all pointless speculation when a certain person should just stop playing with the new screaming booger and tell us the answer already.
Logged
What is this, the fuckin' Algonquin Round Table or some shit?  - Nabu

If you're going to change your life then you have to change it every day, not just the days the world isn't taking a shit on you. -Doc
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »