January 16th, 2010 / 1:33 pm
Author Spotlight

Let Us All Stop What We’re Doing for a Minute to Recognize the Awesomeness of Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert has apparently been blogging for the Chicago Sun-Times. Who knew–or cared? I would have said “not me.” But then a friend forwarded me this post of Ebert’s about losing the ability–over the course of his battle with cancer–to eat and speak. “Nil by Mouth” is an incredible piece of writing. Ebert begins by detailing his situation, but the piece quickly becomes a meditation on memory, experience, repetition and loss. It’s an astonishing and impressive piece of writing. Will I go so far as to call it a Proustian reverie? Why the heck not?

I dreamed. I was reading Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree, and there’s a passage where the hero, lazing on his river boat on a hot summer day, pulls up a string from the water with a bottle of orange soda attached to it and drinks. I tasted that pop so clearly I can taste it today. Later he’s served a beer in a frosted mug. I don’t drink beer, but the frosted mug evoked for me a long-buried memory of my father and I driving in his old Plymouth to the A&W Root Beer stand (gravel driveways, carhop service, window trays) and his voice saying “…and a five-cent beer for the boy.” The smoke from his Lucky Strike in the car. The heavy summer heat.For nights I would wake up already focused on that small but heavy glass mug with the ice sliding from it, and the first sip of root beer. I took that sip over and over. The ice slid down across my fingers again and again. But never again.

It’s a long piece. But my guess is that once you start it, you won’t want to stop. Also, this apparently wasn’t just a one-off strike of awesome. I’m now deeply immersed in the most recent post, “Making Out is its Own Reward,” in which Ebert remembers the days of universities acting in loco parentis with regard to attempting to enforce student-abstinence, the first time he ever saw a gay kiss in real life, and a whole host of other fascinating memories and bits of half-lost history. He tops things off with a selection of YouTube videos about how to kiss, how to make out, and related concerns. In the clip below, two Asian girls sitting on a flight of stairs teach you how to make a move in a movie theater.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMcI5eMs1JY&

Roger Ebert! Our awareness of your awesomeness is belated, and we apologize. We will be paying attention from now on. Cheers!

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19 Comments

  1. mark leidner

      word, his reviews usually rule too

  2. mark leidner

      word, his reviews usually rule too

  3. Mike McQuillian

      I’ve been enjoying his blog for a while now. My introduction was his piece revealing himself as an AA member for 30-odd years (can’t find the link).

  4. Mike McQuillian

      I’ve been enjoying his blog for a while now. My introduction was his piece revealing himself as an AA member for 30-odd years (can’t find the link).

  5. Matt Cozart

      that was excellent

  6. Matt Cozart

      that was excellent

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  9. Amber

      I’ve spent many happy hours on his site. I love when he does reviews of older-but-not-quite-classic movies. I don’t always agree, but he’s one of my favorite non-fiction writers.

  10. Amber

      I’ve spent many happy hours on his site. I love when he does reviews of older-but-not-quite-classic movies. I don’t always agree, but he’s one of my favorite non-fiction writers.

  11. jereme

      i have always respected ebert. his intelligence, i thought, was always obvious.

      now his taste in movies i disagree with most of the time. he likes a lot of soft mushy shit

      i miss siskel.

  12. jereme

      i have always respected ebert. his intelligence, i thought, was always obvious.

      now his taste in movies i disagree with most of the time. he likes a lot of soft mushy shit

      i miss siskel.

  13. Elliott
  14. Elliott
  15. mimi

      Yes, Roger Ebert is awesome, for many reasons, and an original dork, I think. In any case, I own almost all of his books because there are some people in my family who “know I like movies” and “know I like to read”. In any case, these books I have, written by Roger, are the reason that I have actually rented and watched some awesome movies, such as “Floating Weeds”, “M. Hulot’s Holiday” and “Pandora’s Box”. In fact, the later sent me reeling into a Louise Brooks fit/obsession. She is hot.

  16. mimi

      Yes, Roger Ebert is awesome, for many reasons, and an original dork, I think. In any case, I own almost all of his books because there are some people in my family who “know I like movies” and “know I like to read”. In any case, these books I have, written by Roger, are the reason that I have actually rented and watched some awesome movies, such as “Floating Weeds”, “M. Hulot’s Holiday” and “Pandora’s Box”. In fact, the later sent me reeling into a Louise Brooks fit/obsession. She is hot.

  17. magick mike

      Most importantly, Ebert should be recognized for co-penning the scripts to the most awesome BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, UP, and BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS with Russ Meyer. BTVOTD is pretty much one of the best movies of all time, but god-damn if all three aren’t fantastic.

  18. magick mike

      Most importantly, Ebert should be recognized for co-penning the scripts to the most awesome BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, UP, and BENEATH THE VALLEY OF THE ULTRAVIXENS with Russ Meyer. BTVOTD is pretty much one of the best movies of all time, but god-damn if all three aren’t fantastic.

  19. Links: Aisle Seats « Mark Athitakis’ American Fiction Notes

      […] can pick up his 2006 collection, Awake in the Dark.) At any rate, HTMLGiant is the latest to bring the news, inspired by some of his recent personal essays on subjects like cancer and abstinence directives […]