At The Margin

After reading of the fun I had with the Nigerian money scammer, my friend Noah sent me a link to a site where some British guys have documented their own interactions with a scammer. It is the best example of comeuppance I have ever read. These guys were actually able to run a scam on a scammer, and they have compiled painstakingly detailed documentation in the form of emails, phone calls, and video footage. It’s worth a read (whatever you have time for, it’s ridiculously long): http://www.419eater.com/html/martins_davis.htm.

At the margin, Kelly understands me. I say “at the margin” because I now regularly read a ton of financial news articles, and they all seem to work in the phrase “at the margin”. For instance, a recent Economist article entitled “Consider the alternatives” (Apr. 28, 2005), states “These blended alternatives may eventually help check OPEC's pricing power at the margin...” I think “at the margin” refers to the fact that people will buy marginally more when something is cheaper and marginally less when it is more expensive. However, it seems to me the phrase is superfluous, as “pricing power” seems to sum it up. As if this weren’t bad enough, in a January 20, 2005 article, the Economist writes “Instead, the president is likely to focus on making his first-term tax cuts permanent and introducing some other changes at the margin.” Again, superfluous. Read the sentence back without our newly-recognized egregious phrase, and it conveys exactly the same meaning. Now I know what you’re thinking: maybe it’s just the Economist. Nope, I read it all the time. If you understand what the heck it adds, please clue me in.

So anyway, at the margin, Kelly understands me. But every once in a while she does something that would indicate she has no idea who I am. This happened today. I’m in improv shows this Saturday, and because of this I cannot make my friend Rich’s party (the astute reader will have properly concluded that Rich’s party is on Saturday). I briefly tried to switch with another improviser so that I could get out of the shows, but my half-hearted attempts were unsuccessful. Anyway, Kelly calls me today and says she was invited to one of her co-workers weddings on Saturday, and wondered if I wanted to go with her, saying “Maybe this will give you the incentive to switch out of your Saturday shows.” Hold the phone. Are you fricking kidding me? What would possess Kelly to think that I would want to attend the wedding of a stranger, let alone more than a friend’s party? I’m stumped on this one. Unfortunately, so far I have been unable to convert this occurrence into any “I’m so misunderstood” points. Alas, that only works so many times. Plus, I’m too busy evaluating the seriousness of Kelly’s threats that there will be firemen at the wedding.

I have come to understand the difference between the television shows “24” and “The O.C.”. Of course, there are many, many differences. But I’m talking about the core basis of the shows, the very substance they are…okay, really it’s just something I noticed. Every once in a while, I’ll catch an O.C. It’s a show that I feel bad about watching, but last night I enjoyed watching it more than any show that requires my brain. What I realized is that the catalyst for the show’s plot is delayed communication. Girl gets sexually assaulted by boyfriend’s brother (an assault that is triggered when he is overcome by his uncommunicated feelings for her) while boyfriend is away. Boyfriend returns, and girlfriend is acting weird. Boyfriend asks what is wrong, and girlfriend displays overt signs that something is VERY wrong, yet they don’t communicate about it and the topic is put off until later (“later” being all throughout the 2 hour special and into next week’s episode). This communication delay happened in every plot line in the show. And well it should. That’s all they’ve got. The whole show is about who’s banging who, who’s cheating on who…so if everyone is in perfect communication, there’s no show.

Contrast this with “24”. I would rejoice if during just one episode the characters could put off one emotional discussion until later. A nuclear bomb is within two hours of exploding in Los Angeles, yet terrorist fighter Tony needs to explain to his girlfriend/boss Michelle right now that he’s missed her since she moved out. When you’ve got a nuclear bomb, you don’t need miscommunication to keep your viewers from week to week. But how I wish the writers thought they did. Enough with the extraneous emotional yapping. They should start a new show called “6”. It’s all Kiefer, all the time, kicking ass. They’d have a shorter season, but due to the increased watchability, they’d rack up way more eyeball-hours, at the margin.