This series of essays thorough which Hogkinson argues that the rigid institutions of modern hyper-capitalism (consumerism, bureaucracy, the corporate workplace) conspire to obstruct our access to the simple pleasures of the truly examined life manages to entertain and annoy in equal measure. On the one hand, Hodgkinson's observations on the nature of work are well stated (if less than earth shattering). The following excerpt captures more or less the gist of the book.
And there are new enemies of leisure today. Hunger and God have been replaced in the consumer age by possessions and status. The advertising industry leads us to believe that life will be improved by the purchase of a product. The purchase of a product requires money. Money requires hard work. Or debt. We go into debt to chase our desires, and then keep working to pay off the debt. It's the modern form of indentured labour.Throughout Hodgkinson flaunts his erudition by peppering his work with pertinent quotes from, among others, G.K. Chesterton, Samuel Johnson, Lin Yutang, Oscar Wilde, and even Barbara Ehrenreich. All of this gives the book the feel of an extended literary review (and a very entertaining one at that). It also allows it to descend too far into effete snobbery. This is tolerable to a point, but becomes unacceptable when Hodgkinson's self-absorption leads him into outright hypocrisy. Only a few chapters after his screed against the proliferation of caffeine addiction wrought by franchise coffee sellers, Hodgkinson luxuriates in his own nicotine dependency even going so far as to elaborate on his unapologetic engagement in the affectation of rolling one's own cigarettes. Hodgkinson rails against blind participation in societal trends and conspicuous consumption and then merrily goes raving with the trendy set and later buys his own home beer brewing kit. And here we hit upon the intellectual trap one encounters when engaging in this kind of criticism. It is one thing to point out that society is beset with an oppressive combination of banal trivial obsession and vulgar profit grasping. If one attempts, however, to make this point while claiming that one's own banal trivial obsessions and means of profit grasping (Hodgikinson is a successful editor, writer, and accomplished yuppie in his own right) are evidence of one's besting the corrupt system, well that's another thing altogether. By all means, read How To Be Idle, though. It manages to entertain as well as make a few points even if it ultimately defeats its own purpose.
The Devil's Rejects
Rob Zombie follows up on his cult horror hit "House of 1000 Corpses" by sending sending the villains from the first film out on the lam after their lair is raided by a disturbingly zealous sheriff. What follows is more of a demented chase than an actual slasher/horror flick. The gruesome action sequences are shot in a stop/slow motion fashion against a well selected classic rock soundtrack. (Okay, I could have done without "Free Bird." I mean I realize that it provides just the right degree of camp irony, but I just hate having to hear it.) The stylized violence and snappy diologue make this a kind of hillbilly Pulp Fiction. Its greatest weakness comes from the director's inability to choose from what appear to be three different endings written for the film and consequential decision to sloppily combine them resulting in some unnecessary lengthening. You know you have a problem when stuff is exploding and folks are being shot to pieces and nails are being driven into hands and the audience still feels like the thing is dragging on a bit. Still this movie is way funnier than the first one and I don't much regret the loss of my $7.50. Check it out if you need an excuse to continue your idling.
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