Althouse: "This dramatic announcement marks a sad and grim turn to the [Toronto Mayor Rob] Ford story, which always mixed tragic elements with heavy doses of the comic and the surreal."

September 18, 2014

"This dramatic announcement marks a sad and grim turn to the [Toronto Mayor Rob] Ford story, which always mixed tragic elements with heavy doses of the comic and the surreal."

"These are the sort of dark reversals of fortune which probably haunt all of us, either about our loved ones or ourselves. I would feel remiss not saying that this latest development somehow continues the surreal nature of this man's public story, larger than life, almost operatic in its improbability and drama, almost difficult to even believe."

Josh Marshall, having had his fun with Ford, seems to feel a need to perform in the Theater of Purple Prose. Me, I've always ignored Ford. I didn't care to amuse myself with him when he was supposedly so amusing. Now, we learn he is one of the millions of human beings with cancer alive in the world today, and there's nothing I would "feel remiss not saying." If there was, I guarantee I wouldn't use that phrase.

ADDED: Getting cancer is not "operatic in its improbability." It may be improbable in the sense that it's more likely than not that you don't have cancer, but the likelihood is enough that there's nothing "operatic" about your number coming up. Maybe Josh Marshall is thinking of opera because of the stereotype that opera singers are fat and Rob Ford is both fat and afflicted with cancer of the fat.

10 comments:

Crackers said...: I like wbenever not caring becomes whites cause celeb.

Reminds me of slavery,...; 9/18/14, 10:46 AM
Unknown said...: Purple Prose has its place and Mr. Ford is a purple subject.; 9/18/14, 11:02 AM
traditionalguy said...: Our Church group announcements keep a close eye on many cancer patient's journeys updated regularly, and then one day there comes the funeral. Many pray sincerely for their peace and for their burdened family members.

Lately there has been an upsurge in Chromes Disease sufferers among the 30 to 60 age groups. Funny but I never heard of it until recently. It is a true suffering.

Speaking of suffering, last night's installment of The Roosevelts had Franklin suffering until it remade him.; 9/18/14, 11:12 AM
Bob Ellison said...: 'Twould be a disservice to all of humankind, especially those cursed with the dread that we call cancer, not to observe that this man, Rob Ford, was but a man with foibles, especially that time when he shot Jesse James. I'faith, to the soil buried, or to the wind cremated, or to the roiling seas must we all surrender our flesh eventually, unless we manage to shed this earthly coil with what I was taught is a minimum escape velocity of something like twenty-five thousand miles per hour. Impractical and costly.; 9/18/14, 11:15 AM
JPS said...: Ford leaped to his rescue, hazarding "counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor of the ... er ..." He floundered too, but Arthur was ready again[….]

"and one is left with a profound and vivid insight into ... into ... er ..." (... which suddenly gave out on him.)

Ford leaped in with the coup de grace:
"Into whatever it was the poem was about!" he yelled.

I don't know why I just thought of that.; 9/18/14, 11:15 AM
richard mcenroe said...: Remembering the grace, if bile is a grace, with which US progs greeted Tony Snow's affliction with cancer, I look forward to similar class this time around.; 9/18/14, 12:16 PM
Christy said...: How do you find such a cancer during a regular check-up? A CT scan 3 years ago didn't show anything. Will Obamacare pay for yearly scans for us all?

Unbelievable that this cancer doesn't correlate to fatness.; 9/18/14, 2:31 PM
tim maguire said...: Rob Ford has one thirng in common with Sarah Palin--he has all the right enemies.; 9/18/14, 6:34 PM
sakredkow said...: Getting cancer is not "operatic in its improbability. It may be improbable in the sense that it's more likely than not that you don't have cancer, but the likelihood is enough that there's nothing "operatic" about your number coming up." Maybe Josh Marshall is thinking of opera because of the stereotype that opera singers are fat and Rob Ford is both fat and afflicted with cancer of the fat.

He didn't say getting cancer was operatic in its improbability. He said "...this latest development somehow continues the surreal nature of this man's public story, larger than life, almost operatic in its improbability and drama, almost difficult to even believe."

He's saying the man's entire public story is.

Maybe he was thinking of opera buffa.; 9/18/14, 6:48 PM
Anonymous said...: anyone that says "vote for me, I am not a communist" deserves some respect and sympathy. A pity there are not more of them (non communists) else your Cancer challenge might well be behind you by now. We call it the precautionary principle. Run just as fast as you can, consume everything in your path as driven by markets can competition and people voting with their wallets else you'll end up like New Orleans waiting on Canute to halt the tide. Pre-caution says you may be ended tomorrow if you don't work harder today and insure that every decision is the best you can make in your own and your family's self-interest. Post-caution is when you don't, you let others make the decision as to weather you your family and your children's children live or die, perhaps balanced by the self sacrifice willing given for a community's larger intrest - but it has to be willing given else you're just a slave, because you don't own yourself. They might still die but if you exhausted every (pre) caution, you did all you can and can be at peace with yourself, dead or alive.; 3/23/16, 8:10 AM