June 2, 2019

"I get a coffee, egg whites and a bowl of grits. I’m trying to cut out bread. Oh, I have one slice of buttered, whole-wheat bread with grape jelly."

"I go to a place across the street. It’s called Academy. Coffee, cream and three natural brown sugars. No more sugar for me."

From "How Spike Lee Spends His Sundays" (NYT).

There must be a Greek term for the rhetorical device he uses twice in that quote. I really enjoyed that. The Times has a regular feature on how somebody or other spends their Sunday. I enjoy the feature, but I especially like this Spike Lee one, because he doesn't fit their pattern, doesn't treat Sunday as special. The usual celebrity has some fussy Sunday particularity to it, and he so delightfully unspecial about Sunday: "I wake up, brush my teeth, take a shower, put my clothes on, and I go to work. It’s not like for me Sunday is the Sabbath. I got work to do."

69 comments:

Leo said...

He's trying to cut out bread, so he has grits?

traditionalguy said...

The “Churched” have lots of fun socializing and get to hear from the Holy Spirit at no extra charge.

J. Farmer said...

I'm a little confused. The "no more sugar for me" starts a new paragraph, but it's right after he said that he has grape jelly and three packets of turbinado sugar in his coffee. Does he mean no more sugar other than that?

Phil 314 said...

Sunday is Sabbath. Not ushering today.

Otto said...

Ann is at her atheist best this morning.
I think this should be tagged atheist fellowship.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

No more sugar = grape jelly and sugar packets.

Guildofcannonballs said...

What a nasty habit Althouse has.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Other than butter, ice cream, and bacon, I'm cutting out the fat.

Mark said...

3 natural brown sugar packs = no more sugar?

Ok then

Guildofcannonballs said...

Sure, you may think 100 plus million dead last century is bad, but have you ever been forced to inhale second hand smoke because of someone claiming he is religious says it don't matter if you have to ride in a smoky car? It will break you, forever.

Wince said...

There must be a Greek term for the rhetorical device he uses twice in that quote.

Do you mean immediately contradicting his prior assertion? Like when he calls out others as "racist"?

rhhardin said...

I get him mixed up with Spike Jones. Not mixed up exactly because I don't know anything about Spike Lee, but I think of Spike Jones.

Guildofcannonballs said...

I just love when Sam Jackson or Spike Lee says anything, because it allows me to praise a black man.

We know I can't praise Ben Carson or Justice Thomas or MLK because they aren't known to be proggies, and praising non-proggie black men is pathetic racial pandering.

Fernandinande said...

We splurged on some Wonder Bread® the other day.

Jaq said...

It's almost like Spike Lee in his own life believes in hard work!

Temujin said...

I suspect that his 'Sunday work to do' today includes flying up to Toronto to sit courtside at the NBA Finals. It's not the Knicks, but it's the NBA Finals and it's Spike Lee.

Otto said...

@ Guildofcannonballs - Don't you know Ann doesn't delve into "trashy" stuff . After all she has a life long subscription to the NYT.
I know, I know I should be in church instead of this nastiness. Please forgive me.

David Begley said...

And I’ve got a script for him to direct!

It’s alive! It’s alive!

bagoh20 said...

Yea, if you just put "white" in front of "bread" and "sugar" it makes sense. Did someone edit his quotes?

mccullough said...

He’s working on making a great film.

But he can’t actually make one because he beats the drum too much.

His Nike commercials are his best work.

David Begley said...

I guarantee if Spike makes my “Frankenstein, Part II” we will win Best Picture. It’s a lock.

Curious George said...

My favorite Spike Lee moment was when Scottie Pippen dunked on Patrick Ewing, and then walked over to Lee and told him to shut the fuck up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srl2Bwh6A3I

Robert Cook said...

I get the contradiction between his words and deeds, but I think he means "processed" sugar. (We're always told the evils of processed sugar.) He may be under the misimpression that processed (white) sugar is somehow different or worse than brown sugar or the sugar-filled foods he consumes.

daskol said...

Sounds like Sundays are for inviting metabolic syndrome. In a sense I’m blessed that carbs make me gain weight, since it’s a good motivation to cut them. If like Lee I could eat them and stay slim I’d have diabetes by now.

Otto said...

"But he can’t actually make one because he beats the drum too much." Blackness and white guilt is becoming boring.
Was a Knick fan before he was born and wish he would stop his court side antics. It only gets the opposing team more jacked up because he is not just an ordinary fan.

Ann Althouse said...

"We splurged on some Wonder Bread® the other day."

If I did that, I would definitely include Marshmallow Fluff and Skippy Superchunk.

Unknown said...

"There must be a Greek term..."

Moderation in all things.

Ann Althouse said...

No one is helping me identify the rhetorical device. You're not even agreeing with me in seeing the device. I think it's the immediate and open contradiction. It's very common in comedy (often in old sitcoms) where you say you're not going to do X and then, next thing you do is that. But SL has the order reversed: He does X, then announces that he's not doing X. I found that pretty funny.

But maybe the amusement is in acting like "natural brown sugars" isn't "sugar." Of course, he knows it's still sugar and he admits to using three packets. That's his quote, not the reporter's observation. He's making fun of the idea that the "natural brown" kind has some special virtue.

It's interesting that he eats grape jelly along with all that other more virtuous stuff (egg whites and whole-wheat bread). I enjoy details like that, little inconsistencies. I hear a sense of humor in his telling about himself.

Rick.T. said...


Blogger rhhardin said...

“I get him mixed up with Spike Jones.”

I get Spike Jones mixed up with Spike Jonze.

Ann Althouse said...

Here's a list of 30 rhetorical devices, if you want to help me with my homework.

chickelit said...

Conduplicatio? Rhymes with fellatio

rcocean said...

I think its probably more funny in person. In print, its difficult to spot the humor.
For example, the comment about "working". If that serious or that an ironic comment? Is Spike Lee known for spending his Sundays lazing around attending sporting events? If so, the "I got work to do" would be humorous. If not, it sounds dumb.

rcocean said...

I'm cutting out sugar except for the grape jelly, brown sugar, etc.

That's the comic effect he's going for.

Unknown said...

hysteron proteron, is I believe what you are referring to.

reader said...

My husband can’t stand Wonder bread. It reminds me of baloney mush, which is essentially deviled baloney. My mom would grind up chunks of baloney with an old hand crank meat grinder. It was what she would make if she had to feed a large number of people. My sister still asks me to make it for her. She is perfectly capable of making it herself but it tastes better if someone makes it for you.

Otto said...


"Here's a list of 30 rhetorical devices......"
That is the first good post of yours this am. Antanagoge?

Bob said...

Is the greek term "flip-flop"? Or is that reserved for politicians?

David Begley said...

Spike reads Ann’s post because all the smart kids read Althouse. Spike contacts DDB. Spike buys script. Best Picture!

What is that called?

Narr said...

Alas, I'm late, for which I am not unknown.

"Hello I must be going,
I cannot stay, I came to say,
I must be going.
I'm glad I came, but just the same,
I must be going!"

Narr
Good Sunday morn, believers and unbelievers alike

rcocean said...

Wonder bread is good when its TOASTED. That's what its made for. Just plain, its awful. Commercials for it, when I was a kid, used to tout its health benefits. It was full of Vitamin X and mineral Y -no doubt added to the dough. "Tang" was also full of vitamin C and super-healthy. The 70s were the decade of lies.

Yancey Ward said...

I don't read anything in or about the NYTimes any longer, I just read Althouse.

Otto said...


Spike reads Ann’s post because all the smart kids read Althouse-pandering
Spike contacts DDB - smoking grass
Spike buys script. Best Picture!- hullucination

David Begley said...

Otto

Close.

The Extraordinary Delusion of a Maddening Midwestern.

But explain the odds of Meade and Ann meeting and marrying. That was off the charts too.

steve uhr said...

I never liked peanut butter. Wonder bread and fluff was my go to sandwich growing up. Not easy to spread without tearing the bread.

David Begley said...

Otto:

Actually I’m quite confident that my script will be sold and it will get nominated for Best Picture. I just need to get a real Hollywood person to read it. If you want to read it, send me an email at dbegley@lawyer.com.

I’d bet that Meade was confident when he met Althouse. I have complete faith in the quality of my script.

walter said...

I'm a vegetarian. It's ok so long as I get enough chicken.

walter said...

(only white chicken)

wendybar said...

bagoh20 said...
Yea, if you just put "white" in front of "bread" and "sugar" it makes sense. Did someone edit his quotes?
6/2/19, 9:19 AM

Ding,ding ding....the first thought I had!!!

walter said...

Spike is contemplating the casting for "MLK's dark side"

Yancey Ward said...

Yeah, I think Bagoh20 might have deciphered this.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

is the Greek word 'hypocrisy'?

"no sugar"---> eats jelly/sugar
"no bread"---> eats grits/bread

Clark said...

If you want to call this a figure of speech, I think it would be paradox.

Oso Negro said...

Yes, Professor. Vladimir Putin uses this comedic rhetorical device to great comic effect. 1) Invade Ukraine. 2) Tell the world he is not invading Ukraine. It's just HILARIOUS. But he is the only politician who does it.

Oso Negro said...

I suspect it's something like a self-negating statement.

Oso Negro said...

Ooops. My brain negated the word "not" in the sentence about Putin. He has that amazing power. It happened to Trump this week, too.

Mr. Forward said...

Oopsa Delta Alpha Zeta.

Narayanan said...

Oxymoron with nuance.

gspencer said...

"I got work to do," says Spike Lee as to what occupies him on Sundays.

Somehow I think that if SL stopped "working," then either no one would notice or the world would be better off. Or both.

Fernandinande said...

Wonder bread is good when its TOASTED.

You're probably right, it is kinda mushy. Normally we get Great Value White Bread with a fresh from the bakery taste, but we paid $.99 extra for Wonder Bread, soft, white and as wholesome as childhood itself, because it was Indian pay-day so we avoided Walmart and King Stupid's cheap white bread is weird.

I'm sure everyone will be glad to know that just a few minutes ago I enjoyed a slice of Wonder Bread, wholesome as childhood itself, along with Land O’Frost Premium Old World Style Black Forest Ham, affordable, high quality lunchmeat packed in blue resealable pouches with special double zip lock seals which don't work so we stick the whole thing in a zip-lock bag and Mezzetta Deli Sliced Hot Pepper Rings grown non-locally under the California sun and beneath whose glowing yellow and crunchy skin heat is stored to enhance its tart and fruity flavor along with popular Frito brand iconic corn chips in a class of their own still satisfying fans after more than 80 years and washed down with the crisp, delicious taste of Coca-Cola served ice cold for maximum refreshment.

Dave Begley said...

Otto:

Per the WGA, 6,000 scripts are written per year. By any objective measure, my script is in the top 20.

Compare, I have gone out with 23 women in the past 8 months. Either I wasn't interested, they weren't interested or there was no mutual interest. Ann and Meade were in different states, they met once and then they get married. Those odds are out of this world.

mockturtle said...

Just this morning I was driving up the Alaskan Highway and wondering what Spike Lee was eating for breakfast. And now I know.

Narr said...

@Fernandistein121: Stuff'll killya!

Blondie's holding up, though.

Narr
Yoga and diet?

George Grady said...

Apophasis.

David Duffy said...

Sunday morning is the one day my wife gets up before I do. She usually wakes me up around 8:30 with a cup of coffee and says something like, "we have to leave for church in half an hour." We drive through the countryside usually in silence and enter a building, a service and routine so unlike my office and home.

We sing, knell to pray, and have the Eucharist together. Then head home to eat high fat foods and drink lots of wine. Then we take a long afternoon nap before having dinner and preparing for things in the coming week. This day, in almost every way, is unlike every other day. God help me, I'm thankful for that.

I also avoid blogs on Sundays when I comment at Althouse.
I also don't have alcohol on Sundays which is why I stick to wine.

Robert Cook said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

let's make one just for Spike.

"Logophagy"---

where he eats his words, along with what he says he doesnt eat

Nichevo said...


Blogger Robert Cook said...
I get the contradiction between his words and deeds, but I think he means "processed" sugar. (We're always told the evils of processed sugar.) He may be under the misimpression that processed (white) sugar is somehow different or worse than brown sugar or the sugar-filled foods he consumes.


Well, The Crack Emcee was always telling us that blacks don't know ridiculously obvious stuff. Maybe he's just dumb.

ALP said...

He lost me at egg whites. Demonizing the egg yolk is nearly as bad as the gluten free thing. Our brains need cholesterol and he's been depriving himself. No wonder his more current movies are not as good. He was probably eating the whole egg when he made "Do The Right Thing".

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

There's no contradiction in what he's saying.

He's TRYING to cut out bread, not necessarily succeeding, or maybe cutting out doesn't mean cutting out TOTALLY, and it's wheat, not white, so he's on track in regard to healthy eating. He has jelly on his ONE AND ONLY slice of bread, and coffee with with three sugars, and THEN no more sugar for him FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, is what that probably means.

That actually seems fairly healthy, and possibly more sustainable than full abstinence.

There's no word for it in Greek.