Weltschmerz*

Yesterday, I was going through some boxes when I found a large sealed envelope labelled "CLIPS -2000". I remember copying and putting together my clips at a temp job when I first moved here. They consisted of the "best" of my writing prior to moving to New York, when I was a film critic at the then-indie FSU paper, The Florida Flambeau. I never did anything with them or sent them anywhere. Here, out of context, I present some of my favorites:

"It seems odd to go to a movie in order to watch other people have witty conversations, but for Stillman, it works."

"Gattaca's future world serves as an apt reminder that technology can be a blessing or a curse, and we should be careful how far out we allow ourselves to swim in the pursuit of perfection."

"G.I. Jane reminds us that Top Gun can never be forgotten."

"Trainspotting and Shallow Grave were much edgier, more daring, and, ironically enough, less ordinary than this movie."

(From a roundup of 'lesser-known magazines to check out' that was basically just an excuse for me to celebrate and mourn the last issue of Might Magazine, with which I was obsessed):

"Spy Magazine is sort of like Might but not as original."

And my favorite, the last line of a review of The Matchmaker:

"Because Janeane doesn't need to change, the world does."

*Weltschmerz: German word meaning "the depression that results from comparing the actual world to the world as it ought to be." Losing word in this year's spelling bee, which I watched with my friend John Green, who believes, as I do, that this word should be incorporated into the American lexicon. Also, I want to call in sick and say "my weltschmerz is acting up again."

Comments

[emily]

File under "why do I remember this shit, and not the names of any of my pre-third-grade teachers??": I always confuse Weltschmertz with Mittelschmertz, which is the pain that, for some women, accompanies ovulation. In 'Heartburn,' the Nora Ephron book that introduced me to this word, the protagonist cutesily calls
Mittelschmertz "Ethelmertz." All three sound dischargey to me.

[dyb]

I could have sworn Spy magazine went under before Might went under, but judging from your clip, maybe I've got it confused.

I applied for an internship at Spy but they went under two months after my interview. I started writing a letter to Might to try to get an internship there, but they went under before I even finished the letter (it was kind of a long letter). I've since stopped seeking internships at magazines I like, for fear of their safety.

[lindsay]

From Wikipedia:
Spy: After one folding and rebirth, it closed for good in 1998.
Might: Might went out of business in 1997.

So you're probably thinking of the folding of the original Spy, which is the one most people think of when they revere it, which I, of course, didn't know about in 1997, because I was dumb.

But have you considered trying for an internship at New York?

[secret wombat]

My heart skipped a beat when I discovered weltschmertz (the word, not the feeling; I discovered the feeling eons ago) earlier this year. German words often make me happy.