There are some really awesome vintage photos over at esquire.com right now, as part of its Man’s Guide to Getting and Being Married (“because happily ever has to begin somewhere”). I spent all of yesterday working on building the feature and, most importantly, sifting through tons of these photos. Let’s just say stock photos from the 50’s and 60’s have much more life to them than modern ones. I’ll be honest that some of this is a little sap-tastic for my liking, but there are several gems in this marriage package, mostly the marriage-related columns written by some of Esquire’s most famous writers. My favorite is (no surprise) Chris Jones’ hilarious account of how he met his wife. It’s sweet, it’s simple, it’s humorous. In short, it’s real.
“Okay, life’s a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that’s the only chance anybody’s got for real happiness. You call yourself a free spirit, a wild thing, and you’re terrified somebody’s going to stick you in a cage. Well, baby, you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it’s not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somaliland. It’s wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.” -Breakfast at Tiffany’s
The main character in Summer is a guy who is ready to meet his dream girl and then does, in the form of Summer (Zooey Deschanel, obviously). She likes the same music that he likes, and even though she explicitly tells him early in the film that she doesn’t believe in love and hates the idea of being someone’s girlfriend, she likes the same music that he likes so he concludes that they’ll be perfect together. He’s so excited about the idea of dating someone interesting that he never actually gets around to totally investing in or understanding his girlfriend. He’s already fallen in love with Summer because he’s a guy who falls in love a lot, and that’s what he’ll be, always, forever. They date for a while, and it’s good for a while, and then they break up, obviously, because dating someone solely because they like the same shitty music that you like is never the best plan.
…and some other gems.
(I still love 500 Days of Summer.)
“stick around; some real feelings might surface”
So glad I found a version of this song without the speaking part.
“I’m not sure if it’s love anymore, but I’ve been thinking of you fondly for sure.”
Been listening to Hello Sadness for the last few days.
Julia’s fake love for Vance was exhilarating and idiotic; it was the kind of love you can only feel toward someone you don’t actually know. Julia was wholly aware of her electrifying stupidity … [but] he had struck the cerebral switch that makes someone actively decide they are going to be in love with a specific individual, simply because that is the person they are going to be in love with.
There is no feeling that can match the emotive intensity of an attraction devoid of explanation.
- Downtown Owl
(Source: jonwithabullet)
One of my very favorite things in the world is to hear a lyric from a song for the first time, even though I’ve heard the song itself dozens. And definitely favorite-things bonus points when it’s a seemingly crappy pop song you’ve been passively bopping along to for a few weeks.
P.S. If I was making my own list, I don’t know if I would include any of these seven. But I would include this.
