Hal O'Brien

sneerpout just used Facebook to point to this article, claiming in its title, "Sprechen Sie lazy? Why the actors in The Reader should have learnt German"

The response I just posted:

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Mr. Gilbey in this article shows a contempt for imagination that is quite strange for an arts critic. To imagine that no one English or American can have any possible idea what a German feels or thinks is the sort of prejudice and dehumanization of the "other" that leads to wars. If one believes in art, one believes in human universals, regardless of language.

I'm reminded of the story of Laurence Olivier observing Dustin Hoffman's "method" acting technique of not sleeping and making a mess of himself to get into character while shooting Marathon Man. Olivier's comment? "Dear boy, it's called acting."

But then, Olivier was also playing a German in that movie. So I suppose Mr. Gilbey wouldn't have approved from the start.

Or... Oh, is this the "irony" I've heard so much about from my British friends, and Mr. Gilbey's piece itself isn't meant to be taken literally? No American truly understands irony, after all. All my British friends tell me so.

The Royal Mint has announced new designs for the full set of British coins.

The basic idea is that the one pound coin shows the Shield of the Royal Arms, and then the smaller denominations each have of a piece of the picture, which can be seen when you assemble the set together.

The irony, to me, is how the concept is a great illustration of E pluribus unum -- oops, wrong country.

Also interesting is the winning design is by a 26-year-old graphic designer, Matt Dent, who won in an open competition with about 4,000 entries.