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A review by oldpondnewfrog
Another Great Day at Sea: Life Aboard the USS George H.W. Bush by Geoff Dyer
3.0
I like Geoff's suggestions for naming aircraft carriers. "Why not name an aircraft carrier after Whitman? And why stop at Walt? Why not re-brand all the carriers and give them the names of poets? Show me one good reason why the USS Ronald Reagan shouldn't be called the USS Emily Dickinson."
(What else have we named wrong? Not trees, which are, for the most part, possessed of perfect names, though for some reason trees was my first thought. Apple OS X versions, like OS X El Because I could not stop for death? Or the all-new 2016 Nissan Goldengrove unleaving? Nothing as perfect as aircraft carriers.)
He's also hilarious, or else just infectiously delighted with his own dementedness. Like with "Beachbelly." Or, here, he's chatting with the Schwarzeneggeresque gym guard (or coach or something):
I think my favorite phrase in the book was "the shaven-headed duty officer." What mouthfeel.
(What else have we named wrong? Not trees, which are, for the most part, possessed of perfect names, though for some reason trees was my first thought. Apple OS X versions, like OS X El Because I could not stop for death? Or the all-new 2016 Nissan Goldengrove unleaving? Nothing as perfect as aircraft carriers.)
He's also hilarious, or else just infectiously delighted with his own dementedness. Like with "Beachbelly." Or, here, he's chatting with the Schwarzeneggeresque gym guard (or coach or something):
I didn't know what to say but, feeling I ought to ask a question, said:And good people observation/characterization: "Waiters in American restaurants always employ the first person singular when announcing and describing the day's specials. 'I have a lamb casserole with a radish reduction,' they will say, as though this interesting-sounding confection has been summoned into existence by his or her descriptive efforts alone. In Charles's [the officer in charge of the food supply chain] case this grammatical habit took on gargantuan proportions. 'I aim to eat my way through everything on the boat,' he said."
"How big can a human arm become before it stops being a limb and morphs into something else?"
"Excuse me?" he said, and so I changed my tune and came up with a different question, still physical, but less meta.
"I said, 'Are you the fittest person on the boat?'" I said.
"Lot of people fitter than me."
"Lot of people fatter than me," I quipped back. Then, fearing the conversation was taking on a slightly unhinged quality, I asked him about the food.
I think my favorite phrase in the book was "the shaven-headed duty officer." What mouthfeel.