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I had the very opposite reaction. The snobbery of “the only pasta worth eating”, which is an insult to the diversity of Italian cuisine, deflated me right at th

by jiofih 6y ago

I had the very opposite reaction. The snobbery of “the only pasta worth eating”, which is an insult to the diversity of Italian cuisine, deflated me right at the start. I know it’s supposed to be funny, but also that there is a hint of self-deprecating truth to it... think I’m getting old.

gambiting 6y ago
I also hugely disliked the style and tone of the article. I finished it thinking "well, I guess anyone can call themselves a journalist nowadays". The humor was out of place too, just coming across as snobbish most of the time, even though I can tell what the author is doing. It's just....too much. But hey, other people like it so who am I too judge ;-)
- pivo 6y ago
  For me this had a David Sedaris, obsessive-compulsive writing style that I ended up hugely enjoying, though I admit I didn't get it at first and almost gave up reading. The fact that she opened a Freedom of Information request with the FDA about noodles while acknowledging that the agency was most likely preoccupied with the pandemic made me laugh out loud. If this were just a matter-of-fact reportage on a particular type of pasta shortage I doubt it'd hold much interest for anyone. The whole enjoyment for me was the gonzo reporting style of someone going off the rails about the shortage of a particular type of noodle.
- gambiting 6y ago
  I don't normally comment on points count, but I've never had a comment go from +12 to 0 before, what a polarising opinion ;-)
  - ChickeNES 6y ago
    Don't worry, you're not alone in thinking this article was trash, I stopped reading after the first paragraph
Finnucane 6y ago
It’s like they’re trying to sound so refined and particular that only one kind of pasta is worth eating, but it makes you think they know nothing about pasta, or cooking it.
- afc 6y ago
  Funny, I read it as entirely the opposite, as very tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating, where the author just exaggerates these things but anyone would know he doesn't mean them seriously. Interesting that we seem to have such different reactions to this writing. :-)
  - pksebben 6y ago
    There's this strange cultural divide in the US, and it's not a republican-Democrat thing or a gender thing or a race thing. People from certain cliques are more comfortable with snark, self deprecation, and the sort of hyperbolic lampooning that this article engaged in (I'm in this camp), whereas others read snobbery and cruelty and such from identical sources (and I'm fairly certain the author isnot implying they are better than anyone because of their love for 'the best pasta'). It might be a coastal thing. My Brooklyn friends are usually camp A, my California people skew more camp B, but that's not a hard rule and super subject to sample bias.
    - selimthegrim 6y ago
      I guess Jeremy Howard ran into camp B with his notebook talk, hard
    - jiofih 6y ago
      > I'm fairly certain the author is not implying they are better than anyone because of their love for 'the best pasta' That’s the thing - I am sure they (and the readers) do feel superior for their choice of pasta - or something equally pedestrian, it is what makes the whole “hyperbolic lampooning” work - it wouldn’t be funny if didn’t have a vein of truth. That’s off-putting, maybe because we cant identify with that attitude anymore. Different life stages (I’d be surprised if the author is over 26).
alsetmusic 6y ago
I don’t find it snobbish at all. The author is making high stakes out of an obviously low stakes situation. It’s absurdist. I don’t find it particularly funny, but it is a comedy piece through and through. This is not a person who is taking themselves seriously: > I felt more determined than ever to solve this mystery, not just for myself but for the cast of Saturday Night Live and also the rest of the people of the United States of America, who had been through too much for too long to then have insult added to injury via the spontaneous and inexplicable disappearance of the best noodle. I agree that the writing is well done, though the story didn’t hold my attention. I bailed at about the halfway point.
- jiofih 6y ago
  That becomes clear as the article progresses, but you need to get through the first few paragraphs.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
rsynnott 6y ago
I think it's deliberately hyperbolic; I don't see any reason to read it as the author literally believing that.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
wavefunction 6y ago
>Italian cuisine Wow, I hope you reserved some of your outrage for pasta from other cuisines. Or do they not count lol

by jiofih 6y ago

gambiting 6y ago

I also hugely disliked the style and tone of the article. I finished it thinking "well, I guess anyone can call themselves a journalist nowadays". The humor was out of place too, just coming across as snobbish most of the time, even though I can tell what the author is doing. It's just....too much. But hey, other people like it so who am I too judge ;-)

pivo 6y ago
For me this had a David Sedaris, obsessive-compulsive writing style that I ended up hugely enjoying, though I admit I didn't get it at first and almost gave up reading. The fact that she opened a Freedom of Information request with the FDA about noodles while acknowledging that the agency was most likely preoccupied with the pandemic made me laugh out loud. If this were just a matter-of-fact reportage on a particular type of pasta shortage I doubt it'd hold much interest for anyone. The whole enjoyment for me was the gonzo reporting style of someone going off the rails about the shortage of a particular type of noodle.
gambiting 6y ago
I don't normally comment on points count, but I've never had a comment go from +12 to 0 before, what a polarising opinion ;-)
- ChickeNES 6y ago
  Don't worry, you're not alone in thinking this article was trash, I stopped reading after the first paragraph

Finnucane 6y ago

It’s like they’re trying to sound so refined and particular that only one kind of pasta is worth eating, but it makes you think they know nothing about pasta, or cooking it.

afc 6y ago
Funny, I read it as entirely the opposite, as very tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating, where the author just exaggerates these things but anyone would know he doesn't mean them seriously. Interesting that we seem to have such different reactions to this writing. :-)
- pksebben 6y ago
  There's this strange cultural divide in the US, and it's not a republican-Democrat thing or a gender thing or a race thing. People from certain cliques are more comfortable with snark, self deprecation, and the sort of hyperbolic lampooning that this article engaged in (I'm in this camp), whereas others read snobbery and cruelty and such from identical sources (and I'm fairly certain the author isnot implying they are better than anyone because of their love for 'the best pasta'). It might be a coastal thing. My Brooklyn friends are usually camp A, my California people skew more camp B, but that's not a hard rule and super subject to sample bias.
  - selimthegrim 6y ago
    I guess Jeremy Howard ran into camp B with his notebook talk, hard
  - jiofih 6y ago
    > I'm fairly certain the author is not implying they are better than anyone because of their love for 'the best pasta' That’s the thing - I am sure they (and the readers) do feel superior for their choice of pasta - or something equally pedestrian, it is what makes the whole “hyperbolic lampooning” work - it wouldn’t be funny if didn’t have a vein of truth. That’s off-putting, maybe because we cant identify with that attitude anymore. Different life stages (I’d be surprised if the author is over 26).

alsetmusic 6y ago

I don’t find it snobbish at all. The author is making high stakes out of an obviously low stakes situation. It’s absurdist. I don’t find it particularly funny, but it is a comedy piece through and through. This is not a person who is taking themselves seriously: > I felt more determined than ever to solve this mystery, not just for myself but for the cast of Saturday Night Live and also the rest of the people of the United States of America, who had been through too much for too long to then have insult added to injury via the spontaneous and inexplicable disappearance of the best noodle. I agree that the writing is well done, though the story didn’t hold my attention. I bailed at about the halfway point.

jiofih 6y ago
That becomes clear as the article progresses, but you need to get through the first few paragraphs.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

rsynnott 6y ago

I think it's deliberately hyperbolic; I don't see any reason to read it as the author literally believing that.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

wavefunction 6y ago

>Italian cuisine Wow, I hope you reserved some of your outrage for pasta from other cuisines. Or do they not count lol