Video: How to accept a Nobel Prize — Goracle-free edition!
posted at 10:56 am on October 13, 2007 by Allahpundit
Cute because of her age, but in a younger person I dare say it would have come off as a tad jerktastic. A simple “hey, thanks” goes a long way.
She atones by patronizing the reporters so expertly, though. “Well, there you are. You see, you say it all for me!”
Blowback
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I had to do a news search to find out who she was. I’ve never heard of Doris Lessing.
I’m such a philistine.
flipflop on October 13, 2007 at 11:03 AM
I’ve won all the bloody prizes in Europe …
haha…Why do I get the feeling she’s just going to take that Nobel medallion and simply toss it in a box full of dusty trophies and awards in the back of the closet.
JetBoy on October 13, 2007 at 11:03 AM
If she were 325 years younger, I’d marry that woman.
BillINDC on October 13, 2007 at 11:14 AM
Nobel schmobel, Doris has some tasty artichoke to cook. Artichoke, I might add, that her companion wore all they way home from the produce mart around his neck. For God’s sake, let him take his artichoke necklace off and get it into a pot of boiling water. No shame, these reporters.
Rational Thought on October 13, 2007 at 11:15 AM
Ha. Reminds me of my grandmother. She used to say “Land O’Goshen!” but “Oh, Christ.” works too.
Titus Flavius on October 13, 2007 at 11:16 AM
Good for her. She’s been a nominee for many years, always a bridesmaid so to speak. Not a first tier capital G ‘Great Writer’ but a prolific and interesting figure. “The Fifth Child” is a spooky tale of a disturbed boy I read way back when.
The Nobels have become increasingly political over the years, especially the so-called Peace prize but even occasionally the Lit prize. Dario Fo, the Italian communist hack playwright, won a few years back and even some of his fans said it was undeserved. Just another Euro slap at cowboy America. But Lessing is a real writer.
I hope the Brits are proud. She represents the last of a generation of distinctively British writers, who were born in the Empire and lived through its end. She’s probably the last of a certain kind of British literary figure; a writer from the days when Brits knew who they were, before mass immigration and the near-erasure of a once great culture.
Thomas the Wraith on October 13, 2007 at 11:24 AM
Maybe you should include her name in the post next time Allah, just a thought.
Good for her, she did not Kowtow to the Nobel jerks. I would like the money that comes with the prize but having my name associated with some of the Lefty socialist Marxist idiots the Nobel’s like to pick… is no honor.
Maxx on October 13, 2007 at 11:31 AM
I just love artichokes…they folks have very good taste.
Yum yum.
Sgt. Khe Sahn
1GooDDaDDy on October 13, 2007 at 11:35 AM
they=these
Sgt.Khe Sahn
1GooDDaDDy on October 13, 2007 at 11:36 AM
Your not the only one. Her name was not included in the post. I don’t know if that was an oversight or if we were expected to know who she was. I’ve never even heard of her, have no idea what she writes.
Maxx on October 13, 2007 at 11:38 AM
Did her son get the Nobel Prize for Inventive Couture?
profitsbeard on October 13, 2007 at 11:54 AM
What a doll.
Reporters are such jerks. Oh, sorry, not lumping you in that Allahpundit.
:)
bridgetown on October 13, 2007 at 12:07 PM
Your not the only one. Her name was not included in the post. I don’t know if that was an oversight or if we were expected to know who she was. I’ve never even heard of her, have no idea what she writes.
Maxx on October 13, 2007 at 11:38 AM
I wondering if it would have mattered if her name was Shelley Sonneheim? Would that have changed your view of the events that transpired on the video?
Editor on October 13, 2007 at 12:28 PM
She probably feels like those old actors or directors who get an Oscar late in their career for a movie that didn’t deserve it, just because the academy feels bad. They get stiffed on their best works, and up getting a “make-up” award later on.
That’s not the best example, because I think most Hollywood types these days jump at every chance to be told how great they are, deservedly or not.
reaganaut on October 13, 2007 at 12:39 PM
I didn’t know JK Rowling was so old! YIKES!
robblefarian on October 13, 2007 at 12:42 PM
No.
Maxx on October 13, 2007 at 12:46 PM
“The professor must have died” hahaha, that was the best line. I love to see the media astounded when people don’t drop everything they are doing to talk to them, cuz after all, “We’re the media!”
Mallard T. Drake on October 13, 2007 at 1:02 PM
What did the guy say? “A certain professor must have died?”
Someone deliberately voting against her maybe? The video stuck 3/4 of the way through for me. Trying one more time.
Connie on October 13, 2007 at 1:04 PM
How wonderful a “look at me, look at me” person didn’t win.
frreal on October 13, 2007 at 1:09 PM
Cool old bird.
peacenprosperity on October 13, 2007 at 1:11 PM
Really, how hard is it to click on the video and see the title:
[b]British author Doris Lessing reacts to Nobel win[/b]?
eforhan on October 13, 2007 at 1:18 PM
(apparently easier than hitting the ‘preview’ button) Mea culpa!
eforhan on October 13, 2007 at 1:19 PM
I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.
boomer on October 13, 2007 at 1:25 PM
I dunno… I’m trying to imagine Sean Penn doing this… Would he come off as the typical leftist/pretentious type?
Skywise on October 13, 2007 at 1:42 PM
She came across to me as someone who has a great sense of self and doesn’t need some award to validate her. She’s 88 years old, seems satisfied with her accomplishments and past the point of caring if other people are impressed or not. I don’t know anything about her besides the video and a quick search, but I like her attitude. Reminds me a lot of my great aunt who is just as bluntly spoken and spry at 98.
deepdiver on October 13, 2007 at 1:49 PM
I’ve never read her books, but Wiki seems to indicate she’s had communistic themes in her books.
I wonder if that’s a correct assessment?
eforhan on October 13, 2007 at 1:51 PM
A better version:
British author Doris Lessing (doesn’t) react
sto Nobel win.Here’s her home page.
Lessing is only the eleventh woman to win the prize in its 106-year history, and also the oldest person ever to win the literature award.
Entelechy on October 13, 2007 at 1:54 PM
It’s people like this who give stature to the Nobel Prize – NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Al Gore and the political hacks who use the award as proof of their “brilliance” are parasites to the achievements of this lady and everyone like her.
logis on October 13, 2007 at 1:55 PM
Yes, eforhan, she’s a controversial and weird bird for sure. Ayn Rand never got the award, or did she? Must.Consider.The.Committee.
Still, her reaction is so bloody (old) British and admirable.
Entelechy on October 13, 2007 at 1:57 PM
I missed that… pardon me.
Maxx on October 13, 2007 at 2:31 PM
I don’t rely on Wiki for the facts but being the Nobel’s picked her, I’d tend to believe Wiki got it right this time.
But I still liked her reaction.
Maxx on October 13, 2007 at 2:35 PM
Yeah, I don’t rely on Wiki for facts either — which is why I asked you fine folks. :)
Absolutely. It’s usually something egoistic and similar to, “You like me! You really like me!”
eforhan on October 13, 2007 at 2:56 PM
eforhan, I didn’t get the impression that she cared one bit about being/not being liked, by anyone, least of which the gaggle…
Entelechy on October 13, 2007 at 3:05 PM
Exactly that, deepdiver. You’ve probably hit the nail on the head. Reminds me of my grandma – sharp retorts with a sting. :) Our entire family adored our feisty matriarch!
Redhead Infidel on October 13, 2007 at 3:43 PM
What an insufferable twit.
Mr Nobel is not exactly having a banner year, is he?
Always Right on October 13, 2007 at 4:11 PM
Here’s what NYT has to say about Lessing’s communism:
Keep in mind that to be a communist in South Africa in the late 1940s and early 1950s was to be against apartheid and institutional racism, not necessarily a Stalinist tool. It’s not the same thing as being a Marxist in American in 1975. Much less today. And you have to give her credit for recognizing the Hungarian uprising for what it was.
I didn’t read “The Golden Notebooks”, Lessing’s supposedly feminist novel that actually pissed off a bunch of feminists. But the fourth of her 4 volume series of scifi novels is an interesting meditation on the fate of a doomed planet. It was made into a Philip Glass opera about 15 years ago.
Whatever her political leanings, Lessing is a serious, if idiosyncratic, writer. She’s not some hack the Nobel committee pulled out of obscurity just to make a point.
Thomas the Wraith on October 13, 2007 at 4:15 PM
Where was he hiding the butter for those artichokes?
Which reminds me of an old joke about a bar bet gone way wrong:
“Artie Chokes 2 for a Dollar”
Which is about my level of esteem for this prize.
Political pandering.
Once Yassir Arafat got it, they should have closed up shop.
profitsbeard on October 13, 2007 at 5:22 PM
Not since 1901
Kini on October 13, 2007 at 5:33 PM
Son of a b**** she had to go to the bathroom! Leave her alone, reporters! Am I not the only one who’s rushing with the keys at the door because for some reason it always hits you right when you get out of the car, just how badly you’ve got to go?
Exit question: Was this a lost episode of the Osbournes?
RightWinged on October 13, 2007 at 6:07 PM
I forgot – I wasn’t medicated enough.
Kini on October 13, 2007 at 6:39 PM
She understands the actual value of a Nobel prize these days.
Mojave Mark on October 13, 2007 at 6:42 PM
So it is true throughout history:
If you disagree with academics, there is a 90%+ chance you are a decent, honorable, intelligent human being.
BKennedy on October 13, 2007 at 7:11 PM
She was surprised that people were waiting for her at her door. Probably wondering if they were going to give her some horrible news. When they told her she won the Nobel Prize, she was relieved that it wasn’t bad news.
Writers can be a bit eccentric. She was obviously delighted from the expression on her face after she realized that they were there to give her good news. She’d been waiting for the Nobel prize for 30 years. She said she can’t get more excited. She was probably really really excited when she got nominated 30 years ago for the first time.
After a while it’s probably like the Ed McMahon sweepstakes where it always says ‘you’ve won’, but you don’t until you see the ‘prize patrol’ at your house. They could have called to let her know they were coming out of respect.
Ambush journalism. . . I guess everyone goes a little nuts when they see dollar signs for a story.
Congratulations lady:)
ThackerAgency on October 13, 2007 at 10:33 PM