Floor Time
/flôr tīm/
noun
the 15-60 minute time period spent laying on the floor in the middle of the work day, typically as a relief from the soul-sucking reality of corporate America.
If you’re on TikTok you’re probably getting a lot of the viral Wes Anderson trend on your fyp (some favorites include frog, the wood shop, afternoon at the in-laws, Lisbon—nailed the colorways, library core my favorite side of TikTok!!!, and this Bill Murray dupe—the only one I’ve seen to do the quick zoom). Know that I have watched approximately 30,000 of these because yes, I am a Wes Anderson girlie (shoutout to the guy I randomly sat next to at freshman orientation, #gobears, who went on to become my unattainable college crush, and deserves credit for introducing me to The Life Aquatic, therein sparking my entry into the Wesverse). This viral trend is getting me so jazzed for Asteroid City (hyper-saturated color aesthetic, photosynthesizing in the desert sun, SPACE THINGS?! Sign me up).
Fun fact: The above photo of mine actually made it onto Accidentally Wes Anderson’s website and Instagram! Take a look and learn more about the Byron Bay lighthouse here.
Anyway. What Wes does so well (aside from aesthetic cinematography and being able to tell a tumultuous familial tale) is that he captures humans doing wonderfully pedestrian things in an extraordinary way. He’s curious and he pays attention to the world around him—arguably as most artists do. You may be aware of this, but I too, am an artist1. That said, I haven't been very observant as of late. My head's been down, I've been working, working and saying yes to every project that comes my way—and when I haven't been doing that, my nose has been in the Throne of Glass series, I’ve been having stress dreams about Yellowjackets S2E2, or investing a lot of attention into my relationships (wholesome!!).
This week, I went back to channeling the original © Clarice in New York, in which I was not annoyed by tourists, always in a rush2, nor unobservant of the humans of New York. So every time I was in transit this week, I removed my headphones and took my attention off my phone. Here are some of the tiny little subway moments I caught with my eyeballs. I'd like to think that Mr. Anderson would delight in some of these moments were he in my shoes, too.
A subway busker finishing a set and escorting a very lost, baggage-carrying couple onto the right train line. Then saying, “Make sure you stay on for 3 stops—not 2. It’ll make the walk closer.”
A woman reading A Court of Silver Flames (aka the most salacious fiction writing I have ever consumed) and her eyes darting to her right and left before allowing herself to visibly blush.
A man walking onto a subway car discovering that his friend was in the carriage—they asked each other about their kids and agreed to have one another over for dinner.
An artist sketching other people on the subway.
A cute elderly couple debating in Cantonese which of the two restaurants they visited this week served better dumplings.
What about you? Caught any good New York moments this week?
Something Extra
Bonus content! Talking about Wes Anderson got me all jazzed so I ordered the following list from my favorite to least favorite (but know that my favorite frequently oscillates depending on my mood and mental state).
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Always has a special place in my heart because it was my intro to the Wesverse. I love the characters, how they make the underwater sea life, and the score. People on Rotten Tomatoes hate this one mwaha.
Moonrise Kingdom. There is truly nothing wrong with this film? I love it. Also fun fact, the title lettering was created by one of my favorites, Jessica Hische.
The Grand Budapest Hotel. I would argue this is the biggest crowd pleaser of his collection—if you’re new to the Wesverse, start here. Also, Saoirse Ronan!!
The Darjeeling Limited. Putting this so high up on my list I think is controversial for people—but if I’m rating on first watch for all of these, this one earned its spot up here.
Hotel Chevalier. Including this even though it’s not a feature film because it’s perfect and is essential viewing before The Darjeeling Limited. This to me is the Wesverse in a nutshell. And, hello Natalie Portman!
Fantastic Mr. Fox. It is indeed, fantastic.
The Royal Tenenbaums. I feel like this put him on the map, and I love watching the mania of a family of type-A has-beens. Also shocking to think about how Margot Tenenbaum grew up to be the founder of Goop. What a world we live in.
The French Dispatch. So comfortably in the middle of this list. Not his best, not his worst. But Timothée Chalamet enters the Wesverse and that’s fun!!
Rushmore. To me this is Wes at his purest (first feature film!) but it lacks some of the more refined aesthetic he’s come into. But two words: Jason Schwartzman. And that’s enough!
Bottle Rocket. It’s the OG. It deserves your attention!
Isle of Dogs. I get that many dogs die in basically every Wes Anderson film (what is up with that, dude?) but this one is like [redacted] too many. And the story was the most forgettable out of any of his films for me. Also…Japanese appropriation/stereotyping?
Something To Laugh About
Here are this week’s gems:
Did not have these two dancing on my bingo card, but I’m thrilled this exists.
I need to know what this is about.
I literally got this video last week after I had been on a hike upstate and I can confirm this is 100% accurate.
One last thing before we go. It has come to my attention that there is a group of work besties across the pond that read and discuss Floor Time every week, and refer to today as “Floor Time Fridays.” So here’s a special shoutout to you, FSC. May this time be billable and thanks for reading!
Til’ next time, Zissou crew. Your friend,
Clarice
By the way…I’m reading this.
Still Throne of Glass. My goal is to finish the entire series before I leave for #SabbatiCLO year 2 (it’s happening). And I’m 1/3 of the way done. So far, 10/10 character relationships but 0/10 on the spice and smut (this is SJM what is happening?!).
Oh BLEGH did I really just say that about myself?! Pft pft I need to wash myself of these words. Brb screaming crying throwing up my work is terrible and I am an imbecile!!!
There’s a case to be made that this is not true (read: this is in no way true) because I have always kept up a psychotic walking pace.