The James Donald Forbes McCann Catamaran Plan - S2 Ep29: cusk

Episode Date: October 11, 2026

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You are now receiving the James Donald Forbes McCann-Cathamaran plan. I've just finished reading Rachel Cusk's The Life of M. It's the second Rachel Cusk book that I've read. I also read Outline. And the phenomenon for reading both books was basically the same, which is great beginning. Immediately open up a Rachel Cusk novel, auto fiction. Who knows what we're called?

them. The big thing about this one, by the way, the hook, before I go on and on about Rachel Gus, the hook is, and the reason this one is deemed controversial, is she's written about a celebrity. It's a novel, but it's close enough to being something that presents itself as something like an autobiography of a celebrity. And the celebrity is Natalie Portman. And who doesn't want to hear more about Natalie Portman? So Natalie Portman So And you know

I like a little bit of celebrity tidbit gossip As much as the next person So I thought I'll get that Rachel Cusk book about Natalie Portman I little I saw that there was a new Rachel Cusk book out And I said Like I saw I saw it I saw Rachel Cusk The Life of M

Weeks ago and I thought I don't really I read the start of it I thought Oh it's pretty good but I don't want to And then I heard people going You know it's about Natalie Portman and Natalie Portman's not happy with it. And I said, get me,

Rachel Cusks, the Life of M, the book that Natalie Portman isn't happy with. So when we were in New Zealand, I picked it up, and I read Rachel Cusk's, The Life of Em, and I found the experience of reading it very similar to Outline, which was, for the first few pages, just pleased to be in Rachel Cusk's company.

She can really write. Do I need to be? holding a pen at the moment? Probably not. She can really write. Everybody says that about reviewing the Rachel Cusk's books. They go, wow, she can write. Is it a good book? She can write. Did you enjoy it? Listen, she can write. Fancy ways of saying no. But the first bit is very impressive, and then just for a long stretch, 80, 90% of the book, dragging myself through the thing. not dragging in a heavy or difficult, you know, not like Finnegan's Wake, but just a whole time reading it going, I am in the presence of a sad person is how it feels sometimes when I'm reading Rachel Cusk. I'm, uh, novel, I'm hanging out with a downer is how I feel when I'm reading Cusk.

She's divorced. She feels like an atom. She doesn't like anybody else. She doesn't like anybody. In the two books that I've read, hey, maybe other stuff is going on in the other Rachel Cusk novels. But admiration,

joy, these are not Cuscian adjectives. But then at the end, I will say, at the end of both books, I go, wow, she can really write.

She's really good. She's really a smart, it's like hanging out with a very depressed, divorcee. Who's really smart? And you can do that for a while every now and again.

But it's not, you know, how I choose to spend. You know, if I'm taking time away from the kids and my wife, who I love very much, if I'm taking some time away from them to recharge the batteries that I might better reconnect with them. I probably am more in the market for something that's transparently

Portman Taddle. Taddle the word? Just, oh, give me a little portman action. But it's a cask. It's just heavy. It's hair. I mean, people go, you know,

it's not especially difficult. There's not a huge vocabulary required. The sentences are not technically something that you'll struggle with. When is this woman happy? Is she pleased by something? Where's the joy? She's funny.

She can make you laugh without making you experience joy. And I think that's part of what she's going for. Anyway, so I had this book and I read it. And apparently Natalie Portman's not happy about it. And I don't kind of understand why Natalie Portman wouldn't be... I guess Natalie Portman's not happy about it because the narrative around the book is that Rachel Cusk has written a book about Natalie Portman. It's not very complimentary, but it's not a compliment. It's pretty

obvious reading the book that it's not really about Natalie Portman. It's about Rachel Kask. But the headlines are no doubt. Well, the headlines all seem to be also saying, well, this is obviously a book about Rachel Kask. The headlines mostly, rather than going an expose of Natalie Portman, the headlines seem to be saying, Rachel, what are you doing? Rachel Natalie Portman liked you etc etc etc

it is a betrayal to sort of use a famous friend famous acquaintance maybe it's not clear how much Rachel Cuskin Natalie Portman knew each other but I do I do consider it to be a betrayal because

Rachel Cask knows that low impulse control people like myself I'm very interested in, finding out something juicy about a famous person who was in the Star Wars movies. And just using that to give me lit fig about what it is to be an aging divorcee in a country where it's not your first language. I won't go on and on about it. You know what I thought was funny, though, in the moment that we are in, when we talk about, oh, we talk about AI. And we talk about, you know, End times. Hey, AI, we've got to preserve human creativity, organic art. The two big

cultural icon things happen. The iconic cultural moments that are occurring at this time, when I'm recording is Radra Costa got a book about Natalie Portman, I'm seeing that pop up all over the place, and a digger, which I have not yet seen, this is Tom Cruise movie. And the consensus on both of them seems to be these are bad. People are saying digger's bad. I haven't seen digger yet. Some people are saying digger's great. But the digger narrative in Tom Cruise's digger is this stinks. And it's a bomb. Not only are we saying it's bad, no one wants to go and see it. And the Rachel Cusk book, from what I've read about, people written that, people are coming away going, is it good? Well, she can write. At the time that we are prising and exonerated,

resulting the artist, the two works of art that I can think of, that are certainly, soitnly, that are certainly in my sphere, a mediocre. So it would seem, I haven't seen Digger. And I will say, The Life of Em, I think I could go back and read it again, and I'm sure there would be a depth, but it wasn't an enjoyable enough time that I want to go back and do the work. I'm pretty sure there are clever things happening there beneath the surface, but I didn't like it enough to want to go and do that.

Because I'm not a divorcee, perhaps. Certainly I'm very impressed by Rachel Cusk, and I will, here's the other thing. I will read more Cusk. I might come back to The Life of Am. Hmm? Hmm? I'll read Cusk again. I'm pretty sure I'll read Cusk again.

If I'm ever, you know, for one of something to read and there's a cusk there. I go, oh, let's give the cusk a go. Rachel Cusk. Sexy Rachel Cusk. Sexy Digger with Tom Cruise and the Mexican man whose name. I don't know. I should see, I had hopes to see Digger before doing the podcast, but I ran out of time during the week and I've got to have a podcast out. Isn't that?

something? We're going, we've got to save human creativity. Well, where has human creativity gone? Where are the great works of genius that we're meant to be experiencing? Or have I become out of touch and depressed? It's an interesting question. And one that bears a little scrutiny. When are we depressed? And when are things bad? Who can say? I think. that's prudence. I think the virtue of prudence is meant to come into the picture there, but I don't know, and I look around, and other people don't seem to know either. Like, it's shocking the extent to which nobody knows if they are unhappy or the world is bad. And I'm talking about myself and other people who, people are not on antidepressants. People in antidepressants, you got.

It's probably the opposite problem. Things are bad and you're not depressed because you're on the antidepressants. I had a soup earlier and it's been irritating my esophagus. And only with that burp do I finally feel comfortable. I wouldn't say I felt comfortable. I feel a little heart burning. Not feeling any particular burn in the heart, but you know what I mean. Give me something great.

Why don't you make something great, James? Why don't you be the change we're waiting to see? Why are you sitting in the office filled with stuff? mumbling about a book we haven't read and a movie we haven't seen. It's a good question. Happy to answer it. Because I love you. I just got back yesterday from New Zealand.

We were visiting my wife's family. Did I already say that? I don't know how much I've spoken about. We were visiting my wife's family. We were in Dunedin. Wonderful, wonderful time. And on the way back, we flew Katari Air. It's a, I've read all about Qatar and the Sultan.

I don't think he's a Sultan, I think he's, you know, he's a guy wearing this stuff. And he's got, you know, you know what I'm going to say? Why say you know, gee, I'd like to remedy some of my speech patterns as a public performer. It's the least I can do as opposed to a private performer, Jimmy. Shame. It's so muggy. We were on this plane and it was a Qatarie airline. And they operate a spoken wheel, spoken center. What it is, they have an airport and then everything goes out to the airport and then out as a node.

They've said, where? The Qatar, Doha, everything goes to Doha, everything leaves Doha. We go all the way out and all the way in. So we were in Auckland and we had to come back to Adelaide and the flight went, Auckland to Adelaide, for some reason. I think the reason is that it then goes on to Doha. And it was not very full, and it was not expensive. And for whatever reason, people in Adelaide aren't getting on the flight to Doha very often. But it spoiled my sweet lady wife because she said she hadn't been on a non-Western airline before.

And she's going, is this what? Is this what it could be? the West is in decline. They're treating us with respect. I'll tell you the big thing that my wife noticed about being on a Middle Eastern airline that for whatever, I think because everything has to go to Doha. By the way, if you are a Middle Eastern airline, I know you have to put the oil money somewhere.

It just seems like an odd business model to direct all traffic through the Middle East, especially at the moment James yeah but also especially forever it's not like there's been a good time to fly over the Middle East since I could vote that I can remember

it was a war but my wife said she went to the bathroom and it was warm light the bathroom on the plane had warm light and she said you know usually they have that harsh blue don't inject yourself light. But on this airline, they give you a nice light in the toilet, I think, because they

presume you're not going to inject heroin. And that really, that moved her that a world was possible where you weren't faced with the presumption of heroin. Kids will be. I mean, one of the big takeaways. My father-in-law, he got to go back. My wife's dad, he got to go back and see the family and we went to a lot of different family member houses in Dunedin. And one thing that really touched me was that many of them had paintings that he had done. He had been in art school. He's training to be a painter. And then while quite young, he impregnated my mother-in-law, and they, as teens, had my wife. And he at some point left to art school and now drawers rather and paints, but there are all of these paintings that he's done, and I think they're great.

I really enjoyed the paintings, and I would go into a house and go, that's great. It's another one by my father-in-law. I was, he has, I thought, I could put that on a shirt, that could be an album cover over and over again. So, and then of course, I have a monetization brain, and I go, We'll get him painting. We'll get him doing a design for things on the show. I'm trying to fix capitalist brain.

Not that I'm opposed to capitalism. I'd say I'm overall a big fan. Certainly considering the alternatives. But what is exhausting me now is this constant fantasy. that I should be having an airline. It's when I'm on a plane, I think. In my airline, I start designing their outfits and the costumes. It's a sort of a Kanye moment, I think.

I'm thinking about it. I can't eat at a restaurant without going, what would it be like if I had a restaurant? I can't go to a museum without thinking about my museum. You know those pieces in your closet that you find yourself wearing on repeat? The sweater that goes with everything. The perfect pair of pants. Or the tea you somehow always reach for first.

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I use quince and you should too. At very least my wife has used it. We are one body, one flesh. Buy some shoes. Why don't I have a shoe manufacturing company? Because it's a form of sloth. It's a form of sloth to think about. An ice cream parlor or a massage parlor or indeed coming up with a third kind of

parlor. It's been ice creams and massages for too long. It's a masseuse, but through the hole in the table, there's a lady down there. And she, at the very start of the massage, he gives you a little ice cream. She goes, here you don't. Holds up the ice cream into your mouth. There's a little hole in the day. It's a happy beginning. I think at our masseuse, we probably don't jerk people off.

but we give them an ice cream. Happy beginning. People, men. Fellas, there's, oh, there's so much controversy. There's so much controversy in the world at the moment that I get this shit. It's rare that I have ever so many things that I think. I could definitely talk about that, but there have been a great many of them this week. Have I made any notes?

No, I haven't. Straight from the heart. Unless I have been tricked, it looks as though the United States is, I won't say bringing back, because I don't think they've ever done it before, but instigating live broadcast execution. Not quite the same as a public execution. I think a public execution, people should be allowed to go, but a recorded and broadcast execution. and I think I'm against that public executions that you can go to and see I think I'm for I think I really do think oh I really do think that if you're going to execute people

and I'm not saying that you should in fact increasingly the Catholic Church seems to be saying that people shouldn't certainly the popes are saying. that. Now, whether they're speaking, whether they're teaching or if that's their opinion, I don't know. I'll leave that for others to speculate on. And I certainly don't get any, I don't stay up at night. You're like, oh, I hope they kill more people. But I think if you are going to kill people, you should do it in a public place with the public around, so that if the public are against it, they can revolt. Or that it has the sanctity. of the whole community doing the killing.

It takes some of the strain off the executions. What I don't like is this, we're going to record it and put it on, I guess the internet, maybe the television. Who's the first advertiser, who's advertising before and after that? Or is it on C-SPAN? I don't love this in a secure facility.

We're going to kill them and we're going to show you what that looks like. That seems to me that the only point of that is to just let a nays say a no, hey, you mess with us, we're going to shoot you and we're going to put it on the internet, which is, well, it's a show of strength. It's a deterrent. It feels a little reign of terrory, intimidatory. Obviously, I think people should be intimidated from running around a military facility and shooting and killing people. And yet, it's certainly, a step in some sort of direction? It's a step in some sort of direction. The searing, cutting edge of political commentary here on the James Donald Ford's McCann, Kennamorand, feels like a step. And the other one I saw was Trump, it won't all be politicum,

but it was Trump saying, if we win the midterms, every American citizen gets $5,000. I think that's what he was saying. seeing a lot of commentary on either of these things at the moment, maybe it's happening. Mostly my feet is Rachel Cusk and Digger. The bread and circuses they use to conceal $5,000 if we win the election. We'd just give it to you. That appeared to be what he was saying.

And that strikes me as Latin American third world type. Gee, it's how I feel about it. Not saying it's bad? Hey, I'd love $5,000. I can't have it. I'm not a citizen. I'm sufficiently clocked out of Australian politics and unhappy with the options on the table. But if one of them did stand up and say,

vote for us, we'll give you $5,000, I'd be, I'd know what that did for me. And I guess that's basically what a tax cut is. If you are rich, it's just the government saying, yeah, we're going to take five grand. No, we're not. Anyway, I didn't want to over-politicize the pod. I just feel like more people should be discussing. Live streaming and execution,

that seems like something that's new. And given people just cash for voting for you. That seems new as well. But I'm not following the news very closely. Maybe this happens all the time. And maybe it's good. I just felt like, oh, I just wanted that. You know, well, that's really all I wanted, though.

Found out something odd about people in New Zealand, certainly something that was odd about the people in New Zealand that I was spending some time with. I don't know if it extends to every New Zealand person. There's a custom in Australia and the UK, and I would think America. Come to think of it, I never think about it. Maybe they don't do this in America.

Maybe I didn't go out drinking enough. Certainly in Australia that you is someone's shout. If we go out together, I'll buy a round of drinks, and then you're going to buy me a drink later on. You buy other people. It's not uncommon to go up to a bar and say, I have four beers, please. And they give you the beers and you carry four beers over.

Or you carry two at a time and then another two. Hey, you get up and you go, you want a drink? You want to drink? Someone goes, yeah, I'll have a drink. You go, all right, I'll get you a drink. That's the norm. Not so in, at least the people I was with in Dunedin, New Zealand, you're not meant to ask people if they want to drink, I don't think.

You're certainly not meant to get it for them. I asked the people I was, I said, do you want to drink? I said, hot, no. And the other said, oh, just a raspberry Coke. As I got up and I got myself a glass of wine, and I got the raspberry Coke, and I also got a ginger beer. because I thought, best to slow down. I'm going to go on stage.

I performed at an open mic in Dunedin. I had a great time. I don't think I did a very good job, but it was nice to get back out there and tread the boards once again. But I was carrying three drinks. And, well, before I was carrying the drinks, the bar lady asked,

are you going to pay for all of those? Which was strange. I said, I have this, that and that. She said, you're paying for them? All of them? I said yes. I just at first thought she might be skew if in some way to ask a question like that. But someone explained to me that what men will do is they'll go in and order a round of drinks and then just pay for their own.

And then other people can go in and pay for their own. I had never heard of anything like this before. I'd never had a supplementary question. It was me alone ordering the drinks. And she asked if I was paying for them all. And then as I was carrying the three drinks back, Not a very long distance. As far as from me here to you there, one person said,

are you a triple fistin, mate? You've ordered three drinks. And I said, no. And then someone else, a different person over there goes, are you triple fistin? Twice in a very short stretch by two people who didn't seem to know each other, neither of whom knew me. So it must be, if that happened once,

You couldn't say that was a pattern. For it to happen twice in a short distance is either an insane coincidence or it's so uncommon in New Zealand to see someone carrying several drinks that it's worth commenting on. And that you would assume it's just for that person, not that they've bought a drink for a friend. And I Googled it afterwards. And there did seem to be New Zealanders who had written about. I go to other countries and everyone wants me to buy him a drink. I won't impose my cultural norms. I'm sure there's good things about not having a buy you a shout culture,

but it's quite nice to have someone buy your drink. And it's quite nice to buy someone else a drink. And it's one thing to say, well, maybe that shouldn't be baked into the society and that the routine of it makes it less special. But also, it should be happening enough that it's not absurd. and I think better to have the default than not gets people drinking more, it's better for the bar, it's better for love and togetherness and compassion. I mean, in America, it's not unheard of.

You go through the drive-thru, and so I might say, the person in front of you got that, they got that for you, they paid for yours already. I've been at restaurants with my wife and children. I don't know how vagabonded, we might have appeared someone will come over the wait staff come over and go

someone here has paid for that for you not at a fancy thing and not by someone who's known me just someone who goes look at that a young family of strangers let me take some of the burden off of their shoulder and their back

and their knees not to mention their wrists and elbows some burden off of the genital couldn't do that for you. They'll have to do that on their own. Well, there's not as much money in New Zealand. And that's true. They are poor. They're poor people. They're on average. They have 30% less money. I think that was a quote that I heard. They're doing an election campaign at the moment, but they have substantially less money than the Aussies. But then you've got to make the price of beer

cheap enough that it's sometimes acceptable to buy someone. The excise on beer is too high. If it's weird, and I've had my wife who's a Kiwi, see me, I think she basically said, oh yeah, we don't do that. Make beer cheap enough. Here's an election campaign for you. Just make beer cheap enough that it's okay to buy someone a beer. That that's not weird, that that's something people feel comfortable doing for one another. It'd be a better world if everyone bought everyone else a beer. Look, I'm human like anyone else, and of course, you'd be inhuman if you weren't,

affected by developments from time to time. That's just the truth of it. As I said before, we've been going through a tough time. You know something, Kerry, where I think you've got this fundamentally wrong is, frankly, being absent from the negotiations in Copenhagen themselves. There was no government in the world, like the Australian government, which through its every energy at bringing about a deal, a global deal on climate change. Penny Wong and I sat up for three days and three nights with 20 leaders from around the world to try and frame a global agreement.

Now, it might be easy for you to sit in 730 report land and say that was easy to do. Let me tell you, mate, it wasn't.