Free Man in Paris

Every once in a while, in the course of watching TV on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon, I stumble upon a truly brilliant series. The latest example? Girls. That Lena Dunham! Hilarious, unabashed, edgy, and unafraid to confront hard issues.

Tonight's episode featured Lena digging into sexual assault, and she did SUCH a brilliant job with it. My boyfriend and I argued about it, because he wondered whether the man was really wrong to do what he did, and I felt it emphatically true that he was. There was an age difference and a power dynamic -- not a level playing field by any sense of the phrase.

Thank you, Lena, for making people squirm while watching this timeless, ubiquitous, and ultimately destructive practice unfold. This is necessary if, as a society, we're going to stop shaming and blaming victims while making excuses for perpetrators.

Speaking of heroes, the soundtrack to the episode tonight featured a gorgeous song from one of mine:

The way I see it he said
You just can't win it
Everybody's in it for their own gain
You can't please 'em all
There's always somebody calling you down
I do my best and I do good business
There's a lot of people asking for my time
They're trying to get ahead
They're trying to be a good friend of mine

I was a free man in Paris
I felt unfettered and alive
There was nobody calling me up for favours
And no one's future to decide
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
But for the work I've taken on
Stoking the star maker machinery
Behind the popular song

I deal in dreamers
And telephone screamers
Lately I wonder what I do it for
If l had my way
I'd just walk through those doors
And wander down the Champs Elysees
Going café to cabaret
Thinking how I'll feel when I find
That very good friend of mine