misnomer

I was reading at a visitor's pamphlet for Toronto (I may go to law school there next year), and I noticed that in the little Italy section, it said something to the effect that: "It exemplifies La Dolce Vita"

I found that funny, having just seen the movie. The Italian phrase literally means "the easy life" or "the sweet life", but the movie itself was a condemnation and mockery of the meaningless, ridiculous lives lived by the upper class shown in the film. La Dolce Vita was not a lifestyle to be emulated nor envied.

Expressions change with the times I guess. Take the phrase "The Ugly American" Nowadays people refer to that as something that they shouldn't be, and its taken to mean a loud, blustering idiot of a Yankee who travels abroad, doesn't speak the language or learn any of the customs and has a magical ability to offend people everywhere he goes. I've heard American tourists say "I don't want to be the ugly American".

The expression comes from a book about Indochina and foreign aid of the same name. But, in the book, the Ugly American is a kindly engineer who listened to the local people, learned their customs and helped them according to their needs. He was a positive example contrasted to the other blithering idiots that America sent abroad in the diplomatic service.

So a tourist should want to be the ugly American. But I'll admit its not a very glamorous name to aspire to. Perhaps they could model themselves after the Quiet American, also about Vietnam? It has a better ring to it.

Unfortunately, he was a terrorist.

I'm not sure I had a point to this post.