Overheard on the Subway

So I'm on the F train trying to concentrate on my Nethack, when I hear two Park Slopey types get on the train already involved in a smarty-pants conversation. The train was noisy, so I wasn't able to catch everything. But I didn't need to.

Cast of Characters:

HE: Mid-forties, hair prematurely grey (but only slightly prematurely), horn-rimmed glasses.
SHE: Mid-thirties, maybe in marketing?


HE
They didn't understand even the most basic things, I mean, you would tell them something, something so obvious --

SHE
heh

HE
-- and they just didn't get it. Anyway.



[At this point I stop listening, and return to my game, which I promptly lose.]



...

HE
... semiotics ...

SHE
... semiotics ...



[Okay, now I'm listening. This should be good.]


HE
... want to promote Semiotics as a ...

SHE
Yeah, Augustus, Aurelius.

HE
... right ...

...

SHE
... Semiotics ... marketing ... Semiotics ...

HE
... marketing ... branded ... Semiotics ...



[Oh my god.]



...

HE
... has a degree, an MA in philosophy from the New School; her boyfriend is really talented, he's in this band, they're getting big, they have songs in Michael Cera films

SHE
... Cera? ...

HE
... baby-faced actor ...

...

SHE
... and I was hoping she would, you know, because I don't want to be alone, I would rather have someone to handle sales ... a company to be in ...

...

HE
... Semiotics ...

SHE
... really marketing ...

HE
... I prefer to call it, promote it as Semiotics ...

SHE
... Semiotics ... I mean, [sotto voce] it's not the *real* semiotics, it's a corrupted form of it.

HE
Of course.

...

HE
... I don't know what kind of assistants I would have ...

SHE
... someone to just ...

HE
... yeah, one thing I want to do, I don't want to manage any of this stuff , I just want to do the Work ...

...

SHE
... vice president of research and development at Google ...

SHE
... friend ... someone who's been at Google from the beginning ...

...

SHE
... they're into a lot of stuff, so If there's anything, I'm trying to think of something I would pitch to them ...

SHE
... real world, I mean it would be out there, in the real world ...

SHE
... totally funded ...

HE
... they can't make any decisions ... have to go to the CEO ... can't do it ... visions ... totally disempowered ...

HE
... Canal Street ...

...

SHE
I cant do it alone... I'm trying to think of a way can do it with, um, *you* ... guys.

HE
... she knows about identity politics ...

SHE
... going forward ...



[They head towards the door of the subway car.]



SHE
... first of all ...



[They get off at Canal Street.]