Monthly Archives: August 2009
Highlights for Adults
HFA is a new feature where I look on my bookshelf, take down one of my excessively highlighted books, and share some passages to see if anyone else thinks it was worth all the yellow/pink/orange/green ink involved. Episode One: Arthur … Continue reading
All-caps corpse dancers descend on Ted Kennedy
Now, I’m not one to abide by the maxim, “Speak no ill of the dead”. It’s a poor and dishonest tribute to pretend that someone you despised in life was a saint in death. The glowing coverage of Nixon and … Continue reading
Trailer Roundup
Filmmakers spend years of their lives on their films. They work 16-hour-plus days for an indifferent industry for often illusory rewards, all for a fickle public hopelessly in love with the lowest common denominator. They stake their financial futures and … Continue reading
History for dummies
[youtubevid id=”ekqyWvGVb64″] Sadly, it seems we are once again in one of those times where “the best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity”, as evidenced by the combination of utter historical illiteracy and vocal zealotry … Continue reading
Barney Frank shows us how it's done
When a confused idiot asks you some ridiculous question comparing health care reform to the Nazi regime, shut it down. Don’t engage, don’t apologize, and don’t debate. It’s not a serious question and it doesn’t deserve a serious answer, only … Continue reading
Infinite Jest and artistic lifespans
As mentioned earlier in the year, I’m an enthusiastic entrant for Infinite Summer, the online book club dedicated to reading David Foster Wallace’s mammoth tome, Infinite Jest. It’s been a neat new experience reading a book collectively like this – … Continue reading
Monday's must-see videos
The following videos have nothing in common besides 1) they’re damn cool, and 2) I saw them all yesterday, so they’re new to me. First up, Bobby McFerrin recreates the piano scene from Big at The World Science Festival (minus … Continue reading
80's director John Hughes dead at 59
Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. – Ferris Bueller John Hughes, the director whose work all but invented the very idea of the 80’s for many of us, … Continue reading
