A vastly entertaining and meticulously documented narrative detailing the fear and loathing behind the Bush-bashing bumper sticker from a couple years back: "I never thought I'd miss Nixon..." Why do the most advanced, "enhanced" ebooks already seem prehistoric? Nixonland accomplishes the crudest … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2010
CROP CONUNDRUMS
From the Telegraph, August 25: "Last year was a bumper year for fantastically elaborate, large crop formations - 70 or so, many within spitting distance of the Barge and one taking three nights to fully emerge - and in early August this year, more than 45 had been reported. And, remarkably, in June … [Read more...]
MORE ON INCEPTION: LAYERED SPHERES
Image via WikipediaWhat I meant when I called Inception "the Citizen Kane of video games," in a good way: The problem with comparing Inception to a video game, which is pretty unavoidable, is that even people who should know better are conditioned to assume said comparison is pejorative. It isn't if … [Read more...]
CARTOGRAPHIES OF TIME: A HISTORY OF THE TIMELINE
Image by Lilly via FlickrHistory prances around in CARTOGRAPHIES OF TIME: A HISTORY OF THE TIMELINE, by Daniel Rosenberg and Anthony Grafton. If visuals had a beat, you could dance to this stuff. Search title on Google images for examples.Flowing Data reviewFine Books & CollectionsBookforum … [Read more...]
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: RICHARD HAMILTON (NYRB)
Image via WikipediaJulian Bell closes his NYRB Richard Hamilton piece with "In spite of their contrived sophistication my paintings are, for me, curiously ingenuous (like Marilyn Monroe)." From the new MIT Press book.(Right: Adam and Eve)Related articles by ZemantaJust What is It That Makes Today's … [Read more...]
ARTHUR PHILLIPS: SONG IS YOU
author interview A Conversation with Arthur PhillipsArthur Phillips is interviewed by Tim Riley, the author of several books on rock history, including Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary and Fever: How Rock 'n' Roll Transformed Gender in America. Riley edits the Riley Rock … [Read more...]
INCEPTION, SALT: WOUNDS RUB PLOTS
Hans Zimmer via last.fm INCEPTION delivers on its premise's wild leap of faith. Yet like so many blockbusters, visuals trump narrative: after abandoning your toddlers for fifty year-weekend with your wife, would you (Leonard Dicaprio) leave them out on the back porch without hugging them to say … [Read more...]
WIKILEAKS: PLUS LA CHANGE
Image via WikipediaMy tweets didn't get much rise, but I still was shocked at some of the language used in NPR's Saturday story about whether Wikileaks editor, Julian Assange, practices "journalism.""I've shied away from the term 'whistle-blower' because that has a kind of, you know, halo around the … [Read more...]