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 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...]
ETCH-A-SKETCH, BOSTON
ETCH-A-SKETCH, BOSTON Image by lumierefl via FlickrRelated articles by ZemantaPop Culture Classic Etch-A-Sketch Toy 50th Anniversary and Contest (connectwithyourteens.blogspot.com)July 12, 1960: Etch a Sketch? Let Us Draw You a Picture (wired.com)Etch A Sketch turns 50: amazing art created with the … [Read more...]
TWITTER FRIENDS NETWORK YOWZA
Image via WikipediaJust click. Related articles by ZemantaYowza!! launches affiliate program to get more small businesses to use their mobile couponing service (intomobile.com)Yowza!! adds new restaurants and merchants to its mobile coupons service (intomobile.com)Carrie Underwood Weds! … [Read more...]
TONY AUTH, MAD MEN, AND THE U.S.
Re-uses last year's Mad Men advertising campaign to connect to today's economy: Related articles by ZemantaAre you ready for Mad Men? (albumartexchange.com)The Mad Men Job Interview (collings.co.za)Exclusive Video: Mad Men Ladies Want More Drinking And Smoking [Mad Women] (jezebel.com)Last-minute … [Read more...]
INFOGRAPH: BEATLE HAIR
NO SOCIAL MEDIA, PLEASE, WE’RE EXECS
Image by Christian Steen via FlickrProbably might have guessed, but it still struck me as fairly hallucinatory to sit through a dialogue between David Weston of ABC News and Nancy Gibbs of Time magazine (scroll down) recently at the Chautauqua festival without hearing the words "Social media," … [Read more...]
RIP: Mackerras, Pekar
Sir Charles Mackerras via last.fmTwo heroes died this week, here's Norman Lebrecht on Sir Charles Mackerras. People rave about his Mozart and Haydn, I swear by his Brahms:"His achievements, in my view, are twofold. He was the first, after Neville Marriner, to seek fusion between period-instrument … [Read more...]
STEALING SEASONS: character actors rule
Image by Getty Images via @daylifefile under: to be assignedNobody's written the BIG piece yet on how the golden age of acting has led to a surfeit of character actors stealing scenes, and whole movies, from big stars. Viola Davis shows up in the middle of Doubt for a chat with Meryl Streep and … [Read more...]