

Outside Reading — The World We Are Fighting For Is Already Here edition
As Federal Climate-Fighting Tools Are Taken Away, Cities and States Step Up by Maggie Astor As the conservative majority of the Supreme Court of the United States claps their soot-stained hands with satisfaction at the completion of a term where … Continue reading Outside Reading — The World We Are Fighting For Is Already Here edition

The Art of the Sell — R.E.M. for America’s Libraries
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. These scruffy Georgians are giving some good advice here. These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — R.E.M. for America’s Libraries

Outside Reading — To No Longer Stand By Things Decided edition
Roe v Wade has been overturned. Here’s what this will mean by Moira Donegan Even before the draft of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was leaked to the press in May, the outcome was predictable. That doesn’t … Continue reading Outside Reading — To No Longer Stand By Things Decided edition

This Week’s Model — Beyoncé, “Break My Soul”
I was a relative latecomer to the kingdom of Beyoncé, but I’m a devoted subject now. Given the opportunity I will expound at tedious length on why Lemonade is rivaled by only Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters in any … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Beyoncé, “Break My Soul”

Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “All That I Am” and “Raised on Rock”
These posts are about the songs that fell just short of crossing the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Elvis Presley starred in three movie released … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “All That I Am” and “Raised on Rock”

Golden Words — Family Ties, “A, My Name Is Alex”
Since great television comedy always begins with the script, this series of posts considers the individual episodes that have claimed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series over the years. For most of its seven-season run … Continue reading Golden Words — Family Ties, “A, My Name Is Alex”

Then Playing — The Many Saints of Newark; George Carlin’s American Dream; Old
The Many Saints of Newark (Alan Taylor, 2021). Nearly fifteen years after an exceptional series finale that stirred controversy among people who evidently misinterpreted everything that had come before, The Sopranos gets an utterly needless revival with a prequel feature … Continue reading Then Playing — The Many Saints of Newark; George Carlin’s American Dream; Old

My Misspent Youth — Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. Batman is imposing. That’s understood. It’s fundamental to his character. It’s … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #182 to #180
182. The Three O’Clock, Arrive without Travelling (1985) After the Three O’Clock’s 1983 album, Sixteen Tambourines, grabbed the attention of student programmers, I.R.S. Records came calling. Perhaps no other label was so sharply focused on assembling a roster of acts … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #182 to #180

Outside Reading — The Garden of Good and Evil edition
Made for Television by Emily Nussbaum Writing for The New Yorker, Emily Nussbaum delivers an entertaining profile of spouses Robert and Michelle King and their splendid stable of offbeat television programs. Our household is all in on Evil, and we … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Garden of Good and Evil edition