If Ricky Gervais had only created The Office, he would deserve a place on the upper tier of comic creators, just as John Cleese would merit veneration if he had only signed his name to Fawlty Towers. As Gervais moves … Continue reading I’m tired of the stories that you always tell, Shakespeare couldn’t tell a story that well
I’ve been involved with two different college radio stations, one as a student and the other as an advisor and General Manager. Both those experiences gave me tremendous exposure to the newest of new music, shaping my tastes and instilling in me a welcome aversion to complacency. Back in my student days, a friend of mine was on the air and took a call from a listener requesting a Grateful Dead song that was originally released at least two decades earlier. My friend hung up the phone and said “I hope I’m not sitting around twenty years from calling the … Continue reading One for Friday: Honey Cone, “Are You Man Enough, Are You Strong Enough?”
#27 — Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003) Back in the spring, I finally watched Grey Gardens, the acclaimed 1975 documentary by the Maysles brothers and a trio of other collaborators. The more I think about it, the more is … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Twenty-Seven
#28 — Match Point (Woody Allen, 2005) Is the clearest measure of a filmmaker’s talent the enduring capacity to surprise? When Woody Allen made Match Point he already had several exceptional films to his credit (many dire failures, too, the … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 00s — Number Twenty-Eight
Making a film adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s revered children’s book Where the Wild Things Are seems like the height of doomed folly. As has been noted often in the long run-up to the film’s release, this is a book that … Continue reading I think you move me
The exercise from the other day simply reminded me that I need to dig out my Calvin and Hobbes collection. That’s just amazing. (Posted simultaneously to “Jelly-Town!”) Continue reading Hungry fingers in a smock sucking on a croaker’s top
There is perhaps nothing more endearing about Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, the roller derby film Whip It, than its delighted conviction in the value of sisterhood. More specifically, it is Barrymore’s complete immersion in the concept without any hint whatsoever … Continue reading Shape it up, get straight, go forward, move ahead
I’ve never been an especially provocative person. I have my pointed opinions and passionate beliefs, but I’m also a pronounced introvert. As a matter of instinct, I’m not interested in calling attention to myself. Cars, clothes, really any outward trappings are chosen for functionality rather than flashiness or any sense of style whatsoever. This makes it a little curious that a regular member of my collegiate t-shirt rotation had the phrase “Fuck = Love” emblazoned across it. The t-shirt referenced the title of the 1989 single released by the Australian band The Trilobites. They were on an independent label Down … Continue reading One for Friday: The Trilobites, “Minibar of Oblivion”
Since we have no children romping and stomping around our home, I wonder if I can persuade some of our friends who are parents to install this item in their backyard. I found that image elsewhere and they found it … Continue reading Hey Paul, Hey Paul, Hey Paul, let’s have a ball
Coffee for Two 