February 2012
7 posts
If we had 51% women in Congress, do you think we’d be debating access to...
– Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (via think-progress)
8 tags
2 tags
In 1904...
historical-nonfiction:
the average US life expectancy was 47 years old
only 14% of homes had a bathtub
the maximum speed in most cities was 10 mph
the tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower
more than 95% of births took place at home
90% of US physicians had no college education
Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering its country for any reason whatsoever
the...
2 tags
January 2012
31 posts
14 tags
365 Films: Kung Fu Panda 2
Released in 2011 | Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson
I’m counting this sweet little movie even though I saw half of it on a plane last year. It’s not a great movie, but I really enjoyed it: the fight scenes are beautifully animated and I love how they really capture Jack Black’s ridiculous facial expressions via the titular kung fu panda, Po. Also, definitely a movie to watch...
3 tags
12 tags
9 tags
8 tags
22 tags
Help me pick my next distraction
Alright - finally finished with Breaking Bad. Anxiously awaiting Season 5. But with no more of Walter and Jesse’s adventures in the meth trade to watch, I have a decision in front of me. I need to pick a show to fill the hole that Vince Gilligan’s brilliant show has left behind in my TV-watching habits. I’m stuck between two critically acclaimed shows: Deadwood, an HBO darling...
12 tags
365 Films: In Bruges
Released in 2008 | Directed by Martin McDonagh
Maybe that’s what hell is, the entire rest of eternity spent in fucking Bruges.
I just finished this movie but I was too excited not to write about it right away.
Earlier this week I watched a movie that I’m fairly confident will be the best movie I see from 2011, A Separation. This movie, an Iranian morality play centered around a...
Good news, everyone!
avatarsnowy:
Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, big scary threat to national security Megaupload has been taken down, and we can all rest easier tonight!
In other news, I still can’t get married, global warming is slowly starting to spiral out of control, the US continues its indiscriminate slaughters veiled behind the guise of ‘spreading democracy’ or whatever it is they’re saying these days,...
9 tags
365 Films: The Help
Released in 2011 | Directed by Tate Taylor
I have some serious issues with The Help, and I find it a very hard movie to review. There are good aspects to it - inspired performances from Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer and generally capable filmmaking - which at first had me walking away with a good, albeit mild, review in my pocket. But after putting off the review for several days, I began to...
5 tags
Wikipedia shutting down
This anti-SOPA and PIPA protest is really cool, and I completely agree with it. But those who know me will know that for me, giving up Wikipedia for 24 hours is pretty much next to impossible.
3 tags
5 tags
2 tags
7 tags
365 Films: A Separation
Released in 2011 | Directed by Asghar Farhadi
A Separation, Iran’s entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category for this year’s Oscars, is much more like a novel than a film. It slowly unfolds, and depends on the patience of its audience in spinning a complex tale of religion, feminism and male privilege, courtroom drama, adolescence, secrets and lies, divorce in a patriarchal...
2 tags
2 tags
5 tags
365 Films: Battleship Potemkin
Released in 1925 | Directed by Sergei Eisenstein
As someone interested in the history and mechanics of filmmaking, I regret having put off seeing Battleship Potemkin for so long. There are few films that have had such a profound effect on the craft. From Eisenstein’s use of editing to heighten tension and to introduce emotional cues as to which characters are the film’s heroes and...
5 tags
365 Films: Tangled
Released in 2010 | Directed by Nathan Greno and Bryan Howard
Actually, I thought Tangled was really sweet. The characters and settings are richly animated and the visual humor is top-notch. Sure, the plot is pretty formulaic, but I wasn’t expecting otherwise.
3 down, 362 to go.
8 tags
365 Films: 12 Angry Men
Released in 1957 | Directed by Sidney Lumet
There’s a moment at the very end of Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men where the 12 Jurors, who have spent the entirety of the film inside a single room, leave the courthouse and go their separate ways. These perfect strangers, who may very well never see each other again, are quick to return to their everyday lives, the routines and rituals that...
4 tags
4 tags
3 tags
7 tags
8 tags
365 Films: Rocket Science
Released in 2007 | Directed by Jeffrey Blitz
Not exactly the feel-good movie of the year. Rocket Science is well-made, and Reece Thompson gives an inspired performance as Hal, but the film has a drab, sorry aftertaste to it that A) made it more realistic and true to life and B) made it at times something of a depressing and unfortunate spectacle. I’d recommend it, but I would also say not...
iTunes
How many total songs?
14,288
Sort by song title – first and last?
First: ’A’-Bomb In Wardour Street - The Jam
Last: * - M83
Sort by time – shortest and longest?
Shortest: The Sky Is a Harpsichord Canvas - The Olivia Tremor Control (0.04)
Longest: D|P 1.1 - William Basinski (1.03.33)
Sort by Album – first and last?
First: A.M. - Wilco
Last: ( ) - Sigur Rós
Sort by Artist –...
1 tag
December 2011
17 posts
3 tags
3 tags
4 tags
The Artist to be Screened with Live Orchestra
One of the clear Best Picture frontrunners this year is The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius’ ode to the silent film era. The film, which itself is silent and in black and white, will be touring with a live orchestra. How fascinating would that be to watch? I know I’ll be jealous of those who go to these screenings. From the article at Paste Magazine’s website:
“The Weinstein...
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
How to Make a Peanut Butter Sandwich, by the... →
fuckyeahlost:
Jack 1. Gather ingredients 2. Point gun at ingredients and shout “HOW DO I MAKE A SANDWICH OUT OF YOU?!?!?” 3. Breathe heavily through your nose as though you were about to hit ingredients 4. Give up and make the sandwich yourself, and eat it bitterly Kate 1. Make separate sandwiches, one with peanut butter and one with jelly 2. Take a bite of the peanut butter sandwich, declaring...
6 tags
2 tags
Wherein Michele Bachmann is confronted by an...
zeldablog:
lotuskin: cognitivedissonance:
And it’s just as fantastic as it sounds:
Watch the video:
The look of shock on her face is incredible. Elijah is brave little man, and I commend him.
2 tags