August 2008
6 posts
July 2008
13 posts
'The Big Sort' and Clustering
Watching the Daily Show from last night, and Bill Bishop is the guest. He wrote The Big Sort, a book that proposes the ostensibly common sense argument that people tend to cluster in groups, neighborhoods, and regions with people like them. Co-written with a sociologist, the book seems to be a spin on one of Robert Putnam’s latest findings; that increasing immediate ethnic diversity (like...
one more Batman addendum
Forgot to mention this, but it’s okay, as it has nothing to do with my previous Batman post. Did anyone notice how, in this movie, Batman spoke in a much darker, huskier, low voice than he did in Batman Begins? And Harvey Dent also occasionally went into that low voice?
Every time they started talking like that I was reminded by the many scenes in 30 Rock where Jack Donaghy and Devon Banks...
the Dark Knight v. Batman
Like many or most people I know, I saw the Dark Knight this weekend. Also like most people I know, I thought it was fantastic. Stellar acting, music, cinematography, blah blah blah, you’ve heard this all before from real film critics. Objectively good film, even if it didn’t have the classic comic book hero backing it.
And right now I’m watching Batman and Robin, the late...
The $20,000 Question →
See, Democrats? This is why we can’t have nice things. Absurd.
arrrrrghgghh
the Who was honored for being awesome on Saturday - VH1 did a big rock honors thing for them. tons of stars and bands came out to say how awesome the Who is. super duper, because they were and are totally crucial for the whole power chord thing.
BUT. the coverage of the event has bothered me. this is from AP:
—
The Who wowed the packed audience with such tunes as “Teenage...
summer storms
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I work late (til 8pm) and then have about a 45 minute drive home from campus. Generally it is a very unexciting ride. There’s little traffic outbound that hour of the night during the week, and except for the occasional pretty sunset, the scenery is old.
Tonight, however, we got hit with a very bad - and typically short - summer storm. Because of it, the sunset we...
Not a class about Freud
My student: What's 'ass fixation'?
Me: ...do you mean 'asphyxiation'?
FACEPALM.
Best Buy in Kildeer, IL. I approach the counter with a CD, intending on purchasing it. It is 'Pet Sounds' by the Beach Boys, one of the best albums of all time.
Checkout girl: Oh, hey, Pet Sounds! Is that one of those CDs that you play for dogs when you leave the house?
Me: ....no.
Michael Bay's Rejected "The Dark Knight" Script →
THIS IS AWESOME. AWESOME POOL, AWESOME BARBECUE (remember that commercial? it was great.).
I love the stage direction “Pyrotechnics erupt in the distance. Guitar solo.” I wish my life involved things like that.
And the Joker’s in the Middle East. Which prompts Batman to hack the internets. ALL of the internets.
Childrens' TV to Pop Rock
The folks being out of town for a loooong time means that I’m finding new and sometimes absurd ways to keep busy (alas, no keggers here). I’ve made a point to explore some of the new TV channels we acquired through our long overdue switch from Dish to Direct TV. There are hits and misses. Fuse is a great rock music channel; ‘Baby’ is not at all interesting. Unless you...
