Do religious people also look down on sex before re-marriage?
September 2010
16 posts
For all his apparent eccentricity, Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) is quite insightful. http://is.gd/fChzU
Only David Simon could make me excited for a show about “a housing desegregation fight in Yonkers.” Congrats to him: http://goo.gl/uFkY
Rube Goldberg and the Irreducible Strangeness of Electricity →
theatlantic.com
Today, as I typed in a number on a fax machine, I was again confounded by the black magic that is fax machine technology. How could this piece of paper go through a machine and come out again, whilst, simultaneously, an exact replica was being sent through copper-wire and telephone lines (another ominously magical invention) to a destination on the other side of the world (or Philadelphia)? I always liked the mystery of the fax machine because to me there was something beautiful about not knowing. My one fear, however, is that my youthful wonderment at the unknown will, one day, turn me into an elderly Luddite.
Anyway, this article reminded me of this fear. Also, I always liked Mouse Trap. From the article:
Now, you no longer even have to think about where the energy you use comes from. You can forget that your laptop is really plugged into a network of magnets being pushed around by steam created by the heat of burned fossil fuels or the fissioning of atoms.
Just in case anyone hasn’t seen Ok Go’s terrific Rube Goldberg, make sure you check out this music video.
Next week, zoologists from Oral Roberts University show that early snakes had the capacity for speech. http://is.gd/fnhBq
Boardwalk Empire
Let me start off by saying that I have no real problem with the series premier of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. This is a show that I’ve been incredibly excited about since I first heard about it and it will need an episode, at least, to introduce the setting and it’s characters. I figured it was about as sure a thing as any TV show could ever be. HBO + Martin Scorse + Terence Winter (of The Sopranos fame) + 1920’s Prohibition-era gangsters + Steve Buscemi + Michael Shannon (I just saw the ultra-depressing Revolutionary Road, which he was great in) = can’t miss.
I’m a huge HBO fan, with The Wire and The Sopranos being, without question, my 2 favorite non-comedy TV shows of all time. So even after just the first episode, I can pretty safely say that I’m gonna stick with this show as long as it’s on. The only question that remains is can it reach the level of the aforementioned greats. Those shows were not only incredible because of their stories, direction, and dialogue, but because they showed us something new. The Wire put together an American take on post-war Italian neorealism, focusing on the intersection of cultural, political, and economic life through the lens of the inner-city drug game, local politics, the educational system, the media, etc. The Sopranos gave us a new look into the world of organized crime—a look through the psyche of a sociopath, who tried to function in two conflicting worlds at the same time. Just talking about those shows makes me want to watch them all over again.
I’m not sure Boardwalk Empire will show us anything new, but at least it’ll be better than The Event.
Battleship Pretension podcast →
battleshippretension.com
I’ve never really been a big fan of podcasts before—mostly because I never really felt like listening to any. It felt like most of the time, at least while at school, I was either doing something that required too much attention to get anything out of having a podcast playing in the background, or I wasn’t doing anything and needed more stimulation than an audio podcast could deliver. Until now.
I’ve recently started listening to podcasts at work when I’ve got something half-mindless going on. One in particular has jumped to the top of my list. Battleship Pretension is a film podcast, with occasional tangents into television and pop culture. It does not simply review films, however, it actually ventures into the academic world of film criticism. They do so with intelligence, self-deprecation, and humor. Some favorites include an episodes on post-modern films, the undefinablility of Macguffins, the most overlooked films of the 2000’s, and an artist profile on the unforgivably under-appreciated John Turturro.
I’ve barely scratched the surface of their archive, but it’s a must-listen for any self-described cinephile. Check it out.
Anyone else think #TheLeague got a little Entourage-y last night? #AlwaysSunny fell a little flat too. Have I become too hard to please?
Forbes' Top Earning Comedians →
forbes.com
I’m not sure who Terry Fato is, but judging from the other 9 on the list, it’s probably best that I keep it that way. How unfunny can America be if Louis CK and Jack McBrayer are not on this list? (Just kidding about McBrayer…I know we’re all tired of his schtick by now.)
I know it’s old, but I keep coming back. Will there ever be a better hip hop song? I’ve been obsessed for like 4 years. http://is.gd/faiNX
RT @TheOnion: With the loss of @20Westbrook, the #Eagles have a major hole at starting knee injury and concussion #OnionNFL #NFL
“The Iranian leadership’s own view of nuclear dangers is perhaps best exemplified by a comment made in 2001 by the former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who entertained the idea that Israel’s demise could be brought about in a relatively pain-free manner for the Muslim world. “The use of an atomic bomb against Israel would destroy Israel completely while [a nuclear attack] against the Islamic countries would only cause damages,” Rafsanjani said.”
—http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/09/the-point-of-no-return/8186/4/
This is a scary quote, picked out from an Atlantic article about Israeli decision-making regarding the potential Iranian nuclear threat. The prevailing belief that sustained nuclear proliferation throughout the Cold War was that MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), or Deterrence Theory as it is known among political scientists, would allow for increasing nuclear armament without any genuine threat of attack. Many individuals today, who do not subscribe to the necessity of non-proliferation, still make this argument. Quotes like this, however, suggest that even if the actors are rational (and there is certainly an argument that followers of radical theologies are not), traditional deterrence theory might break down when one party views the threat to their opponent as existential, while the threat to themselves (which Iran broadens to include the entire Muslim world) as something less.
“Firm handshake linked to long life”…unless it takes a good handshake to get the job that gives you a health care plan. http://is.gd/f44jc
...when traditional forms of narcissism no longer cut it.
I wanted to sub-title (that can’t be the right word for those) this blog “…when traditional forms of narcissism no longer cut it.” A decision had to be made between using that tagline or this particular theme, which doesn’t allow a tagline. I picked style over substance.
Part of me wanting to try a blog out is to share stuff I like on the internet with friends and whoever else without limiting myself to 140 characters. Another part probably wants attention and a final part wants a way to collect the stuff I like in a place I can always access (a limitation of bookmarks).
At this point, I plan to include posts about music, movies, and television, as well as any articles, videos, or news postings I find interesting. Who knows how long this blog will last or in what direction it will move. Here goes nothing…
Max Sittenfield?
