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From the first great album of 2010:
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Tryst With Mephistopheles - Ow…1/19/2010
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A link to break up my hiatus, due to popular demand: the teaser trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar. It doesn’t seem like the groundbreaking film many were hoping for, and I can only hope that the cartoonish look comes off much better in 3D, as it did for Beowulf.
(4) #8/20/2009
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A movie to wrap up the two seasons of HBO’s Rome is apparently in the works.
[Series creator Bruno] Heller would not discuss plot ideas, but the original series outline for “Rome” next called for the hedonistic Roman leaders to deal with the rise of a certain problematic rabbi…
Ray Stevenson, who played the Shaftoe-esque character Pullo, is looking forward to reprising his role. This is by no means guaranteed to happen, but I’m excited. (via Roman Times)
(3) #7/9/2009
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The Millions blog has posted a list of their most anticipated books for 2009 and (so far) 2010. I’m with them on: Dave Eggers’s Zeitoun , William Vollmann’s Imperial , Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice , and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom , his first novel since The Corrections. (I know, no women writers on my list – but I am looking forward to whenever Nicole Krauss publishes her next.)
(0) #7/1/2009
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The Millions blog has posted a list of their most anticipated books for 2009 and (so far) 2010. I’m with them on: Dave Eggers’s Zeitoun, William Vollmann’s Imperial, Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice, and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, his first novel since The Corrections. (I know, no women writers on my list – but I am looking forward to whenever Nicole Krauss publishes her next.)
(1) #7/1/2009
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Slate has an excellent five-part article on the backstory behind the Ricci v. DeStafano case that the Supreme Court is expected to rule on this Monday. This is the one about the city of New Haven throwing out a firefighter exam because it would’ve ended up denying promotion to every African-American that took it, likely a Title VII violation – and the one that Sonia Sotomayor was criticized for ruling on the side of the city with no explanation. A fascinating article, and one that makes it clear (at least to me) that while the situation was hairy for the plaintiffs, it was a fairly clear-cut case for a circuit court. (Of course, the Supreme Court is a different matter, and has more free reign in overturning precedent.)
(16) #6/25/2009
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There will be 10 best picture nominees starting with the 82nd Oscar ceremony, [scheduled] for March 7, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
My feeling is that this will make room for two types of movies that usually get snubbed: the well-reviewed big action picture, and the too small art film. E.g., last year this new rule may’ve made room for Iron Man and Frozen River. I like that. On the other hand, it will make Best Picture trivia that much harder. (via aicn)
(10) #6/24/2009
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In celebration of today’s 10th anniversary of the release of Sigur Rós’s Ágætis byrjun , sigur-ros.co.uk has put up a mini-site with memories, outtake sound clips, and videos. I first heard “Svefn-g-englar” in 2000 and immediately ran to the long-gone Other Music in Harvard Square to pick up an import copy. It completely blew me away in a way that I don’t think an album has in its first listen since. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now’s the time.
(0) #6/12/2009
10th anniversary of Ágætis byrjun
In celebration of today’s 10th anniversary of the release of Sigur Rós’s Ágætis byrjun, sigur-ros.co.uk has put up a mini-site with memories, outtake sound clips, and videos. I first heard “Svefn-g-englar” in 2000 and immediately ran to the long-gone Other Music in Harvard Square to pick up an import copy. It completely blew me away in a way that I don’t think an album has in its first listen since. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now’s the time.
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Tibor Fischer received a galley of Inherent Vice, the new Thomas Pynchon book coming out this summer:
The most striking thing about is that if you had handed me the first 30 pages, I would have staked my life I was reading the opening of the new Elmore Leonard.
The lean, witty lines recounting the exploits of hippy private dick Doc Sportello in Sixties LA (albeit with a nod to Raymond Chandler) absolutely smacks of Leonard and his humorous imagination (how about a crooked Jewish property developer with Nazi biker bodyguards?).
Will this become the new gateway Pynchon, replacing The Crying of Lot 49? (via omnivoracious)
(1) #6/2/2009
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I see this commercial for Bizarre Guitar and Guns (first 40 seconds) several times a week. It’s got to be the most, er, innovative store in Nevada.
(0) #5/31/2009
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I see this commercial for Bizarre Guitar and Guns (first 40 seconds) several times a week. It’s got to be the most, er, innovative store in Nevada.
«< 1Q84 A hint of Inherent Vice »>
(3) #5/31/2009
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Haruki Murakami’s next book, titled 1Q84 (nobody knows how to pronounce it yet but the Orwellian hint is evidently deliberate), is a big one – the Japanese version is in two volumes adding up to more than 1,000 pages. I’m waiting for the word-of-mouth opinion before I consider diving into this one.
(2) #5/27/2009
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Tom Goldstein over at SCOTUS Blog predicted nearly two years ago that Sonia Sotomayor would be nominated to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. The same blog also has five or so lengthy posts analyzing the decisions and written opinions of Sotomayor – here is the first one, the others can be found here.
(1) #5/26/2009
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Very positive review for Punch-Out!!, the just released Wii remake of the Nintendo (NES) classic. Highlights: they’ve upped the silly ethnic stereotype quotient, added new characters, and after you beat the game and play it again the characters’ weaknesses change.
(0) #5/19/2009
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If watching Amanda Palmer from The Dresden Dolls participating in a Lexington High School musical production about Anne Frank inspired by and using the music from Neutral Milk Hotel’s classic album “In the Aeroplane over the Sea” is your sort of thing, tune in here at 7:30 PM EST tomorrow on May 8th for a live webcast.
(1) #5/8/2009
