Whispered Words*
Sean MurphyHow long will it take? I did not ask, because I wanted to make every second count. It would be over quickly enough; it was already happening entirely too soon.…
Pythagoras*
I can’t speak to anyone else’s experience, but my grief has made me, against all previous likelihood, into a half-assed mathematician. Numbers were never my bag, and I’ve got the…
Strictly Business (Class): The Dreaded Day Trip*
A.M.: Departure Early, at the airport. Look around: some of the pretty people, many of the mediocre, and the rest of us, all sizes and shapes: men trying to look…
The Terror Card, Torture and You or, The Evil of Banality (6/09)
Anyone who happened to miss this piece by Lakhdar Boumediene, entitled My Guantánamo Nightmare should check it out, here. Here is a taste of the sickening, yet predictable torment this…
Human Connections, Missed Connections, Chance Connections: ‘Three Colors: Blue, White, Red’
Words need not be minced here: the Criterion Collection treatment of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s trilogy is an essential, if overdue cultural event. The high-definition digital restorations are reason enough to rejoice;…
We Shall Overcome
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” –Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963) *This should be…
Remembering (and Celebrating) The Kids In The Hall (7/10)
This weekend PopMatters is revisiting an outstanding feature from a couple of years ago: The Best of TV on DVD. Definitely worth checking out. My entry, below, was on the…
There’s Just A Meanness In This World (11/09)
As obstreperously opposed to the death penalty as I remain, it is nevertheless difficult to feel uncomplicated emotions regarding the execution of John Allen Muhammad. I --and any individual living…
Alligator Lizards in the Air: In Search of the Sublimely Awful Lyric (9/09)
I can think of a lot of rock bands who have written some laughably awful lyrics. So can you. Part of rock and roll's infectious (and mostly innocuous) appeal is…
Obsession, Hope and Glory, Part One: Percy Fawcett’s Excellent Adventure (9/09)
Look at that guy. They don't make them like that anymore. The thing is, they didn't make them like that then, either. Col. Percy Fawcett was sui generis, supersized. And…