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Unsolicited opinions on books, movies, TV shows, consumer products
“I dreamt about Jews every night for years and years. Fortunately I have never met one….” — Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery Red Plenty by Francis Spufford Not exactly a historical novel, more a novelized approach to writing history. The distinction is a real one. The history in question is that of the Soviet Union […]
Apropos of nothing, two thoughts on nakedness and sex in HBO’s Game of Thrones. One, typecasting. Take British actress Esmé Bianco, who plays the prostitute Ros. When on camera she’s often nude, sometimes fully so, even, in one scene, simulating lesbian sex with another female actress. By taking this role, has she limited her career options? […]
“I don’t need an invitation if there’s no house.” — Colin Farrell as Jerry Dandridge in Fright Night Hugo (2011, USA) I read a few harsh reviews of this movie and even saw some Facebook and Twitter posts putting it down, and I don’t get it. Hugo is terrific, one of the best family films […]
When I read The Hunger Games last year, one game contestant from the first book stood out from the others: Rue, the 12-year-old from one of Panem’s agricultural districts. Katniss, who volunteers for the games to protect her own 12-year-old sister, forms an alliance with Rue, even though they both know that if it comes […]
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. In Arizona, the banned book debate rages on. Tucson school district officials insist they didn’t ban any books. A local paper, the Tucson Citizen, asks why then did Tucson school district officials interrupt Mexican American classes in mid-session, confiscate students’ […]
“There’s a hundred thousand streets in this city. You don’t need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I’m yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you’re on your own. […]
I shouldn’t say odds & ends. It sounds too final. What I should say is odds, ends, & re-beginnings. Is re-beginnings a word? Sure, why the hell not? In Wyoming, during 8th and 9th grade, I had a best buddy. I moved to California but we kept in touch, and when I graduated from high […]
“Nobody could have held it against the guides at Eigergletscher Station if they had refused to take a single step onto the Face when they heard of the accident. But there was one man still alive. They were all determined to rescue him, to snatch him, if possible, from the clutches of that fatal wall.” […]