‘Recent Articles’ Archives
A Cinematic Feast: “Welcome to the Rileys” (2010)
Here is a tiny little film that barely earned $320,000 in total box-office receipts world-wide and screened only in 11 movie theaters when it was released. It’s one of those films that was tossed straight into the home-video bin. But my god… what quality, what super [Read More]
The American (2010) – A Cold Story Served Well Like Chilled Caviar
THE AMERICAN is a philosophical exercise on what constitutes “The Reality.” Can we tell what’s going on inside a man by just watching what’s going on outside of him? Probably that’s the deeper focus that we shouldn’t miss when watching THE AMERICAN. [Read More]
Growing Up with Harold Bloom
Going through my library this weekend, I came across an old copy of Harold Bloom’s classic, The Western Canon. When it was published, Bloom’s book was (and remains today) controversial among educators and academics for its unshrinking advocacy of intellectual [Read More]
Critics in Love
This blog isn’t wont to dole out dating advice. Thinking upon my own predicament trying to find romance, however, I realized that there’s something unique and highly peculiar about trying to date a critic. By “critic”, I don’t just mean [Read More]
The Military and the Meaning of Science
The other day, I read an article in the New York Times regarding the American military’s turn to renewable energy: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/science/earth/05fossil.html?_r=1&hp I was wondering whether to think that this is forward-looking or whether [Read More]
America’s Real Treasure
Here is a commencement speech that every American (and every culture vulture, for that matter) should read. In this important speech retired U.S. Justice David Souter defends the U.S. Supreme Court against charges of “activism” and explains why a simple-minded [Read More]
Loneliness of Learning
I’m at a seaside resort somewhere in the Aegean. I’ve just visited the Temple of Apollo today. Built 2,700 years ago, the temple was surrounded by stone blocks full of inscriptions in classical Greek, which of course I cannot read. I kicked myself why I [Read More]
