Category: TV

film, The Art of Reviewing, The Internet, TV2 Comments

The Art of Reviewing: Nathan Rabin

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Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society.  During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit.  Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Noted Nathan Rabin impressionist David Cross. Nathan Rabin is the hip hop music reviewer for the AV Club.  He hails from Chicago and calls himself “the world’s most secular Jew.”  His other noteworthy contributions to pop culture criticism include “Nashville or Bust,” a long-term series exploring country music, and “My Year of Flops.”  With the latter, … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Nathan Rabin

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book reviews, books, film, food, nature, The Internet, TV1 Comment

Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self

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A Review with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes 1. A Culinary Introduction Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self explores and revels in decay and degeneration, gushing with bile and blood.  The quartet of interconnected short stories focus on the liver, a bodily organ with interconnected lobes. The liver functions by processing toxins and connects to the gall bladder.  People also consume liver as a delicacy.  The dish “liver and onions” is a classic in American cuisine.  I have eaten deer liver with onions and I enjoy the taste.  Prior to preparing … Continue reading Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self

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Dollhouse Riffs, The Internet, TVLeave a comment

In re Dollhouse Riffs

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“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!” Things get complicated. Due to the unprecedented awesomeness of Dollhouse, I’ve decided to forgo writing any more Dollhouse Riffs until Season Two concludes.  As you know, dear readers, I avoid writing the usual episode summary.  “This was cool.  This wasn’t cool.”  My essays aim for a more critical and analytical perspective.  Fortunately and unfortunately, the December episodes of Dollhouse have really threw me for a loop.  The reappearance of Alpha, the labyrinthine mindscrew of the Attic (both the episode and as a biotechnological concept), and Adelle’s assembly of a Dollhouse: LA Scooby Gang leave … Continue reading In re Dollhouse Riffs

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Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #7: Dollhouse sent to the Attic

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Good bye, Echo. Sent to the Attic Echo: Everyone’s unhappy today. Topher: Somebody put her tiny little thinking cap on! Spy in the House of Love The inevitable has occurred.  Dollhouse, the science fiction series masterminded by Joss Whedon, fought against dismal ratings and executive meddling only to finally get canceled after two seasons.  To use the jargon of Adele DeWitt, the series was “sent to the Attic.” While the Dollhouse cancellation is traumatic for fans, viewers must also take a step back from emotional reaction and explore the possibilities.  The TV landscape and the media landscape are radically different … Continue reading Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #7: Dollhouse sent to the Attic

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Sex Scandal America: Politics & the Ritual of Public Shaming, by David Rosen

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“Americans love sex scandals, and nothing better tells the story of American than sex scandals.”  So begins David Rosen’s Sex Scandal America: Politics & the Ritual of Public Shaming.  Sensational title aside, Rosen charts the hidden history of America from the erotic shenanigans of the Puritans to the erotic shenanigans of Eliot Spitzer, Larry Craig, and Ted Haggard.  Rosen does a magnificent job of placing sex scandals into a historical context.  Each era derived specific things from the sex scandals.  These sex scandals found use as either cautionary tales or political fodder or entertainment. Rosen remains even-handed on a topic … Continue reading Sex Scandal America: Politics & the Ritual of Public Shaming, by David Rosen

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The Art of Reviewing: Clive James

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Clive James and his many books Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society.  During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit.  Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. Clive James and the Spice Girls.  A fascinating interview. Clive James has done it all.  He’s a poet, wit, lyricist, TV presenter, cultural commentator, author, and memoirist.  This Australian native represents the Old Guard, sharing a similar background with Christopher Hitchens and Martin Amis.  His critical stance may be a … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Clive James

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Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder (1945) by Evelyn Waugh

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In Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, Pozzo remarks, “They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more.”  Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh represents one of those lights gleaming in the darkness between the grave of the First World War and the impending night of the Second.  The novel, published in 1945, is the reminiscence of Captain Charles Ryder.  The story opens with Captain Ryder’s Army Company transferring to Castle Marchmain, an estate all too familiar to him.  Since he looks back on the past, a heady mix of nostalgia and satire … Continue reading Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder (1945) by Evelyn Waugh

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Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #6: The Sierra Club; or Human Labor-power, Commodity Fetishism, and Workplace Rape

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Commodities and human labor-power Arrows and Aphorisms “Remember Jamie Leigh Jones, the Halliburton/KBR contractor who alleged she was gang raped by her co-workers in Iraq and then imprisoned in a shipping container after she reported the attack to the company? Well, it looks like she’s finally get to sue the company, in a real courthouse, over her ordeal. “Her legal saga started after Halliburton failed to take any action against her alleged attackers, and the Justice Department and military also failed to prosecute. Jones then tried to sue the company for failing to protect her. But thanks to an employment … Continue reading Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #6: The Sierra Club; or Human Labor-power, Commodity Fetishism, and Workplace Rape

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Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #5: Belle Chose et le Désordre des Choses (The Disorder of Things)

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Belle Chose Dollhouse’s third episode into the season explores the issues of performance and gender.  Entitled Belle Chose (French for “Pretty Things”), the episode begins with a bizarre performance of sorts.  A weird male, in a nondescript room that appears transplanted from a mini-mall, is talking to a group of immobile women.  The women are posed like mannequins yet they look very realistic.  Only when one of the women try to escape the clutches of this demonic incarnation of George McFly, does the viewer snap out of the Uncanny Valley reverie. Terry Karrens (Joe Sikora), the George McFly look-alike, loses … Continue reading Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #5: Belle Chose et le Désordre des Choses (The Disorder of Things)

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Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #4: Season Openers

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Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse opened with the episodes “Vows” and “Instinct,” bringing new faces like Jamie Bamber and Alexis Denisof.  The season also began with a critique of two idols within the conservative mindset: marriage and motherhood. In “Vows,” the Dollhouse organization imprints Echo with the personality of an undercover FBI agent.  In her assignment, she married a wealthy amoral arms dealer played by Jamie Bamber.  Bamber (Lee Adama on Battlestar Galactica) uses his authentic British accent.  His good looks and easy-going charm create a false front to his nefarious activities.  He is not above selling dirty bomb components to terrorists … Continue reading Dollhouse Riffs: Riff #4: Season Openers

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