I recently received an e-mail from a nice person at Prospect (a British magazine). The email asked if I’d like to review their magazine. After being completely flattered, I said, “Of course!” And then I waited nervously hoping that the magazine was good and that I wouldn’t have to say anything mean about it, because [...]
Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
Periodical–Prospect
Posted in Airlines, An Education, Art, Books about music, Books about writers, Brian Eno, David Hockney, Essays, Frank Auerbach, History, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Martha Wainwright, Monty Python, NPR/PRI/PBS, Nature, Political Humor, Prison, Prospect, Technology, The Daily Show, The Wire, War, Warehouse 13, Word usage on November 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: The Best of McSweeney’s Humor Category (2004)
Posted in A.M. Homes, Aaron Naparstek, Amy Fusselman, Ben Greenman, Books about writers, Chris Bachelder, Christopher Monks, Clay McLeod Chapman, Corporate skewering, Daniel Handler, Darin Strauss, Dave Eggers, Demons, Denis Johnson, Digression, Dip-in Books, Dreams, Ezra Pound, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Humiliation, J.M. Tyree, Jake Swearingen, Jim Stallard, John Hodgman, John Moe, Jonathan Ames, Jonathan Lethem, Kurt Luchs, Lawrence Krauser, Margaret Atwood, McSweeney's, Mike Bullard, Myla Goldberg, Neal Pollack, Negativland, Neil Gaiman, One Ring Zero, Paul Auster, Political Humor, Postmoderism, Rick Moody, Sci-fi, Sean Carman, Sex & Violence, Smarty Pants, Sports, Stephany Aulenback, Summer, Supernatural, Technology, They Might Be Giants, Tim Carvell, Todd Pruzan, Zev Borow on October 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
SOUNDTRACK: ONE RING ZERO-As Smart as We Are (2004).
I had this CD sitting around my house for about 4 years. I had received it as a promo disc from Soft Skull Press (along with several other books on CD) and I just never put it on. Then one day I was going through all these [...]
McSweeney’s #32
Posted in Adventure, Anthony Doerr, Chris Adrian, Chris Bachelder, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Death, End of the World, Gay/Lesbian, Heidi Julavits, J. Erin Sweeney, Jim Shepard, McSweeney's, Natural Disasters, Plague, Salvador Plascencia, Sesshu Foster, Sheila Heti, Short Story, Technology, The Future, Threats, Tindersticks, Wells Tower on October 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
SOUNDTRACK: TINDERSTICKS-Tindersticks [the red one] (1993).
Tindersticks are a fascinating band. The first distinctive thing about them is Stuart Staples’ voice: a deep rich bass that he uses almost like a whisper. The second thing you notice is the music. It’s an orchestral/chamber pop collection of dark rockers with fantastic moodiness to it. And then you [...]
Douglas Coupland–City of Glass (2000 & Revised Edition 2009)
Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Danko Jones, Dip-in Books, Douglas Coupland, Drugs, Essays, Everything's Gone Green, JPod, Kid Rock, Oddities, Photo Essays, Short Books, Souvenir of Canada, Technology, Thin Lizzy on October 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
SOUNDTRACK: DANKO JONES-Never Too Loud (2008).
Danko Jones is a hard and fast rock band, with a one track mind and a straightforward sound. They deal in excessive cliches (album titles include: Sleep is the Enemy, We Sweat Blood, Never Too Loud, etc) and play mostly short songs. And despite all that apparent negativity, I enjoy [...]
Periodical: The Walrus
Posted in Books about music, Books about writers, CBC Radio2, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Contests, Death, Demons, Dreams, Drinking, Essays, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), History, Memoirs, Military, Nature, Religion, Research, Suicide, Technology, The Future, The Walrus on October 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I found out about The Walrus while watching an interview with Noah Richler on Book Television (back when I had Canadian satellite). During the interview, they mentioned that the first issue of this cool new magazine, The Walrus, had just come out. I was very intrigued; amazingly, the local Barnes & Noble had a copy! [...]
Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp and Other Essays
Posted in Bill Clinton, Books about music, Books about writers, Boredom, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Dave Eggers, David Foster Wallace, Dip-in Books, Donnell Alexander, Drinking, Drugs, Eddie Vedder, Essays, Free Speech, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Glasgow Phillips, Gods, History, Jess Mowry, M. Doughty, Marc Herman, Martha McParlin, McSweeney's, Michael Moore, Might, Missoula Montana, Oddities, Paula Kamen, Political Humor, Racism, Religion, Research, Sex, Sex & Violence, Smarty Pants, Soul Coughing, Supernatural, TV on the Radio, Technology, Ted Rall, The Future, Travel, Tripp Hartigan, Wikipedia, Zev Borow on October 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
SOUNDTRACK: TV ON THE RADIO-Dear Science, (2008).
The problem with TV on the Radio for me is that their first EP is so damned good that anything else they do pales in comparison. Having said that, Dear Science, comes really close to topping that EP. I liked Cookie Mountain (their previous disc) but I felt like [...]
Douglas Coupland–Generation X (1991)
Posted in Boredom, Canadian Content, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Douglas Coupland, Drinking, Drugs, Holidays, Postmoderism, Short Books, Technology, The Dead Science, Work on September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
SOUNDTRACK: THE DEAD SCIENCE-Villainaire (2008).
This is probably the most fascinating album that Constellation has released recently. I’d never heard of The Dead Science, but evidently they have a few disc out already.
The main thing one notices about this disc is the lead singer. His voice is fascinating: a sort of slow, whispered falsetto laced with [...]