Jean Hannah Edelstein of The Guardian asks an interesting question today: Can the novella save literature? In the microessay (which is itself fitting), she argues: Readable in a couple of hours, a novella demands far less time than a full-length novel: you can get through them in the same amount of time it takes to […]
January 29, 2008
10:03 am
Okay, this is a fantastic data point in my recent research into niche media groups – specifically, the Jim Henson Company. As of today, Fraggle Rock and Farscape are available on iTunes. Why is this big news? Because Farscape is infamous for being a difficult show to collect. First, because it’s been reissued in several […]
January 27, 2008
11:37 pm
Since the last time I posted an update on this project, I’ve managed to watch A Clockwork Orange, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Unforgiven, and Raging Bull. If I weren’t still feeling relatively laid low by the bug I caught last weekend (this sucker’s a tenacious little SOB) I’d be writing up the kind […]
Bonus points to those in the audience who get the lyrical reference in the title to this post, but it sums up my current state of the universe pretty much perfectly. I began coming down with something on Monday, was down flat on Tuesday, was back up on my feet (but exactly one Red Bull […]
I don’t believe it – Heath Ledger has reportedly committed suicide. I’m stunned. It’s possible that this is due to a relationship ending last year, but still… The man had so much going for him.
January 21, 2008
12:15 pm
Last night Laura and I continued our trek through the AFI top 122 with Frank Capra’s 1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, one of the films I’d been most looking forward to for several reasons. One, I’m a big Jimmy Stewart fan. Cary Grant and John Wayne are both awesome in their own ways, but […]
January 20, 2008
10:42 am
Today’s New York Times Magazine features a brilliant essay by Virginia Heffernan on Friday Night Lights and Art in the Age of Franchising: The fault of “Friday Night Lights†is extrinsic: the program has steadfastly refused to become a franchise. It is not and will never be “Heroes,†“Project Runway,†“The Hills†or Harry Potter. […]
Something of a double feature today, with John Wayne in the morning and Marlon Brando in the afternoon – with a bit of shopping in between. One of the things I love about this project is that most of the top 122 AFI films are available on DVD for 10 bucks or less, if you […]
January 19, 2008
10:14 am
As I’m going through the AFI Top 100 (top 122, once you combine the old list and the new list), I’m continually discovering things. One, that it’s a terrible idea to watch classic films late at night when you’re tired, and two, it’s a much better idea to wake up early on a Saturday morning […]
January 17, 2008
12:59 pm
I was feeling kind of down today for some inexplicable reason, but then I found this: a free Digital 45 from Adam Duritz and company. There’s two songs, “1492” and “When I Dream of Michelangelo” (which, I believe, is actually a line from “Angels of the Silences” way back on their second album). I’m listening […]
