The Blob and I - Books & Culture
A bemused response to some apparently pretty serious factual errors in the discussion by Jeff Sharlet, in his book on "the Family," of the origins of the Steve McQueen movie, "The Blob."
more fromwww.christianitytoday.com
Terence McNally, Susan Jacoby, "How Anti-Intellectualism Is Destroying America," Alternet, August 15, 2008
Basically follows the precedent set by Hofstadter.
more fromwww.alternet.org
Dick Bruna, creator of the Miffy books, talks about his life and work - Telegraph
more fromwww.telegraph.co.uk
Busted: Stephen Prothero: Speaking with the author of American Jesus about his new book Religious Literacy | BustedHalo.com
more fromwww.bustedhalo.com
It's not the heat, it's the intensity: 13 memorable films set during heat waves | The A.V. Club
more fromwww.avclub.com
Interviews: The Little Robot That Could | Christianity Today Movies (interview with Pixar's Andrew Stanton)
Christianity Today interviews the writer of WALL•E (2008) about the connection between his religious beliefs and his movies. It's not exactly a searching interview, but it's an interesting read.
more fromwww.christianitytoday.com
MoJo's Riff Blog on Garfield Minus Garfield
Several folks have already clipped Garfield Minus Garfield (http://snipr.com/22bo5). Here's a review of the site from Mother Jones's "Riff Blog" -- I can't tell how tongue-in-cheek it is. It's great though.
more fromwww.motherjones.com
Slavoj Žižek on the Matrix, #2
Another Žižek essay, "Welcome to the Desert of the Real," from 2001. Also on my reading list. Looks more closely at the images of violence and devastation and their role in the popular, post-9/11 imagination.
more fromweb.mit.edu
Slavoj Žižek on the Matrix
This is Žižek's famous 1999 essay, "The Two Sides of Perversion." I'm clipping it because I intend to read it; the bits I've looked at are very good.
more fromwww.lacan.com
The Sopranos: a critical essay
This is actually a serious, reflective, and perceptive essay on the Sopranos. It's worth a read.
more fromwww.nybooks.com
GetReligion.org's Terry Mattingly on Oprah's faith
Perceptive comments from religion-and-journalism blogger Terry Mattingly (http://GetReligion.org) on the religious significance of Oprah Winfrey. From January 2007.
more fromtmatt.gospelcom.net
"24": Life imitates art (sort of)
According to author Judith Warner, a new book of essays on the TV series "24" shows how policymakers and military officials have been taking cues from Hollywood on how to do their jobs. Not only chilling, but surreal to boot.
more fromwarner.blogs.nytimes.com
Christianity Today on the "Church of Oprah" (2002)
The evangelical magazine CT's reflections on the role of Oprah Winfrey as an icon of postmodern American spirituality, for good or for ill.
more fromwww.christianitytoday.com
YouTube users prefer lousy science over the real deal
A JAMA study finds that YouTube videos critical of the official immunization program, or especially those that support the notion that vaccinations cause autism, tend to get more views and higher ratings. Videos with good science, on the other hand, get ignored.
more fromarstechnica.com
23% of Americans say they've seen a ghost
A remarkably high percentage of Americans believe in ghosts, ESP, and witchcraft.
more fromnews.yahoo.com
Framing Science (Scienceblogs.org)
Some back-and-forth debate on the question of whether and how scientists ought to "frame" their work when it has public-policy implications. By "framing," the authors mean "present in such a way as to show people why they ought to notice and care about it
more fromscienceblogs.com
Mel Stuart on the making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
An interview with the man behind the film version of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." I never knew the movie was funded by the Quaker Oats Co. as part of a product tie-in that never materialized. Stuart describes such arcana as the difficulties of
more fromwww.failuremag.com
Beloit's "Mindset List" for the class of 2011
Each year, Beloit publishes its "mindset list": things incoming freshmen can't remember or have always known that blow their professors' minds! (Examples: there's never been a Berlin Wall; Fox has always been a major network.) Here's this year's.
more fromwww.beloit.edu
Cartoon: varieties of hijab on the Syrian street
A cartoonist calling herself "Puppeteer" drew this amusing catalogue of the varieties of hijab she encounters walking to work each day in Damascus.
more fromwww.inblogs.net
Notation: * = Private bookmark and comment|… = Clipping [?] | … = Public highlight [?]




