Dec 22, 2010
The Big Ten: Books
Dec 21, 2010
The Big Ten: TV
Dec 20, 2010
The Big Ten: Music
Dec 19, 2010
The Big Ten: Introduction
Aug 10, 2010
Since I last posted . . .
Jul 20, 2010
Scaling the Hills: Lo
Queens for a year.
Jul 14, 2010
The rest is still unwritten.
X-Men: Second Coming #2
After three long years of "No More Mutants!" the X-Men have finally found some Hope (I couldn't help myself) (but seriously, the introduction of new mutant characters proves a long overdue and desperately needed shot in the arm for a franchise crumbling under a stultifying editorial edict).
Jul 8, 2010
Scaling the Hills: Stephanie
Hooray!
TV time.
The City "Roommate Wanted": I hope producers initiated the "Whitney treats Roxy like dirt" storyline. If not, Whitney has officially veered into the "obnoxious and unlikeable" end of the reality star spectrum. Why does she feel betrayed upon learning Roxy looked at an apartment, when last week Roxy announced that she wanted to move out? Roxy claiming she can't afford a $4,000 a month 1 bedroom leads me to believe this drama is all for show - MTV has to pay these girls more than that. The best part of the episode was Olivia's steadfast refusal to acknowledge Whitney's clothing line on-camera.
Jul 7, 2010
Help!
Jul 6, 2010
I can explain.
Recently read.
The Blind Assassin: Prior to reading this book, I had never read any Margaret Atwood (I know). I consumed her Booker Prize winning masterpiece in a frenzied four days; I can't remember the last time I so desperately needed to know what happened next, while simultaneously never wanting the book to end. The narrative-within-the-narrative keeps you guessing, dropping clues as to what's really happening, even as protagonist Iris Chase Griffen dances around the truth. Phrases like "tour de force," and "jaw-dropping" come to mind. The most satisfying novel I've read since starting this blog.
Entertainment monthly.
Jun 9, 2010
The best thing I saw on Hulu this week.
How I spent my Memorial Day.
Love in Infant Monkeys: Strange, affecting short stories that examine the neurosis of celebrity, coupled with mankind's often ill-advised efforts to connect with the natural world (A).
Inglourious Basterds: Nazis, Nazi hunters, and a German actress turned double agent collide for a bloody massacre in Paris (plus, a lot of meta movie discussion [and scalping]) (B+).
May 26, 2010
TV time.
May 20, 2010
The best thing I saw on TV last week.
She deserves this.
May 11, 2010
Watch this.
May 10, 2010
Y: The Last Man, Vol. 3
May 9, 2010
May 6, 2010
Happy birthday.
May 1, 2010
Short cuts.
Apr 17, 2010
TV time.
Fables #94
Apr 15, 2010
The Unnamed
To Max Records.
Apr 10, 2010
Uncanny X-Men #523
That said, it's not a very fun time to be an X-Man. The mutant species is on the brink of extinction, a futuristic cyborg (Bastion) has amassed an army of racists who want nothing more than to wipe them off the planet, and their leader (Cyclops) has resorted to sending teenage girls turned living weapons (X-23) into battle with a license to kill. It's all rather dour. The entire line needs some levity before the reading experience becomes as depressing as the stories themselves.
Apr 5, 2010
TV time.
Mar 31, 2010
Mar 30, 2010
Here we go.
Mar 25, 2010
The long goodbye.
Mar 24, 2010
Of note.
“They try to paint the picture that I was this downtrodden, ugly girl who was unpopular in school and in life, and then I got this role and now I’m awesome. But the truth is that I’ve been awesome, and then I got this role."
I want to go to margarita night with her so bad. Read more at New York Magazine (see also: above).
Mar 23, 2010
Short cuts.
In living color.
Mar 8, 2010
Recently read.
Mar 7, 2010
TV time.
I like.
I'll be discussing Second Coming (the next X-Men crossover, and Messiah Complex sequel) as it unfolds, so expect to hear more about Marvel's merry mutants in the coming weeks. So far, I'm predicting that Nightcrawler will kick the bucket, Hope will somehow revive the dwindling mutant population, and the team will return to San Francisco.
Feb 15, 2010
Life is a Beach: Laguna Beach, S1, Ep. 4 "18 Candles"
Entertainment weekly.
Feb 2, 2010
TV time.
Jan 26, 2010
I can't explain.
Jan 18, 2010
Short cuts.
Dollhouse: That last episode sucked. I mean, magic spinal fluid? That was the whole point of Caroline? Not to mention, they successfully assassinated Boyd's character ("you're my family") faster than the Battlestar writers killed Tory's, which I didn't think possible. If you're going to make him the Surprise Villian, he needs to have an actual motivation. A big, unfortunate mess. That said, I'm still optimistic they can salvage what's left for the finale.
Jan 12, 2010
Changing My Mind
" . . . to read this novel it to feel a powerful, somewhat dispiriting sense of recognition. It is perfectly done - in a sense, that's the problem. It's so precisely the image of what we have been taught to value in fiction that it throws that image into a kind of existential crisis . . ."