December 2010
15 posts
TekWar
Edna Krabappel: How do you expect us to teach with these supplies? Well, this pointer's so old, it's worn down to a nub. Principal Skinner: [takes it] It still points, doesn't it? Edna: Stop that! And look at this: the only books we have are ones that were banned by other schools. Skinner: Well, the kids have to learn about "TekWar" sooner or later.
—2F19, “The PTA Disbands.”
"Ill-defined blanks"
Jonathan Rosenbaum on Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï:
Melville himself labeled Costello a schizophrenic, but to believe in his diagnosis — or in the reality of the two characters who give Costello an alibi for the murder he commits, his girlfriend (Nathalie Delon) and a chic jazz pianist (Caty Rosier) who actually witnessed the killing — one has to accept the character mythically...
"Never Let Them Go": 2010 and the Movies
“Machete don’t text.”
The second hour of this week’s To the Best...
The Pinnacle of Her Career
Although “Swan Lake” is generally considered to be one of the most successful ballets ever created, many ballerinas nevertheless regard the role of Odette-Odile as one of the most daunting in the repertory as well as being the most satisfying and rewarding. As with much of Petipa’s choreography, the demands made on the dancer are colossal, not just in the way of athletic effort but in the...
Wikileaks & the Military-Industrial Complex
Wikileaks raises the question as to what hackers have in common with secret services, since an elective affinity between the two is unmistakable. The love-hate relationship goes back to the very beginning of computing. One does not have to be a fan of German media theorist Friedrich Kittler or, for that matter, conspiracy theories, to acknowledge that the computer was born out of the...
The Machine Stops
The planet has been devastated. Very little plant life has survived. The air is cold and inhospitable. The human race lives below ground in small cells where every physical need is satisfied by a button or lever.
Communication is by electronic means with video images. It has expanded to such a degree that a single individual may be in contact, electronically, with a thousand people. Life is...