"Did you see me cut into his chest? Did I cut his chest? I was probing to determine muscle tone and skeletal girth. It's a new technique… We mock what we don't understand."

I'm just catching up with the season now, on demand. But this seems to be the episode
where it is revealed that the Hanna character has real psychological problems.
It's not merely self-absorption played for laughs, or a reflection of the
narcissism of that generation. She seems to have some type of personality
disorder.…

A tangent from this particular newswire - what is going on with language in our culture? The "One Million Moms" group name made me think of this. We've got mommy bloggers, mom jeans, mom dancing, Ladyparts, bromance, bro talk, mansplaining, etc.

The hands themselves may be unrealistic, but Robinson's victory as "The Man" is brilliant because it is just betting on luck. There is skill involved in the game, and the pride that comes with great skill. But in the end, it comes down to giving yourself over to chance.

The hands themselves may be unrealistic, but Robinson's victory as "The Man" is brilliant because it is just betting on luck. There is skill involved in the game, and the pride that comes with great skill. But in the end, it comes down to giving yourself over to chance.

The framing device in the movie should be Leo Dicaprio as an adult Tobias Wolff, reading "Look Homeward, Angel". But he is constantly interrupted by a doddering De Niro's taunts of pretentiousness. So he drifts off into imagining the relationship between Wolfe and Perkins.

The framing device in the movie should be Leo Dicaprio as an adult Tobias Wolff, reading "Look Homeward, Angel". But he is constantly interrupted by a doddering De Niro's taunts of pretentiousness. So he drifts off into imagining the relationship between Wolfe and Perkins.

"All the President's Men" is coming up, on the big screen, as part of the VA Film Festival. They don't show as many classics as they used to, but I'm always grateful for the few they do include.

"All the President's Men" is coming up, on the big screen, as part of the VA Film Festival. They don't show as many classics as they used to, but I'm always grateful for the few they do include.

Yes! This is precisely what I was going to write. At 12 years old, I had a huge crush on Nancy in those 80's videos. So, naturally, I love them still. Say what you will about big-hair-80's-pop, but the video for "Never" is the apotheosis.

Yes! This is precisely what I was going to write. At 12 years old, I had a huge crush on Nancy in those 80's videos. So, naturally, I love them still. Say what you will about big-hair-80's-pop, but the video for "Never" is the apotheosis.

Indeed. The hate this song receives seems to always
come down to the hypocrisy of John Lennon the millionaire signing about
"no possessions”.  As if it were a
literal notion that only a true ascetic could legitimately express.

Indeed. The hate this song receives seems to always
come down to the hypocrisy of John Lennon the millionaire signing about
"no possessions”.  As if it were a
literal notion that only a true ascetic could legitimately express.

After thinking about the word and the concept of "master," it struck me how much Leonard Cohen's "Master Song" resonates with this movie. Not in any direct sense, as the song is more about a love triangle. But a lot of the song's imagery and language really dovetail with the movie:

After thinking about the word and the concept of "master," it struck me how much Leonard Cohen's "Master Song" resonates with this movie. Not in any direct sense, as the song is more about a love triangle. But a lot of the song's imagery and language really dovetail with the movie:

When Breaking Bad finally wraps, will Walter White have gone through the entire series without ever trying meth? Not even once? The greatest meth ever made?

When Breaking Bad finally wraps, will Walter White have gone through the entire series without ever trying meth? Not even once? The greatest meth ever made?

Vanity Fair, Cousin Bette, The Secret Agent, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.

Vanity Fair, Cousin Bette, The Secret Agent, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.

The lyrics to begin the second verse are the best part of this song. They capture the current Republican party in all its cynical glory: