I know it's not part of the weekend, but I do want to mention that Tuesday night I saw one of my former professors give a talk on ten little-known radical political cartoonists of the 20th century. There were some amazing stories, particularly John (?) Olday— German-born, participated in the 1919 Marxist uprising in…

Friday: I went to see Chappie. I ended up enjoying it— it's kind of cheesy and some of the technology stuff is pretty silly (when we will we escape the movie shortcut of "typing really fast = computer magic"?), but it has its moments. It's definitely a minor film, but it was decently entertaining (plus I got paid to…

That was an excellent episode. Torstein's slow charge through the mist had a beautiful tension about it. I'm very curious about this wanderer storyline— I wouldn't necessarily mind if it went in a more supernatural direction but I do agree that it's somewhat inconsistent with the general attitude of the show.
I'm not…

I was just going to post about him. I think it's also worth noting that the show's writers were never afraid to have him proven wrong— he made mistakes, those mistakes had consequences, and even though it wasn't a serialized show, you still see his character grow and change over time.

This is such a fun movie. It's also where my username comes from— there's a scene in which they're discussing the "monster"'s tracks, and Dr. Morbius hypothesizes that they "can only belong to an arboreal creature, like some impossible tree sloth". There's no deep significance to it; I just think it's a really funny…

I definitely recommend them. Their energy and musicianship is like few other young bands I've seen. Quite a few of their songs are on YouTube and SoundCloud, so if you're unsure, they're pretty easy to research. Then again, I had no idea what they were like before the first time I saw them, and now here we are.

That would have been nice, but I thought it was still fairly sweet, especially to have Robert see the three of them holding hands.

It's my understanding that "tummy" is an example of Victorian squeamishness about bodies— "stomach" was considered too intimate/clinical. In that light, it seemed to make sense for his character.

The remembrance of Sybil was a lovely little scene. I especially appreciated Tom's pause by one of the beds— perhaps wondering if it was the one his Sybil had slept in, once upon a time? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it particularly struck me.
I also thought the scene between Edith and Lord G. was perfectly…

Friday night, I went to see The Dodos in concert. I caught them opening for Neko Case last May, and I've been enjoying their stuff ever since. The opening band, Springtime Carnivore, was fun to listen to— this lo-fi '60s throwback thing that seems quite popular at the moment. And The Dodos themselves were absolutely…

Shedding a few tears over this. When I was in early grade school, SciFi used to show reruns of Star Trek in the afternoons. I'd come home and my dad would make me a snack, and we'd watch an episode or two together. It's one of those inconsequential childhood things you never really think of at the time, but it's…

While I didn't find this episode as strong as last week, I did enjoy it. Lady Sinderby's kindness and diplomacy were very welcome— as long as we're drawing parallels between characters, I saw a strong similarity between her and Cora. And I'm just glad they finally gave Rose a real storyline of her own.
In terms of…

Friday: Watched the latest "Vikings" episode. It felt a little overstuffed, but it's still one of the most unique and energetic shows I've ever seen on mainstream television.
Saturday: I finally saw Whiplash. I'm still massively upset that neither The Immigrant nor A Most Violent Year made it into the Best Picture…

I'm just so happy this is back on.

You're right— but that goes even more to what I was saying. Edith, despite having good intentions, has never stopped to consider her child's emotional/mental well-being, except as a proxy to her own feelings.

The strongest episode of the season so far, in my opinion. Mary and Violet's tea scene was fantastic; I've always liked the bond between two characters and I loved Maggie Smith's vulnerability when she admitted that she was afraid of losing Isobel's companionship. Also the "lack of compassion" line was fantastic, as…

In retrospect, my original reply looks snippier than I intended. I guess I'm just a little hyper-sensitive about the fact that I am basically a walking cliche— middle-class white twenty-something trying to carve out a bohemian life in the big city. It's all good.

Yes, I know. They're really good dudes, though, I swear— way less obnoxious than the name might lead you to suspect. Also, yes, Williamsburg is a place people go. If it makes you feel any better, I don't live there and rarely go unless I'm seeing a band.

Friday night, I went to see The Harmonica Lewinskies at a bar in Williamsburg; I met and befriended a couple of the guys my senior year of college, and I like to support them whenever I can. Their shows are always a good time— very energetic and lots of goofy stage banter. I hung around a little while afterwards and…

I think this looks very promising— I love an old-fashioned, stylish haunted-house movie. Here's hoping it doesn't have some kind of cheesy, absurd ending like The Woman in Black, which I really enjoyed until the last five minutes or so.