Blogroll

Dystopian movies — and acknowledging reality

In light of my recent post about modern life and dystopias, the Dystopian Movie meme I found at SFSignal seemed timely. The rule is simply to put in bold the movies you’ve seen from the following list of top 50 dystopian movies.

Metropolis (1927) A Clockwork Orange (1971) Brazil (1985) Wings of Desire (1987) Blade […]

Book Review: The Terror Dream by Susan Faludi

Perspective requires time. With six years having passed since the events of September 11, 2001, we are beginning to see some critical analysis not only of the ramifications of that day but how we responded as a nation. In The Terror Dream: Fear and Fantasy in Post-9/11 America, Susan Faludi provides a unique view of […]

The magic of Bruce Springsteen

On the cusp of the release of Bruce Springsteen’s latest, Magic, I’m not ready to declare it a classic or a masterpiece. It has a few moments that are a bit too predictable, almost somewhat formula. But repeated listening, bolstered by seeing a recording of the performances on The Today Show this past Friday, reinforces […]

Celebrate Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week starts today. You shouldn’t spend it celebrating the banning of books. Celebrate the books that have been banned or the subject of banning efforts. The American Library Association has plenty of good suggestions on how to mark the week (such as putting a badge on your blog like the one at the […]

Book marginalia

As promised, an assortment of recent material dealing with books and reading:

Given that the first event was last night, I have been remiss in not mentioning that the South Dakota Festival of Books is going on this weekend in the Black Hills. Micawbers Books in St. Paul, “the last indie bookstore in the Twin […]