The writer character named Tom, widely agreed to be a stand-in for Tennessee Williams himself, in his aria on the movies from a great production of The Glass Menagerie running in Los Angeles now: Tom:Yes, movies! Look at them [a wave towards the theaters outside] All of those glamorous people — having adventures, hogging it all,Continue reading “What Tennessee Williams really thought of the movies”
Monthly Archives: September 2010
Three strikes for bears
Ted Rall likes to work from bizarre but real news stories. Sometimes this makes his work seems a little beyond belief, but when you see the context, it all begins to make sense…in a 21st sort of way.
The science of romantic comedy
The part they don't tell you in school about semen (from Scientific American): Semen has a very complicated chemical profile, containing over 50 different compounds (including hormones, neurotransmitters, endorphins and immunosupressants) each with a special function and occurring in different concentrations within the seminal plasma. Perhaps the most striking of these compounds is the bundleContinue reading “The science of romantic comedy”
Is America getting weirder?
Forget the inescapable Tea Party for a second. Just consider: GOP voters nominated a woman to run for a Senate seat in a populous Eastern state whose signal achievement in life, seemingly, is not having sex. Isn't that a little, um, peculiar? Not an exaggeration. Here's Christine O'Donnell opining on the subject of procreation onContinue reading “Is America getting weirder?”
Scary graph of the day: the heaviness of the USA
The US is not alone in this trend…but why are we so much worse than other wealthy nations? For more troubling stats, see Economix. h/t: Andrew Sullivan
The plot escapes me, but the wraith of memory remains
In the New York Times Book Review, novelist James Collins admits an embarrassing secret. I have just realized something terrible about myself: I don’t remember the books I read… Nor do I think I am the only one with this problem. Certainly, there are those who can read a book once and retain everything thatContinue reading “The plot escapes me, but the wraith of memory remains”
Falconry from the bird’s-eye point of view
The English have always been legendary falconers; here, a scientist's camera and the BBC reveals what it looks from the bird's eye view… .
NBA: Five weeks away
Mark Heisler has held down the NBA beat for The Los Angeles Times for the last quarter-century or so. SoCal is lucky to have him; he's as spiky and surprising as ever, with no sign of weariness. Heisler's also ahead of his time, stylistically. He's been mixing commentary into his league updates, which Times reportersContinue reading “NBA: Five weeks away”
The most Orwellian twist in today’s most Orwellian novel
Gary Shteyngart is a fan of George Orwell, but his new Super Sad True Love Story, a dystopian novel inspired by l984, isn't all that Orwellian a book. Why? Because, for all Orwell's greatness, Shteyngart is a much more amusing writer. But the book does have a couple of surreal and ominously Orwellian moments. The mostContinue reading “The most Orwellian twist in today’s most Orwellian novel”
Delta earthquake risk serious, but not catastrophic: USGS
A soon-to-be-released report from the US Geological Survey finds the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta would be hit even harder by an earthquake than previously believed, but with winter rains, the Delta would also recover more quickly than was estimated in a state study just three years ago. This excellent story by Pat McBroom in The CaliforniaContinue reading “Delta earthquake risk serious, but not catastrophic: USGS”
Kit Stolz 