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Category: Arts

quotation

The only way to have power at twenty‐five, particularly in the music business, was to appear to be hip and groovy; then it would be assumed that you were a young visionary leading the way to the future. Being neither powerful nor particularly hip, I relied on my personal strengths. I was articulate, and I had a good sense of humor. I therefore styled myself as what can best be described as a young smart‐ass. It served me reasonably well for a number of years.

Paula Scher
quotation

The buried message of the film, perhaps, is that our political system resembles “American Idol.” … The winner is not necessarily the deserving contestant from an objective point of view, but is the one with the best poll numbers. A candidate from either party will be defeated if he is not entertaining. His intelligence and matters of right or wrong don’t have much to do with it. In this scenario, satire plays the role in politics that Simon Cowell plays on TV.

Roger Ebert
review
Thank You for Smoking

Thank You for Smoking

Verdict: 73/100 (Minimum score is 0; maximum is 100.)

I wish it had had more meat to it (a lot of the characters could’ve used more dimension), but Thank You For Smoking is an excellent commentary on spin, bullshit, and diffusion of responsibility. Aaron Eckhart is, as always, one part hilarious and one part creepy.

article

Common Knowledge

• Posted in Arts

I wouldn’t be a member of the blogosphere (ugh) if I didn’t link to this year’s Edge Annual Question: What is your dangerous idea? Like any good blog meme, this is a good way to waste three hours. I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out this gem from Daniel…

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Guitar Hero

• Posted in Video Games

Do you like rhythm games at all? If so, I cannot recommend Guitar Hero more highly. The joints on my fingers ache from holding down fret buttons all weekend. It’s hard to find — I had to go to the Best Buy in Cedar Park to get my copy — but it’s worth the…

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Reconciliation

• Posted in Sports

Sunday’s news: the Saints suck, but San Antonio can suck it. Tom Benson is the new most‐hated owner on earth, but strange as it may seem I can’t bring myself to hate him. Everyone’s owner is the worst owner in sports. Owners aren’t supposed to be liked (unless they’re Wellington…

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article

Keeping the Saints

• Posted in Sports

Nobody can predict what sort of city New Orleans will be when things return to ostensible normalcy. But it’s reasonable to imagine that two major industries — tourism and oil — will take big hits. Median income will likely decrease. Population will decrease, of course. None of these events would bode well for our…

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article

New Television

• Posted in Arts, Television

The amount of television I’ve been watching over the last week or so is substantial. It’s more than a crapload; I’d describe it as a “royal” crapload, or perhaps even a “crap megaton.” Furthermore, I’ve managed to watch this crapload of programming without ever glancing at live TV: everything I’ve…

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Industrial-Strength Panty Remover

• Posted in Music

I used to have a guitar‐playing roommate. He was the troubador of the quad — whenever I saw him outside our room he had his guitar slung over his back and his eyes in “brooding” mode. Chicks ate that shit up. You’d think that women in the honors dorms would be a…

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