Feeling Euphoric with Caravan "In the Land of Grey and Pink": Prog Review #34
Freedom and silliness and musical bliss are what this album is all about.
Counting on TOOL's "Lateralus": Prog Review #33
Out of the filth emerges an immaculate human spirit.
Casual Friday: The Battle Between Readers and Writers
Language is a writer's power to control meaning; don't give away that power to a reader.
Casual Friday: "Goosebumps" as Great Works of Literature
What qualities elevate a kid's book to Children's Literature? Can a Goosebumps novel be a children's classic? A case for the greatness of R.L. Stine's “The Haunted Mask” (1993).
Casual Friday: Trauma and Triumph in Katherine Paterson's "Jacob Have I Loved"
What is asked of a reader when they read a depressing story about an unhappy child?
Rethinking Representation with Maria Edgeworth's "Harrington"
A case study of how external pressure can change a creator's imagination for the better. When Maria Edgeworth was alerted to her offensive portrayals of Jews, she wrote an entire novel as an apology and a corrective...
The Case for More Analysis than Action: Star Trek, S1E16, "The Galileo Seven"
Deforest Kelley plays McCoy with such revulsion of Spock that we can believe an otherwise competent officer and Dr. could so lose his mind to racist thinking that he would turn against his leader rather than swallow his pride to serve the interests of the team.
Casual Friday: "Hamilton," "Rip Van Winkle," and the Two Georges
What really changed for the average American after the Revolution? An historical perspective from two great American artists.
Ruminating on Kansas's "Leftoverture": Prog Review #32
Familiar, satisfying, and brilliant: the lead track from Kansas's Leftoverture sets up high expectations for the rest of the album. Does the rest of the album deliver?
Al In A Day's Work: Weird Al Albums Ranked
Enjoy my ramblings on one of the greatest musical artists of our lifetime.
Casual Friday: Lemony Snicket's "Austere Academy" Schooling on Trans Rights and BLM
What can Lemony Snicket tell us about appropriate responses to BLM and how to empathize with trans persons?
Casual Friday: "The Metamorphosis" and Self-Isolation
How do the events of Kafka's classic story give us comfort in the time of Covid-19?
Casual Friday: Outbreak in "The Secret Garden"
A self-isolation themed video this week. The Secret Garden begins with a terrifying account of a pandemic allowed to spread in close quarters.
Casual Friday: Winning Reader interest with "Percy Jackson: the Lightning Thief"
The Lightning Thief brings readers in by pushing them away.
The Past is an Alien Shore: Star Trek S1E15, "Shore Leave"
Not a good start: Kirk has a kink in his back, so the female yeoman, Barrows, immediately starts massaging it. Barrows's job is first to nag Kirk about getting some shore leave, and then to be an object of Bones's desire. Along the way, she gets assaulted by Don Juan—twice.
"Ashes Are Burning" is a Renaissance Affair to Remember: Prog Review #31
The opening two-and-a-half-minutes of Ashes Are Burning (1973) are glorious.
Casual Friday: "Peter Pan" and the Riddle of Childhood
It’s only in the 19th century, really, that childhood gets established as a period in life meant for fun, play, curiosity, fantasy and all the other things we associate with childhood.
Time Travel and Bananas: A NOCKAT Review
What do bananas, Reno, The Jerky Boys, and alternate universe weather reports have in common?
Monetizing Play: Balloons!
As a a semi-employed sorta stay-at-home dad, I get a lot of time to think about toys and games: what will keep my boys (4 and 1) busy in a way that keeps both entertained, and I won't have to grow extra arms?
OK with U.K.'s "U.K.": Prog Review #30
With this incredible pedigree of musicians, U.K. should be something special…