The Washington Post recently ran a photo essay dedicated to showing us “what [our] smartphone addiction actually looks like.” It’s a classic bit of public impersonal shaming that resonates strongly with what we already know about how smartphones have destroyed our capacity for genuine social connections. We don’t talk with each other anymore. We use […]
Home? [Rerun Sunday]
I’m in DC for a few days to visit Mom. It’s the city where I did most of my growing up (assuming, of course, that I actually did grow up) and it’s always a little weird to come back. There are parts of it that still feel very much like home (whatever that means) and […]
Video of the week
Yes, it’s 11 minutes long. You’ve got 11 minutes to spare for this. Really. You do. Trust me. Watch it all. Then watch it again. Of course, the question you want to ask now is, “WTF?” Or, perhaps, “WTFF?” Well, here’s the answer.
Last week’s link
You’ve definitely been cheated. Not only did I skip “Last week’s links” last week, but this week, I’m only giving you one new link. But, oh, what a link! I could play with this beautiful little toy for hours on end. “Long as she got a dime, the music will never stop…” And now you […]
Fun with surveillance [Rerun Sunday]
Yesterday, my car was involved in an accident. Sort of. It was parked on the street in front of the house at the front end of a series of three vehicles. Someone managed to drive their car into the back rear corner of the truck at the back end of that line. They did a […]
Video(s) of the week
None of these are new. But since VOTW-day falls on Halloween this week, I thought these remixed trailers would be appropriately spooky fare. Enjoy!
Book arrival day
It’s been a long, Long, LONG time coming. How long? This is a book that Jayne Fargnoli first approached me about writing in 2001. At the time, I was still teaching at the University of South Florida, Blackwell was five years away from being acquired by John Wiley, and the Association for Cultural Studies didn’t […]
Future must-read
New. Paul. Beatty. Novel. OMG. Okay. It looks like I’ll need to wait until March to actually get my hands on The Sellout. But I’ll be counting down the days till then. I’ve already gushed briefly here about Beatty’s first novel, The White Boy Shuffle, and I could do the same about his third novel, […]
Monday not-quite-randomness: Labor Day edition [Rerun Sunday]
As mentioned in this space last week, the University is facing a strike by clerical, technical, and health-care workers that’s slated to start Wednesday. Last week’s bargaining[sic] session found the University coming back to the table without budging from the very same offer that workers had rejected when they declared their intent to strike. So […]
Video of the week
The US Supreme Court goes to the dogs … and I am eager to see just what sort of use the interwebs actually make of the free resources provided here.