Entries in Popular Culture (7)
Political Mammal
have been upset of late with leading politicians who have made statements supporting the teaching of intelligent design in schools. (Note, some humorous stuff further down).
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There are only 10 types of people in this world; those who understand binary, and those who don't.
I came across the Pulitzer prize winning poet Mary Oliver, strangely enough, because Debra Winger had written Oliver’s poem The Journey on her hand before her interview on the TV program "Inside the Actor's Studio.”
When I find something that I like, I want to tell others. That urge seems to come from a desire to share the pleasure of the experience, but perhaps also from wanting somehow to get credit for the discovery, or to raise your status by association with something cool. That feeling is particularly strong for me when the experience in question has not yet discovered by the public at large. Right now I am a fan of the Falafel Shop in Adams Morgan, DC—see if you agree. But I want to call attention in this post to something that is well-known and already justly famous. It is the awesome 1984 Talking Heads movie Stop Making Sense.
Go rent the DVDs for the British sitcom “The Office.” There is a reasonable probability that you will not get it and with just find it painful, in which case, my apologies. You need to understand that it is a “mockumentary.” Do not take it seriously. There are only two seasons and one special. Watch them. In my opinion, it is brilliant.
I have learned that “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai,” a cult classic, is an acquired taste. I acquired it when a college roommate quoted from it occasionally. But You have to love a movie where: the Defense Department is queried about “the possibility of war in the eighth dimension, Mr. Secretary?”; the President of the United States sputters: “I, uh... I don't know what to say. Lectroids? Planet Ten? Nuclear? Extortion? A girl named John?” and contends with “Declaration of War - the Short Form”
I guess I am a sucker for a “Darryl versus Goliath” story. Otherwise it is hard to explain exactly why I am such an abiding fan of the Australian comedy “The Castle.” Maybe it is because it is a gently political movie, a funny one, where you root for the working class heroes against the powers-that-be. Maybe it’s just the vibe of the thing.