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Category Archives: Other Art and Culture
5 Reasons I’d Rather Read My News Online Than in Print
Newspapers are not dead or dying. They just have a new home. The digital age allows journalists to disseminate up-to-the-minute information faster, and in more ways, than was even conceivable as little as a quarter century to go. This transition will certainly require some adjustments, but in the end, “newspapers” will keep the name, ditch the paper, and thrive as your online sources for news and information. Here are five reasons that reading that news on your computer is better than doing it the old fashioned way (more…)
Posted in Other Art and Culture
Tagged google news, journalism, multimedia, newspapers, reporting
6 Comments
The Top Five Terms Made Up By Yours Truly pt. 4: The Cruise Ship Principle
This is Part Four in our series of Five Terms Made Up By Yours Truly.
Check out Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Five.
4. The Cruise Ship Principle
Definition – The impulse to continue in a particularly positive or personally meaningful activity despite the conscious knowledge that the activity would only continue to be positive or meaningful if others continued in it as well.
The Story – When I was twelve, I went on a cruise with my family. During the vacation, I’d met up with a nice group of kids my own age whom I quickly became good friends with. At the end of the week, when we were disembarking, I said to my family, “I wish we could stay on the cruise ship.” My dad pointed out, quite rightly, that what I really wanted was to spend more time with these friends, and so that wish wouldn’t work unless they all stayed on the cruise ship as well. It was at that point that I realized the pleasure I took in certain activities was largely dependent on those with whom I had shared the experience, and continuing them on my own would not have sufficed. Thus, the Cruise Ship Principle was born.
The Top Five Terms Made Up By Yours Truly pt. 3: The Citizen Kane Effect
This is Part Three in our series of Five Terms Made Up By Yours Truly.
Check out Part One, Part Two, Part Four, and Part Five.
3. The Citizen Kane Effect
Definition – When a modern viewer is nonplussed by a classic film or other such work of art, because the elements of the work that were impressive or innovative at the time of its release have since become commonplace or outdated.
The Story – “Citizen Kane” is a tremendous film. It’s done quite well for itself without any need for further accolades from yours truly, but suffice it to say, “Citizen Kane” is widely acclaimed as one of, if not the, greatest movies of all time. Personally, before I had ever popped it into my DVD player, I think I’d practically seen the whole movie based solely on the many many homages to the film on The Simpsons. Yet, very often a modern audience will see this film, so firmly acknowledged as a masterpiece, and somehow they have a reaction that roughly amounts to “so what?”
Twilight: The Novel – The Andrew Review
Once upon a time, there was a wonderful show called Mystery Science Theater 3000. It taught us all a very important lesson – that even the most hackneyed, poorly made, and all around worst “works of art” can be made entertaining and enjoyable if you simply poke fun at them as you go along. It was in this spirit that I read Stephenie Meyer’s ode to fangirl fantasies, whiny vampires, and the act of spitting on Bram Stoker’s grave, better known as “Twilight.”
I embarked on this treacherous journey at the urging of my girlfriend, who is herself an ardent detractor of the novel and its writing style. She received my sardonic running commentary as I slogged through page after page of this ripe-for-ridicule tale, and she has been my shepherd through this strange land of plot holes and tween-lit. When she encouraged me to do a full review, how could I refuse? She was also kind enough to provide me with a few NPR reviews of the book for guidance, and she even made the lovely pictures you see accompanying the review. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on that most celebrated of novels – Twilight.
Posted in Other Art and Culture
Tagged Bella Swan, Book Reviews, Edward Cullen, NPR, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight
1 Comment
The Top Five Terms Made Up By Yours Truly pt. 2: Village Idiot Moment
This is Part Two in our series of Five Terms Made Up By Yours Truly.
Check out Part One, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.
2. Village Idiot Moment
Definition – Those times when you’re consuming a beverage when suddenly, someone says something funny and makes you spray the drink all over everywhere, nasally or otherwise.
The Story – This one also involves my family, but it’s a much more straightforward tale and term. On one family trip to a cousin’s wedding a number of years ago, we stopped at a local store to grab a drink for my sister, and to pick up a few sundry items for the trip. Before we drove off, both my parents wanted to fix my sister’s outfit before we arrived at the wedding. She was sitting in the back, drinking some juice, as my parents were futzing and fiddling with her dress. All of a sudden, some random young and quite inebriated fellow was walking through the parking lot, and rambling incoherently. To his subsequent dismay, my dad uttered five words that are now infamousin my family – “Look, it’s the village idiot!”
The Top Five Terms Made Up By Yours Truly pt. 1: Coconut Syndrome
If you want to make it easier to recognize something, to understand it and to learn from it, then give it a name. In many ways, all words and phrases are merely shortcuts – quick little representations of much larger thoughts and concepts that make discussing these big ideas, not to mention wrapping our heads them, much much easier. Indeed, Shakespeare was a wordsmith, not for the glory, but out of necessity. There were certain things he wanted to express quickly and succinctly, and the English language just had not caught up yet. It’s the same reason each generation comes up with its own slang; it’s the same reason phrases like “too big to fail” went from being barely in the public consciousness to something everyone knows the meaning of in the current economic climate, and it’s the same reason Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness” swept the nation. In that spirit, here is a series of five terms that I have come up with in order to describe some hereto unlabeled phenomena. Most of these terms have a good story behind them, but all of them are useful shortcuts for certain sentiments and activities (more…)
