Now that my books are organized by genre, I’m alighting on books I haven’t read in years, and on New Year’s Day, I re-read Ellen Raskin’s young adult mystery The Westing Game. Raskin was a multiple-threat artist. Her 1966 picture book Nothing Ever Happens On My Block is incredibly visually witty, stylistically much more minimalist than Peter Spier’s lush, colorful... 

Charlie Jane Anders’ exploration of the turning point in the eighties when science fiction movies took the leap and became franchises, rather than one-offs, is a wise look at the commercial developments that shaped the entertainment landscape we live in now. But as much as inevitable sequels to sci-fi movies generally trouble us these days, the move towards franchising also represents a truer... 

Is it me, or is this video a little…introspective for B.o.B. at this point in his career? B.o.B – New Music – More Music Videos I understand that the process of getting famous has become dramatically accelerated in the age of the mixtape and the internet, and that it is probably pretty overwhelming to rise this fast. But “Don’t Let Me Fall” is both a reflection... 

I wore out my Rent soundtrack once upon a time, but can we all agree that maybe New York needs a new touchstone musical, rather than a revival of the show? In the Heights wasn’t transgressive enough, however much I loved Passing Strange it was a little too artsy in its transgressiveness (and too international for its dreams to seem attainable). We need something, though. Rent‘s... 

I’m a bit late to all of this, and felt prompted to look further when the set for The Hobbit burned down, but dude. Peter Jackson made at least $20 million on King Kong alone. His net worth was estimated to be $450 million in 2009. He’s part-founder of hugely in-demand WETA Digital.  If he can donate $450,000 in New Zeland dollars to stem cell research or spend $10 million... 

I may read romance novels and I’m not ashamed of it, but I’m also not particularly sympathetic to Jodi Picoult’s complaint that the New York Times in its book reviews “loves its literary darlings, who tend to be dudes w/MFAs … In summation: NYT sexist, unfair, loves Gary Shteyngart, hates chick lit, ignores romance.” I think there’s a narrow... 

(Which, by the way, you really should not listen to sans headphones if you happen to be at work or around people who are sensitive to profanities) really makes me wonder what Motown might have sounded like if Diana Ross was allowed to cuss out someone who really did her wrong: Less of the mournful, I think, however awesome she made it sound:  Read More »

Yesterday the New York Times Sunday magazine had a mildly interesting story on a fascinating topic: modern U.S. copyright law. The story itself is about music industry licensing executives, who drive around the country trying to convince those who are using copyrighted music illegally to pay for it: [Devon] Baker, 30, is a licensing executive with Broadcast Music Incorporated, otherwise known as BMI.... 

Image used under a Creative Commons license courtesy of hoangnt. Apparently, we’re getting a live-action Little Mermaid movie. I’ve been thinking a lot about people who change between people and animals, lately, if only because of the pop culture I’m consuming. There are the skinchangers in A Song of Fire and Ice, people who can send their minds out into wolves or eagles, and the... 

Dr. Who has been on my to-do list for a long time, so I started with the 2005 revival this weekend. And while I’ll have lots more to say about the show once I’m further into it, I have to say it makes me feel very justified in liking Billie Piper. I first got introduced to her during a New Years in the UK, where “Something Deep Inside,” along with “Rock DJ”...