Monthly Archives: April 2013

My Verdict on Vinyl

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Sir Barken Hyena

Sir Barken Hyena writes: After many years in an all-digital audio world, the one we all inhabit now, from cell phone to DVD, I’ve recently been listening to vinyl again. I’ve got a lot of company too, and it’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Personal reflections, Technology | 15 Comments

Linkage

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio dël Wrongo writes: David Chute posts a 2000 piece dealing with film preservation and digitization. What would Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau think? (H/T Michael Castañeda) Was Blue Öyster Cult the first non-German band to use an umlaut in its name? Wikipedia suggests … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Commercial art, Linkathons, Movies, Music, Politics and Economics | Tagged Blue Oyster Cult, David Chute, Eric S. Raymond, Film, movies, Paul Thomas Anderson, Raddish, Rebecca Romney, Steve Vineberg, Thomas Carlyle Club for Young Reactionaries | 3 Comments

“Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: “Hara-Kiri,” the latest from Takashi Miike, has met with tepid reviews, perhaps because it’s 1) a remake of a classic, and 2) defiantly short on action. But I thought it was largely riveting — aside from … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged Film, Hara-Kiri, Harakiri, Koji Yakusho, Masaki Kobayashi, movies, Takashi Miike | Leave a comment

The Law Rock

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: From 930 until 1262, medieval Icelanders lived in a society with no national government — no king, no army, no taxes. Hell, there wasn’t much local government either. The basic unit of organization was the family farmstead. There … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Law, Politics and Economics | Tagged anarchism, Iceland, law, medieval history, Prose Edda, Sagas of the Icelanders, Snorri Sturluson, spontaneous order, The Teaching Company, Vikings | 10 Comments

Linkage

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Secrets of Princeton. As a PU grad, I’ll vouch for the accuracy of this one. Lloyd Fonvielle is inspired by a book about the West by Frederick Law Olmstead, a great American artist best-known as the co-designer … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books Publishing and Writing, Food and health, Linkathons, Movies, Politics and Economics | Tagged Cass Gilbert, Frederick Law Olmstead, George Axelrod, immigration, Lloyd Fonvielle, Lord Love a Duck, Mark Sisson, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Sailer, Tuesday Weld, William Friedkin | 4 Comments

“El Bulli”

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: A German hagiography-documentary about the last season of creating-and-serving at El Bulli, the famous restaurant on the Costa Brava (outside of Barcelona) that was sometimes said to have been the world’s greatest. The movie is an impressively … Continue reading →

Posted in Food and health, Movies, The Good Life | Tagged Anthony Bourdain, documentaries, El Bulli, Eric Ripert, Ferran Adrià, food, Le Bernardin, movies, restaurants | 11 Comments

At Least the Two Parties Work Well Together on Some Things

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Epaminondas

epiminondas writes: The bipartisan effort to bankrupt our nation.

Posted in Politics and Economics | 2 Comments

Notes on Two Early Films by William Wyler

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes: In 1929 William Wyler directed a treatment of Peter B. Kyne’s “Three Godfathers,” a Western story of redemption which has been filmed several times, notably by John Ford in the 1940s. Where Ford emphasizes the spiritual … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged Charles Bickford, Film, Frances Dee, Francis Lederer, Hell's Heroes, John Ford, movies, Romantic Comedy, The Gay Deception, Three Godfathers, Warner Archive Collection, westerns, William Wyler | 1 Comment

The L.A. Conservancy’s Art Deco Walking Tour

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Recently, I attended a walking tour offered by the Los Angeles Conservancy, a charitable organization tasked with “preserving and revitalizing greater Los Angeles’ architectural heritage.” (Don’t laugh.) These tours are offered every weekend of such places as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Food and health, Photography, Travel | Tagged art deco, Beaux Arts, Biltmore, building codes, Claud Beelman, Donald D. Parkinson, Eastern Columbia Building, gay cruising, Hart Crane, John B. Parkinson, L.A. Conservancy, Los Angeles, Mission Revival, Oviatt Building, Parkinson & Parkinson, Pershing Square, Ricardo Legorreta, Romanesque Revival, Santa Muerte, SCE Company Building, Sun Realty Building, Title Guarantee Building, Umami Burger, UMAMIcatessen, Union Station | 18 Comments

Food Jargon

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Although I do love it when my food is “artisanal” and “locally-sourced,” I’m at my happiest when my charcuterie has been “curated”: What’s your favorite contempo pretentious food term?