Author Archives: Paleo Retiree

About Paleo Retiree

Onetime media flunky and movie buff and very glad to have left that mess behind. Formerly Michael Blowhard of the cultureblog 2Blowhards.com. Now a rootless parasite and bon vivant on a quest to find the perfectly-crafted artisanal cocktail.

“The Salt of the Earth”

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Blowhard, Esq. and I just watched this highly-praised documentary about the Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, which was co-directed by Wim Wenders and Salgado’s son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado. (For the purposes of keeping father and son straight in … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Photography | Tagged barbara kopple, Commune, Jonathan Berman, movies, photography, Running From Crazy, Sebastiao Salgado, Wim Wenders | 2 Comments

Architecture Du Jour

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Here’s a selection of snaps that I took during a recent visit to Phoenix’s wonderfully eccentric, handmade and wayward 18-room, three-level Mystery Castle. It seems like part hippie project, part Italian or Spanish hilltown house, part Southwest Indian … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged architecture, arizona | 2 Comments

Linkage

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: The real Pussy Galore. A great rant from Fred Reed. Steve Sailer takes a look at the excruciatingly slow progress of California’s High Speed Rail. Some girls are just born wild. Elon Musk: genius … at milking the … Continue reading →

Posted in Linkathons | Tagged color, Fred Reed, karen straughan, robert parker, Steve Sailer, thediggitydank, thongs, wine | 6 Comments

“Filthy Cities”

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: I recently enjoyed (if with some reservations) the three-part BBC documentary series “Filthy Cities,” which recently became available on Netflix Instant. Medieval London, revolutionary Paris and industrial-age New York City are the filthy cities covered by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Television | Tagged BBC, cities, dan snow, documentary, television, urbanism | Leave a comment

Marty Stuart

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: I’m pretty sure I’d never heard of Marty Stuart until very recently, but in the last month I’ve become a huge fan. Stuart is a country-western singer/songwriter/performer/photographer in the keeper-of-the-flame mode, and I think he’s terrific. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged country music, country western, marty stuart, Music | 13 Comments

Architecture Du Jour

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: The midsection of the General Electric Building, a 50-story Deco/Gothic skyscraper built in 1931 and designed by the Beaux Arts-educated John W. Cross. It’s in Manhattan, at Lexington Ave. and 51st St. Related Read some more about … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged architecture, John W. Cross, Manhattan, photography, skyscrapers | 4 Comments

“The Last Artist in New York City”

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Despite all the bitching and carping we here at UR like to indulge in, we aren’t just a bunch of negativity-mongers. (Critics, patooie.) Many of us make our own creative contributions too. Try this, and this, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Performers, Theater | Tagged creativity, Jason Jacobs, Karen Grenke, Nuyorican Poets Cafe | 2 Comments

Moi on Book Publishing

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Steve Sailer was kind enough to highlight a comment I made on his blog about the demographics of the American book publishing world from 1985ish to 2001ish, a stretch when I was professionally covering the field. (I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing | Tagged book publishing, books, publishing, Steve Sailer | 1 Comment

“Cultural Literacy for Religion”

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: I enjoyed Mark Berkson’s hyper-basic (one-half to four lectures per major religion) Great Courses series very much. My beefs with it first, but only because complaining is so much more fun and easy than praising. It wasn’t the anthropological lecture … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Education, History, Philosophy and Religion | Tagged Great Courses, lecture series, Mark Berkson, religion | 25 Comments

The Trendiness Trend

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: Could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that this is the first time I’ve run across the adjective “trendy” being used (non-ironically, anyway) as an enticement. Is calling something “trendy” and meaning it as praise becoming a trend?