Uncouth Reflections

Linkage

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes:

The Soviet erotic alphabet.
Great to see that the smart and cantankerous Will S. is blogging again.
More on Bitcoin. The alternative-currency meme has really become something.
Joys of multiculturalism, cont. And more.
The things some people do to get themselves off …
Smart pooch.
Now even the New York Times is comparing Obama to Nixon.
Has Yahoo ruined Flickr?
How do women’s hormonal cycles affect their political views?
Netflix Instant Recommendation Du Jour: “Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus.” Proof that scrappily likable exploitation filmmaking isn’t entirely a thing of the past, this shot-in-two-weeks 2010 cheapo action spectacle revels in so-bad-it’s-good effects, acting and storytelling, and it does so without falling into the trap of being excessively knowing or cool. It’s got a lot of the frantic, damn-the-torpedoes, we’re-going-to-tell-our-story-despite-everything sweetness of early Roger Corman movies. FWIW, my own imagination and giddiness kicked in about twenty times more watching this shitty movie than it does when I watch the usual slick, huge-budgeted, big-studio action fantasy. Hmm, maybe that means that “Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus” is a non-shitty movie …

Posted in Movies, Photography, Politics and Economics, Science, Sex | Tagged bitcoin, flickr, movies, multiculturalism, Obama, politics, riots, Yahoo! | 2 Comments

Who Needs Mardi Gras?

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes:

We Americans think we are pretty cool with our wild weekend events like the upcoming Urban Beach Weekend in Miami Beach. The city seems to have battened down the hatches for that. It is bound to be a serious fest.

But the Germans are no slouches in the Department of Weekend Celebrations. The annual Goth Festival just wrapped up in Liepzig. As Der Spiegel writes, no one does Goth quite like the Germans.

Posted in The Good Life | Tagged Goth Festival, Urban Beach Weekend | Leave a comment

Cracks in the Swedish Social Model

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Epaminondas

epiminondas writes:

Race riots in Sweden? It would appear that the vaunted socialism of every leftist’s favorite socialist state is breaking down along racial lines. How many remember the stern rebukes of Swedish commentators on America’s racial issues and later on those of the British? I can still hear the ringing tones of Gunnar Myrdahl as he lectures his inferiors and scornfully contrasts America and its class system with that of peaceful Sweden. Too bad the SOB didn’t live to see what his dimwitted buddies have done to Sweden. I’m not hearing too much tut-tutting from them these days.

Posted in Politics and Economics | 9 Comments

Linkage

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

So Yahoo! bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Like many Tumblr users, my main hope is that Yahoo! won’t ruin the service, i.e. let us keep all of our filthy and disgusting porn. But really, Yahoo! has no reason for being at this point, right? If my parents and those like them ever learn how to change their home page, Yahoo!’s traffic will instantly vanish.
A comprehensive Dark Enlightenment reading list.
The 50 Greatest Matte Paintings of All Time. (H/T Matt Zoller Seitz)
La Paglia on how gender theorists are ruining the study of BDSM.
I fully expect that, sometime in the not-too-distant future (like, next week), I’ll wake up and everything around me will be Star Wars-modded.
It’s true.
5 reasons being a lawyer sucks and, yes, this guy nails it. I plan on writing more about this, specifically the failure of law school to actually prepare you to be a lawyer, in a later post. (H/T Paleo Retiree)

Posted in Linkathons, Movies, Philosophy and Religion, Politics and Economics, Technology | Tagged Camille Paglia, Star Wars, The Dark Enlightenment, Tumblr, Video Games, Yahoo! | 2 Comments

De De Mollner’s Sunset Strip (With a Few Detours Along the Way)

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

After reading Paleo Retiree’s ultra-groovy interview with De De Mollner about her days as a go-go dancer in 60s L.A., I couldn’t help but wonder about some of the Sunset Strip locations she mentioned. A few of the places I was familiar with, but many names were new to me. Do these places still exist? What’s there now? Camera in hand, I went out one Sunday to see for myself.

Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Music, Performers, Photography, Travel | Tagged Amoeba Music, Capitol Records building, Chateau Marmont, Cinerama Dome, Ciro's, Crossroads of the World, Dan Tana's, Falling Down, Hollywood, Hollywood & Vine, KHJ Studios, Los Angeles, Lucy's El Adobe, Martoni's, Mel's Drive In, Musso & Frank Grill, Nickodell's, Pandora's Box, Paramount Pictures, Sunset Sound, Sunset Strip, The Brown Derby, The Comedy Store, The Trip, The Troubadour, The Whiskey, Tower Records, Trocadero, West Hollywood | 8 Comments

The Downton Abbey Syndrome…In a Bad Sense

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Epaminondas

epiminondas writes:

A new aristocracy is busy cementing its agenda into place. At the expense of free men and free markets.

Posted in Politics and Economics | Leave a comment

Letter from China: Big Underpants Again

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes:

I wrote previously about the Rem Koolhaas CCTV building in Beijing. The one they call Big Underpants, the one whose photo should be viewed through cheesecloth for proper effect, given Beijings’ chronic haze. In fact some days you can barely make him out at all if you are any distance away, and you have to wonder if that’s all of him.

I stayed in the Central Business District a few nights ago. Sure enough, as I walked out of my hotel in the morning there he was, Big Underpants, emerging from the haze.

Posted in Architecture | Tagged CCTV, koolhaas | 1 Comment

2 Higher Education Readings

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes.

CS50x is not the new Acura model. It is Harvard’s Introduction to Computer Science course, the one it offered free as part of its EdX initiative.

CS50x is Harvard College’s introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming for majors and non-majors alike, with or without prior programming experience. An entry-level course taught by David J. Malan, CS50x teaches students how to think algorithmically and solve problems efficiently. . . .

PREREQUISITES

None. CS50x is designed for students with or without prior programming experience.

How cool is that? Harvard for free.

Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Technology | Tagged Bowdoin, education, EdX, Harvard, Harvey Mansfield, National Association of Scholars | 1 Comment

Might Makes Right!

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Fenster

Fenster writes:

Or might makes right?

As always, it’s your decision.

Which reminds me. You can make fun of Dan Brown all you want (and here is a spirited defense of his latest oovruh). But The DaVinci Code was if nothing else a brief against the sky gods.

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Philosophy and Religion, Uncategorized | Tagged Camille Paglia, Dan Brown, earth gods, sky gods | Leave a comment

Linkage

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes:

Should all Americans be given a basic monthly income?
Con artist of the year.
“I’m 40 years old going on 65,” says an ex-lineman. “God knows what I’ll feel like when I’m actually 65 years old.”
Why is the Swedish establishment still in favor of joining the Eurozone?
Some smart and lovely words from Lloyd Fonveille in praise of a late John Ford western.
Jake Thomas takes a stand for Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II.”
Charlton Griffin gets a rave for his recent production of “Dombey and Sons.” Charlton is a great producer and narrator of audiobooks.
I’m feeling safer already.
Netflix Instant Recommendation Du Jour: “Fatal Attractions,” a somber and thoughtful British-made documentary series about people who are driven to bond and live with dangerous animals, from crocodiles to tigers to poisonous snakes. (It often doesn’t work out well.) Gorgeous photography featuring lots of shallow focus; impressively staged re-enactments; fantastic and sinister footage of terrifying and beautiful creatures; moving and informative interviews with friends and experts … All of it done in a style that deliberately evokes subdued and classy psychological horror pictures. This isn’t the usual loud, clattery, set-in-Idiocristan reality-TV show. Instead, it’s a series of character studies — deep looks into a peculiar kind of madness: the attraction some people have not just to animals but to wild and predatory ones. Where does it come from? Why do they feel they can get away with it? The Question Lady and I have found the series fascinating, and have enjoyed every episode of it.