Essays in Humanismby Albert Einsein Am I really going to start a review with an introduction on who Albert Einstein is? He’s the guy who invented the poster of the old man sticking his tongue out, OK? He also wrote that science formula that you see on blackboards of people in movies who are depicted as being smart. As much as he’s known for his scientific accomplishments and ideas, it’s the side of Einstein that dealt with more humanitarian issues...
People Funny BoyThe Genius of Lee “Scratch” Perryby David Katz I love the Clash, and if your love of the Clash is true, you love reggae as well. And if you love both, you know who Lee “Scratch Perry is. And, if you know who Lee “Scratch” Perry is, you also know his reputation. Super Ape, along with King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown, changed my life and opened a whole new world to me. I just can’t get enough of...
I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alanby Steve Coogan, Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons I never thought I’d go down the Alan Partridge rabbit hole to this degree. Years ago, I watched the This is Alan Partridge show, liked it, then forgot about it. But then, the Steve Coogan/Rob Brydon “The Trip” series started popping up on my radar, and after watching all of them (in series form, not movies – I’m a cultured man), I then started mining the...
The Dark Knight Strikes Againby Frank Miller Isn’t this what everyone wanted? We all loved The Dark Knight Returns. I think at the time we saw it as an edgy dark take on a beloved superhero. A recent reread kind of puts the story, and Frank Miller, more in perspective. It’s super simplistically libertarian, man. Just, WOW. I don’t know if Miller is capable of being self-aware. One thing for sure is, he definitely doesn’t think it’s fascism if the...
Six Weeks in Russia, 1919by Arthur Ransome I look at Arthur Ransome’s Six Weeks in Russia, 1919 with both awe and disdain. It’s a thin book, definitely, and it’s also probably the last book I’ll be completing for a long time. After getting sick to the point of hospitalization and realizing I’ve taken on a new job which has very little interest in providing work/life balance, I’ve come to the realization that any opportunities to relax and “read a book”...
The Case of Leon Trotsky: Report of Hearings on the Charges Made against Him in the Moscow Trialsby Leon Trotsky I knew I was a fan of the life of Leon Trotsky but reading The Case of Leon Trotsky really made me realize that I might just be a Trotsky-head (no pun intended). There, I wanted to see how many times I could fit Trotsky in a single sentence. Way back in the 1930s, it wasn’t as clear to everyone...
Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crashby Brendan Mullen (Editor), Don Bolles (Collaborator), Adam Parfrey (Collaborator) Are the Germs the best worst punk band of all time? Their album G.I. had some absolute bangers on them, but unfortunately, the band was led by a narcissistic art student who was more interested in manipulating people than actually making music. Also, the only good live show they played was their last one. Does that negate itself? I don’t...
From Lenin to Stalinby Victor Serge There are great figures in the history of Soviet Russia (and by “great” I mean popular) and great journalists on the history of Soviet Russia. David Remnick isn’t one of them. Victor Serge maybe is one. I’ve read a lot on Soviet Russia and particularly the Lenin/Stalin years, but never Victor Serge. He’s important enough that people still speak of him, and even the New York Times covers his books but what about his...
Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Healthby Anupam B Jena & Chris Worsham There’s nothing like a good summer book, and there’s no reason why a summer book shouldn’t be fun AND informative. Random Acts of Medicine is one of those rare books because it deals with a pretty complicated topic, but it’s also very accessible. I cannot stress this enough: there are plenty of informative and enlightening books out there,...
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sandsby Kate Beaton Like many, I was completely smitten by Kate Beaton after being exposed to Hark! A Vagrant. Like many, I was also very intrigued by whatever project she had been working on since moving back to Nova Scotia and starting a family (what’s she building up there?). The answer is putting the finishing touches on Ducks: an autobiographical graphic novel about Beaton’s two years working in the oil sands of Canada. The...