Brutal YouthRebuilding Year Sometimes there’s an itch I just can’t scratch. Sometimes you’ve given up on scratching that itch until someone unexpectedly hands you the perfect backscratcher. Finding new music can be an impossible ordeal. Most people’s taste in music sucks after all, but in reality, the more you listen to music, the more you know what will speak to you. Every year it’s a never-ending cycle of listening to new music that have been recommended by friends and magazines...
Renfield I gotta say, I wasn’t going into Renfield with high hopes but I was kind of surprised. It’s a very cool concept, but cool concepts often get ruined by poor executions or lack of vision by the team. Renfield is a little of column A and a little of column B. The movie wasn’t a huge hit and no one in their right mind is a huge fan of Renfield or wants more of the Renfield-universe, so that’s...
The Hold SteadyThe Price of Progress I think I’ve said this before, but the Hold Steady are one of those bands that suffers from Monty Python syndrome, in the sense that it’s good, but the most annoying people in the world will not shut the fuck about it. Have you met a Hold Steady fan? If you’re not sure, then you haven’t. The real Hold Steady fans are annoying as hell. They think of themselves as some sort of ambassadors...
The Venture Bros. Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart I am a Venture Bros fan. I love this show. I take my review of Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart seriously. How seriously? Let me tell you. In preparation for this movie I rewatched the entire series. One complaint of the show people have is that it has such long gaps between seasons that it’s hard to remember or follow what’s going on in a particular...
Shazam! Fury of the Gods Every now and then a movie comes along that really bums me out. I hope this bummer ends with Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Normally, I would avoid these kinds of movies, but the first one was kinda good, you know? How in God(s)’(s) name could they mess up the sequel to such an extent? Let’s just get down to business, OK? Shazam! Fury of the Gods falls short in just about every aspect,...
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,...
DorohedoroThe Complete Collection (Vol 1-23)by Q Hayashida I’ll never stop singing Dorohedoro’s praises. Something about the 2020 anime struck a chord with me with its colorful characters, rich story, and peculiar setting. It’s been years and I still find myself looking up clips of it on Youtube. The anime has only had one season, and looks like it’ll stay that way, so to quench my thirst I turned to the manga. I didn’t know what I was going to find,...
Miles Davis Live: What it is Montreal 7/7/83 There’s this story of Miles David being confronted by a fan in the 80s or whatever and the fan saying to him that he can’t really get into the new style and direction of his music. Miles supposedly replies, “Should I wait for you, motherfucker?” By all means, Miles. Artists should be allowed to pursue their art the way they want to. They should be allowed to express themselves the way they...
Permanent DistortionHow the Financial Markets Abandoned the Real Economy Forever Let the record show that reading the “Books and Arts” section of a newspaper can actually be worth your time. Not that arts and books aren’t important. I love books. I love art. But, who has the time? If I hadn’t read the recommendation for Nomi Prins’ book in the Nation, I would have been worse off for it. And quite honestly, financial markets are a topic I have a...
Star Trek: Strange New WorldsSeason 1 What can I possibly say about Star Trek that hasn’t been said already. If you don’t know what it is, get a clue and get on board. I was very late to the party but have since gone very deep. Star Trek is a warm fuzzy place I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave. For a franchise that has done so much over so many years the idea of this Strange New Worlds...