Beltmann

Today one of my colleagues wore a Sky Blue Sky T-shirt to a staff meeting.

I haven't seen 2016, but I found it very interesting that, to a person, my "serious" conservative friends were embarrassed by it. They agreed that it's worse than a Michael Moore movie (which is saying something, since they really, really hate Moore's movies). That said, I know a few less serious conservatives (you know, the kind that think Sarah Palin is a genius, Sean Hannity is a journalist, and Obama is an America-hating communist) who thought it was must viewing. I think the different responses say more about our current political environment--which allows the unserious, with their car

Thanks, Tommy! I've been spending way more time at the site than I probably should--pretty soon my family is going to resent you.

Definitely a highlight. In other news... holy hell, it's Matt Z! Good to hear from you, friend.

I don't know if I'm just in the right spot for Dylan right now, but I'm loving this album, much more than the last few. And I can't get enough of the video for "Duquesne Whistle," which veers seamlessly between tones with such dexterity that it keeps cracking me up. (It's directed by Nash Edgerton, who also made The Square, an excellent Australian thriller.) Added bonus: While listening to "Narrow Way" in the car this afternoon, my 4-year-old son yelled from the backseat, "Dad, I like this song! It sounds like the Blues Brothers!"

The first one that comes to mind is Crooked Fingers (2009 opening for Neko Case). Another one is Riviera (2005 opening for Jeff Tweedy). In both cases, I made a point to buy every record, including all subsequent releases. Both still rank among my favorites. A lot of other openers have been terrific--Heartless Bastards, Dr. Dog, New Pornographers, St. Vincent, Merle Haggard, to name a few--but I was a big fan even before showing up.

I have the gold one, and also the same design on a bright orange shirt. Love 'em both. Wore the orange one yesterday!

There are the obvious Bergman titles to see, but let me add two that are usually not included in the conversation: Winter Light and Shame. I think both rank up there with his established classics.

Love that one. It's an allegorical medieval fable concerned with many familiar Bergman topics: forgiveness, faith, suffering. Unlike its many rip-offs--including both versions of The Last House on the Left--it has a haunting magic. Might be one of my favorite films of all-time.

I'm a bit of an Ingmar Bergman aficionado, a preoccupation that began in 1990 when I saw The Seventh Seal in a high school social studies class. (That teacher was truly special.) Back then, Bergman was still a giant in the canon, but these days he's become passe in film circles, much to my dismay. I'm still a huge fan, and remain convinced that a fistful of his films rank among the finest motion pictures ever created. Two days ago I watched the documentary Bergman Island, which consists of the aged Bergman discussing an odd assortment of questions about his career and personal life, all wh

I hadn't thought about the worldwide exposure of that kiss, but I definitely noticed Boyle's political subtext throughout (including those phallic smokestacks), and was thoroughly entertained by thoughts of those ideas going out to billions. I noticed the clip from Kes (my wife can attest to my gasp of recognition!) and, like ih8music, laughed out loud at the NHS number. (I also read it as a comment directed at the US as well as the Tories, and imagined Mitt Romney's eyebrows leaping up in horror. "They got me in the end, dagnabbit!")

Precisely. It might be politically convenient for me to believe that Obama disregards the entrepreneurial spirit or that Romney disregards the plight of the poor, but do I really believe those things are true about either candidate? Of course not. Those things could only be true of cartoon characters, not the reality of these two men.

American political discourse has been overwhelmed by carny barkers, drowning out serious people of all stripes. I guess we found our common ground!

If you read my last post, I've already acknowledged that distortions happen from all sides. At the moment, though, we're focused on how the Right is trying to smear Obama based on a particular comment. If you truly believe Obama's comment violates your concept of what it means to be an American, then I believe you are, indeed, stretching it to mean something it doesn't. Do you really believe that deep down Obama doesn't value hard work and doesn't believe personal initiative deserves reward? C'mon man.

I'm willing to concede that Obama hates success if Republicans are willing to concede that Bush hates black people! Point is, both statements are on-their-face so absurd that only the most partisan individuals could believe that kind of rhetoric--you can only believe it if you are primed to think the worst about Obama or Bush, and are willing to view everything they do through that distorted prism. Too often people treat politics like sports, with all of the homerism and irrational jeering that goes along with it.

I don't think that's what he was saying at all, and I think it requires a willful desire to distort the speech to arrive at that conclusion. If anything has been "revealed," it's the extent to which the right-wing smear machine is willing to stoop to such distortions, and the extent to which many voters are willing to buy such distortions simply because it confirms their cartoonish notions about what this "anti-American" president must really believe deep down about attacking success. This is Obama's conclusion to that passage in his speech: "The point is, is that when we succeed, we succee

Thought I would point out that the video for "Water Falls," by our very own Kalle Mattson, has been receiving the Interwebs viral treatment. For instance, "Water Falls" was mentioned at the popular blog The Dish. The city of San Francisco receives a love letter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zinPNDFzj_A&feature=player_embedded

Thank you for sharing such a terrific article! I very much miss St. G's vibrant presence.

I saw the short at the time, but barely remember it.

I haven't seen The Darjeeling Limited since theaters, but at the time I felt it was one of Anderson's least accomplished efforts. Still, I've been meaning to revisit it. If there's one thing I've learned over a lifetime of writing about movies, it's that first impressions can't always be trusted.

I love that shirt. I have literally worn mine out.

If this was an effective strategy, you would have different organizations working from the same list of registered voters. The likely outcome would not be a swayed election, but a lot of fraudulent voters showing up trying to vote under the name of someone who (oops) was already used by another fraudulent voter. Consider my earlier example of my neighbor who moved. Sure, I could show up and vote under his name. But what if my other neighbor tried the same thing, and beat me to it? Now I'm in serious trouble. My guess? If attempted on a massive scale, these types of strategies would end

I've imagined different scenarios about how I could fake a vote. For example, my neighbor recently moved. I know he's still on my district's rolls, but won't be voting in my district. I could easily show up and claim to be him, and then later show up for my own vote. Why don't I do this? Because it's wrong, yes, but also because it's risky--it doesn't pass the cost-benefit test. Why would I risk being caught doing such a thing when that one vote isn't going to change the outcome? It's paranoid to think that these kinds of fraud are happening en masse. Yes, it's possible. But a far mor

There is no question that Anderson has made a conscious decision to work within a more stylized, heightened framework, and I don't begrudge that choice, especially since it has yielded several "fantastic fables," as you said. Anderson exists as one of the most vibrant voices in American cinema. I know what you mean about using artificiality to express human truths; as someone who teaches poetry for a living, I certainly respond to that strain in Anderson's work, and most likely that's what I like best about visiting Andersonville as it stands today. I especially don't want to overstate my