I have recently discovered, and consequently devoured all of, the fabulous webcomic Girls with Slingshots.
This one stands out for me:
12 Thursday Jan 2012
Posted life outside grad school, pop culture
inI have recently discovered, and consequently devoured all of, the fabulous webcomic Girls with Slingshots.
This one stands out for me:
11 Friday Mar 2011
Posted pop culture, tv
inTags
Got a call from Dr. Thesis Advisor this morning, who offered me the chance to contribute to his upcoming book on Supernatural, which happens to be my favorite show currently on the air. They need an episode guide written, and he tapped me for the project.
It’s not like publishing an actual essay, but it’s words that I will write that will end up in a scholarly book that is actually printed on real paper and purchasable.
It may be my youthful naivete, but I’m going to call today a win.
Now, I just have to write it. That’s only something like 110 episodes to tidily sum up in a week or two. Guess I better get to it.
17 Monday Jan 2011
Posted grad school, pop culture
inThe Simpsons vs. the PhD
Yet again, pop culture invalidates my fool’s errand life choice. At least I can laugh, right?
17 Friday Sep 2010
Posted film, pop culture
inJust saw this at Variety:
Alex Proyas is finding “Paradise Lost” for Legendary Pictures, signing to direct an adaptation of the epic 17th-century English poem by John Milton.
01 Wednesday Sep 2010
Posted pop culture, tv
inTags
I’ve been rewatching the stellar season 5 of Supernatural lately, and I’m struck by how many things they do so well–the long-running plotline, the well-paced story arcs, and the general sense of everything unfolding, even from the very beginning. (I have always loved shows that reward the long-time viewer.) The end of season 5 was incredible, and heartbreaking–I literally watched it with tears running down my face. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t even all that climactic. But what it was was perfect.
This review gets why:
From AV Club:
“Yeah, pretty much, a car and the bond it represents, and in the end, I’m okay with that. It worked. It wasn’t mind-blowing, and a couple of brutal deaths (which were almost immediately reversed) aside, it wasn’t really shocking. It reduced the conflict to a simple equation, a basic exchange with only one possible variable, and while there wasn’t much doubt how that variable would go (one of the drawbacks of learning a show like this has been renewed another season is knowing that the world probably isn’t going end in a season finale), I got the catharsis I wanted.”
It’s dead on, and the AV Club makes other great observations as well, such as the feat they’ve accomplished just by making a show that at its core is about a very simple premise–the bond between two brothers–and creating this entire, intricate, profound world that’s remained not only interesting but also visceral.
Cannot wait for season 6.