So I'm wrapping my second re-watch of Community -- as well as the third. Bear with me. I'm looking up the dates of when seasons run and I'm figuring it out myself. It turns out Community's troubled lifecycle align with the phases of my early twenties. I'm also framing it within a J̴̝̦̼͕̹̣͇̯͙̅̑̌͝ͅȩ̸̧̼̻͓͖̭̥͈́̕s̶͖̆̌̈̏̒̋͋̾̕u̸̦̦̔̉̊͒͒̐̿̆ŝ̸̡̪͔͎͍̬̂͗̎̌̚ analogy, which … Continue reading Re-watch Rumination 101 | a post about Community
Tag: pop culture
The Purple Pill
Zizek used to argue that the Matrix wasn't so much about uncovering truth, but uncovering fantasy. That the initiate doesn't really want to escape the trappings of his simulated existence, so much as have a world of escapism to retreat to. (We should now add one's Wonderland can easily be 4chan.) "I want a third … Continue reading The Purple Pill
Martha’s pearls
A few good words on the final Tom King issues of Batman.
Semi-short and bittersweet Nolanology for kvetches
Tenet is a goofy film. You have to be a really intellectual auteur to be allowed to work on such silly timey wimey stuff.
Nobody gets how people talk like HBO’s Succession
"Words are like, what... nothing. Complicated air flow." I wanted to do a whole bit about this but turns out Nerdwriter has me covered. Seven-odd minutes of coercion, equivocation, nothing words, awkward pauses, emotional dyslexia, and bringing things up just to have them squashed. See how poor fuck Greg just can't tell context from content … Continue reading Nobody gets how people talk like HBO’s Succession
In praise of Bill Pullman’s soft-boiled detective
Harry Ambrose of The Sinner is the opposite of every Loose Cannon protagonist cramming the nicotine-stained hallways of detective shows—at least in terms of affect. Affable yet aloof, mumbling and groaning as he's searching for words, he's a man barely present. Loose Cannons take on cases either reluctantly or with the self-destructive fixation to match … Continue reading In praise of Bill Pullman’s soft-boiled detective
The best scene in Wonder Woman
Patty Jenkins' film about an idealist warrior's rude awakening is among the best entries in its genre. I don't think it's perfect, but I don't think any superhero movie is. Wonder Woman was of course lauded for flying through the old glass ceiling. But representation aside, I think the real takeaway from this comes after … Continue reading The best scene in Wonder Woman
The horses in ΗΒΟ’s Luck
The horses in HBO's Luck make for a perfect romantic conundrum. Not only everyone wants them; everyone is enthused and inspired by them. The lives of players big and small are ugly with strife and corruption, riddled with addiction and loss, yet at the center of the racetrack the horses run with such primordial grace … Continue reading The horses in ΗΒΟ’s Luck
Tiers of Horror | a note
Horror, trash tier: the movie Oculus, which I once watched having decided I had abstained from horror far too long. Manipulative and meaningless, it didn't make a good case for lifting the ban. Some cool scares: I have seen the Devil, and he is me. Yet you kinda wish you had looked away--it's just not … Continue reading Tiers of Horror | a note
Nocturne | abstract horror
The ceiling of the chapel house is adorned with a grid of gargoyles. In the floor beneath each sculpture they have put a photograph of it with an explanation. Winged lion for Mark the Evangelist. Two generic quadrupeds with human faces displaying their posteriors for Lust. And two winged monsters whose meaning is not known. … Continue reading Nocturne | abstract horror
the Budafoki amended 