I bought a copy of Sylvia Plath's Collected Poems yesterday at a thrift store (25 cents, Goodwill Central Ave.).  The name on the title page is "Jane Marie Satterfield."  As I almost always do with poetry books I've bought, I googled her.  I think I've found her.  She is a poet and critic of minor repute, and lives in Baltimore, MD, like me ( Read more... )

I just put a hold on the film "Hysteria"--a film about the development of the "electric vibrator" in the Victorian era--from my public library.  I'm more interested in how the writer turns this material into a screenplay than about the subject matter itself.  It's listed as a romantic comedy--I would have probably approached the subject matter as a ( Read more... )

"Winter's Bone" has an evocative title, deals with an under-depicted population, the hillbillies of Missouri, and boasts a strong performance by newcomer Jennifer Lawrence.  The film tells the story of a 17 year old woman Ree Dolly (Lawrence), charged with the care of her semi-catatonic mother and two siblings, who must track down her absentee and ( Read more... )

I tried to watch "Twilight" yesterday (or rather, I had one eye on it while I worked at my computer).  It must be one of the worst films I have ever seen.  I couldn't find any angle from which to appreciate it.  It doesn't even work as a guilty pleasure.  Is the younger generation so brain- and heart-dead that they imagine this is what passion and ( Read more... )

"Paranormal Activity" is "The Blair Witch Project" set in suburbia.  A young couple over the course of a month is terrorized by an increasing malevolent spirit in their split-level rancher.  It is known from the first frame of the movie that the pair will not survive--a caption announces that the filmmakers would like to thank 'the San Diego Police ( Read more... )

Wanted to make a note of this scene, my favorite in the movie.  Ting fights Toshiro, a Japanese fighter with lightning quick hand and foot work:

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A year ago NBC moved Leno from his 11:30 pm time slot to 10 pm.  The move was universally declared brilliant by the clattering classes ( www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/five-reasons-nbcs-leno-mo_b_150134.html ).  Talk shows were far cheaper to manufacture than scripted shows, they drooled.  Profit margins would soar, they yelped.  This is the ( Read more... )

The PS3 Slim, coming to stores September 1, will sell for $299 USD.  That is still a lot of money, but it is half of what a PS3 sold for three years ago.

Aside from the cost, the biggest PRO for me is that it comes with a blu-ray player.  A  blu-ray player alone costs around $300.

The biggest CON is that it is not backward-compatible with PS2 games ( Read more... )

His films were fluff, but enjoyable fluff, and many of them were perfect in their own way.  Below is a scene from my favorite Hughes' film, The Breakfast Club:

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Episodes of this BBC series are available for viewing on my cable server.  Has anyone seen it?  I read its Wiki entry--it seems like "Dead Like Me' but with vampires and werewolves thrown in.  The three varieties of undead behave in typical fashion, except in a few instances ( Read more... )