- "Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." — James Joyce
- "Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?" — Ulysses Everett McGill
Author Archives: Jefferson Robbins
Zero Dark Thirty: The Ashes Of American Flags
Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty is politically abhorrent, an ideologue’s digest of how torture “works” on behalf of democratic governments seeking to defend from or avenge themselves upon terrorism. There’s no debate: by means of torture, CIA operative Maya (Jessica … Continue reading
Iraq + 10: The Usefulest Idiots
After calling on CNN reporter John King, Bush says, “This is a scripted—” and then breaks into laughter. King, like his colleagues, continues as if nothing untoward is happening. Author and media commentator Eric Boehlert will later say: “[Bush] sort … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged anniversary, april d. ryan, george w. bush, iraq, journalism
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EARWORM! It’s Your Very Last Chance To Hurt Me
They howled for me at just the right time. I’ve been an evangelist for Brooklyn-Boston postpunk group the Beatings for several years now, as the band that distilled the anger and displacement I felt during the worst of the Bush … Continue reading
The Friday Archives: Phil Alvin
I keep pointing people to this as one of the most brain-bending interviews I’ve ever done, and it wasn’t easily accessible online. (Although if you google “Phil Alvin” + “set theory” it comes up pretty high in the rankings, but … Continue reading
Posted in The Friday Archives
Tagged blasters, blues, copyright, music, phil alvin, rock, royalties
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Comix Trip
Gerry Conway, writer: “We were just winging it, sort of like jazz riffing. And if you can think of the idiocy of trying to manage a jazz set, that’s kind of the idiocy, in my view, of trying to manage … Continue reading
Posted in comics
Tagged comics, eccc 2013, emerald city comicon, garth ennis, gerry conway, jerry ordway, seattle, walking dead
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The Monster In The Painting
There’s a moment in Terence Fisher’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) that seizes the eye. The film holds many small wonders of composition, but this one hides just beyond the shoulder of the actor holding the frame, and it suggests … Continue reading
Wednesday’s Heroes: Christopher Drake
xx Somebody’s gotta keep these projects classy. DC Universe, the animated arm of the DC Comics empire, has carved out a niche by mining and exploiting classic comics storylines for direct-to-video product. How they manage that material is up for … Continue reading
Posted in comics, movies, music
Tagged batman, christopher drake, composers, DC comics, green lantern, superman
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Bridge Across The Water
After it was first sighted last month by a fishing boat floating along the Western Washington State coast, eventually washing up on the Olympic National Park, it was confirmed that the 19-meter long dock was one of four that used … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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The Only Way The End Of SKYFALL Makes Any Sense (spoilers)
Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) represents a new element in the rebooted universe where Daniel Craig holds the James Bond role. Previously, this Bond has answered truculently to the stentorian MI6 director addressed only by the letter M (Dame Judi Dench). … Continue reading
Philip K. Dick: A Day in the Afterlife
Lodged here mostly just because I want to post it: A 1994 edition of BBC’s Arena program, narrated by San Francisco comic and performer Greg Proops. With Terry Gilliam, Thomas M. Disch, Brian Aldiss, Elvis Costello, and an intimidating video … Continue reading →