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Superbad (2007) is not a great teen movie. The constant whining of the Jonah Hill character acts as a drag on the narrative. His selfishness, his braying voice, his chubby face, and his man-boobs test the viewer’s patience. But Superbad was good enough to have an impact in its time, and remains watchable. It has solid secondary characters, a compelling story, and enough social realism to remain of interest.
Now comes Booksmart (2019). (more…)
Sky Hopinka
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I went with some friends to see a Native American art show called: What Was Always Yours and Never Lost. The group show (seven video installations) was curated by Sky Hopinka who is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and a descendant of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians.
My friends and I were sorry to learn we’d missed the big powwow held on opening night (more…)
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Like everyone, I held my breath almost every time I checked in on the website Chateau Heartiste. It seemed destined to be shut down in the present hostile climate. It was too spicey, too radical, too honest.
Then, on Friday, May 10, as I did my usual cruise around the internet, I summoned it from my bookmarks and was met with a blunt cancellation notice. This hit me harder than other recent shutdowns. (more…)
Bill McKibben
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In 1989, young scientist Bill McKibben published the seminal climate change book, The End of Nature. It made him an instant star in the environmental sciences, and in the literary world as well.
Like it did with so many of my generation, the book had a profound effect on me. Among other things, I never forgot the analogy that if the earth was the size of a basketball, the depth of our atmosphere would be the equivalent of a coat of paint. The air we breath, the sky we see … it is not nearly so infinite as it seems.
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I saw the event Redefining Masculinity (April 16, 2019) listed in my local independent weekly. It said the panel discussion would be partially inspired by the documentary The Mask You Live In. I’d never heard of this film, so I found it on YouTube and watched a little of it.