In 2006, The Winter Olympics were held in Turin, Italy; Twitter launched; The Human Genome Project published the last chromosome sequence; Montenegro became an independent nation; Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet; The United States population passed 300 million people; No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock was sold for $140 million, becoming the most expensive painting at the time; Saddam… Continue reading Reflections on 3172, Year of Our Lady of Discord: A look back at 2006
Tag: Science Fiction
In Back to the Future Part II, Why didn’t anyone tell Marty Bill Cosby was a rapist, Hulk Hogan was a racist, and Donald Trump might be President?: A look back at 2015
In 2015, Cuba and the United States resumed diplomatic relations; Volkswagen admitted to widespread cheating of emission testing; “Hello” by Adele became the first song to record over one million digital copies in a week; Saturday Night Live celebrated its 40th anniversary; Charlie Sheen confirmed he was HIV positive; In Obergefell v. Hodges, the United States… Continue reading In Back to the Future Part II, Why didn’t anyone tell Marty Bill Cosby was a rapist, Hulk Hogan was a racist, and Donald Trump might be President?: A look back at 2015
The thirteenth year of the reign of the second Queen Elizabeth: A look back at 1965
In 1965: Lyndon Johnson unveiled the Great Society; The United States passed the Voting Rights Act; Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov became the first person to walk in space; The Astrodome opened; Bob Dylan went electric; The Watts riots take place in Los Angeles; The Beatles performed at Shea Stadium; After fifty five years, Casey Stengel retired as… Continue reading The thirteenth year of the reign of the second Queen Elizabeth: A look back at 1965
The year after Big Brother started watching us all: A look back at 1985
In 1985: Ronald Reagan began his second term as US President; Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power in the Soviet Union; Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Rowdy Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the inaugural Wrestlemania; Elmo first appeared on Sesame Street; New Coke debuted and, after a disastrous couple of months, was removed from US stores; David… Continue reading The year after Big Brother started watching us all: A look back at 1985
Reflections on 3171, Year of Our Lady of Discord: A look back at 2005
In 2005: Saddam Hussein was tried for crimes committed against humanity during his time in power; YouTube launched; Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles; Former FBI agent Mark Felt publicly identified himself as Deep Throat; Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans; The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published twelve controversial drawings of the prophet Muhammad; Angela Merkel was elected Chancellor of Germany; Logo debuted; Lost… Continue reading Reflections on 3171, Year of Our Lady of Discord: A look back at 2005
Best of the 1920s
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Francis recounts the time he exposed Dr. Caligari as a murderous sociopath who hypnotized one of his patients to commit his crimes. As he finishes his story, we learn Francis is actually patient at an insane asylum and his account is his latest delusion. This film invented the now… Continue reading Best of the 1920s
Ranking Stanley Kubrick
13) Killer’s Kiss (1955) One night, unlucky boxer Davey hears screams coming from the home of his attractive neighbor Gloria. Having long admired her from a distance, Davey convinces Gloria to run away from her abusive gangster boss, Vincent, but their escape is complicated when mobsters kill Davey’s manager and blame him for the crime.… Continue reading Ranking Stanley Kubrick
The stellar Mr. Arkadin crawls at night in Indochina
Interstellar (2014) In the not so distant future, a planet-wide blight has hurled humanity backwards into a semi-agrarian society. Widowed former NASA astronaut Joseph “Coop” Cooper runs a farm with his daughter Murphy (Mackenzie Foy), son Tom, and father-in-law Donald (John Lithgow), but he still dreams of traveling to the stars. Murphy believes a ghost is manipulating… Continue reading The stellar Mr. Arkadin crawls at night in Indochina
Best of the 2000s
The Gleaners and I (2000) Agnes Varda’s beautiful film follows gleaners at work, from people who depend on the practice for survival to hobbyists. She exposes how connected we are and shines a light on our coldness to the needs of others as she pointedly interviews jurists about the seemingly arbitrary French laws which prohibit some forms of… Continue reading Best of the 2000s
The shadow man fell to Earth
Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows (2007) Tasked with producing profitable low-budget films for RKO studios in the early 1940s, Val Lewton delivered such well-regarded films as Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Seventh Victim (1943), and The Curse of the Cat People (1944). Relying on innuendo and intimation, his… Continue reading The shadow man fell to Earth