Culture
Walden on an iPad
I was reading some thoughts on Walden the other day, and I realized I hadn’t engaged with one of my favorite philosophical works in some time. I first encountered Thoreau and the transcendentalists as a teenager. Their emphasis on nonconformity seemed really punk at the time. Wasn’t Jello
A Frog And Toad Kind of Life
Sometimes a slower pace is what we need.
Of Human Bondage
Breaking bread with the dead in film and books.
Perfect Days
I finally got around to watching Wim Wenders Perfect Days, in which it must be said that the city of Tokyo is as much a character as any of the actors. The beautiful, future-forward and unusual toilets which protagonist Hirayama has to clean for his meager living make many appearances.
Cultural Stasis
Perhaps the perfect film to exemplify a certain mid 80s aesthetic, Rocky IV contrasts with the flatness of contemporary culture.
The Perfect Villain
Ben Mendelsohn's portrayal of Orson Krennic gives Star Wars its most realistic bad guy.
Flow
On animals and companionship.
A CGI Ape Takes To The Screen
David Sims writes for The Atlantic about Better Man, the new Robbie Williams music biopic where the singer is depicted by a CGI ape. Why is he a primate? Better Man doesn’t ever explain—though in its trailer, Williams mentions feeling “less evolved” than everyone else—and none of