Monthly Archives: September 2008
Rebecca Traister Sets You Straight On The Palin “Pity Party”
Sarah Palin is no wilting flower. She is a politician who took the national stage and sneered at the work of community activists. She boldly tries to pass off incuriosity and lassitude as regular-people qualities, thereby doing a disservice to … Continue reading
Filed under blogs, current events, media, politics
Blame Game Code For “Prosecution”
Growing chorus of people noticing Sarah Palin muted. Some wonder where she is. Perhaps not clear on how “Sarah Palin” of RNC convention was born of a speech written for anyone McCain chose. Actual Sarah Palin not so good with … Continue reading
Filed under current events, media, politics
An Army of Dancing Cats With Pistols Can Never Be Defeated
This might be my favorite collection of post tags ever. For today’s post, some out-takes from a day of teaching. First up, from a discussion in my graphic novel class of Guy Delisle’s Pyongyang, a North Korean animated children’s show, … Continue reading
Filed under anime break, fiction break, graphic novels, Korea, Koreanish
Behind The Mask: Jonathan Lethem on Batman
I felt brutalized as I watched, but after the tide of contradictions had receded behind me I wasn’t stirred to any feeling richer than an exhausted shrug, as when confronted by headlines reminding me that we no longer have a … Continue reading
Filed under current events, media, politics, writers
DFW On Writing For Readers
“If you, the writer, succumb to the idea that the audience is too stupid, then there are two pitfalls. Number one is the avant-garde pitfall, where you have the idea that you’re writing for other writers, so you don’t worry … Continue reading
Hypocrite Parade Continues, Crowns Many Queens
Michelle Malkin decides Gawker is evil because it posted the hacked emails of Sarah Palin, despite how she posted the phone numbers of college students who wanted to protest Anne Coulter back in 2006. And after they received death threats, … Continue reading
Filed under current events, media, politics
David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008)
David Foster Wallace used his prodigious gifts as a writer — his manic, exuberant prose; his ferocious powers of observation, his ability to fuse avant garde techniques with old-fashioned moral seriousness — to create a series of strobe-lit portraits of … Continue reading
On Being Elite, And An Ex-Republican
My mother tells me a story about my sister, from when she was in middle school. Her teacher tried to assert that the Korean War was over and my sister raised her hand and corrected him. He became angry at … Continue reading
Filed under current events, media, politics
Heterotopias
This whole week I’ve been thinking about two things. Besides of course, the political life of the country. Last semester, I discovered a writer I like quite a bit, a critic named Frédéric Regard. His essay, Autobiography and Geography: A … Continue reading
Filed under books, graphic novels, writers, writing
I Am Tired Of Watching People Who Don’t Even Believe Themselves
Bill Kristol reverses, decides you don’t need much experience to be president. Doesn’t mention previous stand on issue. David Lats thinks hypocrites are delicious to watch, and so will vote for McCain-Palin. Dislikes Obama’s sincerity. Sarah Palin, not eager to … Continue reading
