Review: A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Bill Wallo, Oct. 26
Picking the right quote from a book to illustrate your point in a review takes a fine ear — and Bill definitely has it. He captures in a few paragraphs the journey detailed by Donald Richie of Japanese film, from its initial use "as a method of capturing traditional Japanese theater" to the present day, when "whether something is traditionally Japanese or not is no longer a concern."

Review: Radicals in Robes by Tim Gebhart, Oct. 28
Tim makes a concise presentation of the opposing views in US judicial thought today in this review of Cass R. Sunstein's treatise. "To him, the current debate over how to interpret the US Constitution is framed in the context of a division between 'fundamentalism' and 'minimalism.'" That is fundamentalism in the sense of "discerning and applying the intent behind the Constitution when it was ratified in 1789," not in terms of any religious approach. Two other views ('majoritarianism' and 'perfectionism') are touched on briefly, and make this a review worth reading.

Editors' Picking Editors

Music Editor Matt Freelove picked: Pere Ubu to Perform and Record by Eric Olsen, Oct. 27
Eric Olsen gives us an update on Cleveland mainstays Pere Ubu, while providing a brief, but detailed, history for neophytes. You must read the whole post before you're allowed to find out what a commenter said to prompt Eric to request that they eat him.

Books Editor Pat Cummings picked: Review: Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan by LegendaryMonkey, Oct. 25
Alisha shares her breathless anticipation, and her ultimate satisfaction, with the long-awaited 11th book in Jordan's Wheel of Time. Except for some eye-rolling at the constant outing of "pillow friends" in the story, our LegendaryMonkey found the Knife of Dreams "a glorious prelude to the Last Battle" that the series has been marching toward for nearly 15 years.