http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Sat, 7 Jan 2006 14:28:30 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/07/142830.php Andrew QuinnMost American bibliophiles are familiar with Michael Lewis's highly acclaimed Moneyball, a behind-the-scenes look at the Oakland Athletics' ball club and enigmatic General Manager Billy Beane. Garnering a reputation as "the baseball book that you need even if you aren't a baseball fan," the refined writing style and sumptuous wordsmithing gained much attention outside of baseball circles.At first glance, Mind Game - an anthology of essays on the successful 2004 Boston Red Sox written by the staff writers of the popular baseball site Baseball Prospectus - appears to be similar. After all, its ambitious subtitle ("How the Boston Red Sox Got Smart, Won a World Series, and Created a New Blueprint for Winning") could easily be copy-pasted onto the Moneyball cover: provided the omission of the World Series part. However, the book is anything but Moneyball: Redux.Whereas its famous predecessor was the "baseball book everyone should own," this collaboration (I'm trying to avoid calling it a proper 'book' since each chapter covers a different topic and was produced by a different writer) is not for everyone. Filled to the brim with complex statistics and hard-core baseball analyses of the World Champions from New England, Mind Game would probably be a questionable pickup for anybody "casual fan" level or lower.B.P. is known for its ingenious work with statistics, so it's not literary polish that is a selling point here. The verbiage itself leaves much to be desired; it is clear from the outset the Baseball Prospectus authors are men of baseball first and men of the ink and paper a distant second. Sentence efficiency and stylistic issues are thrown by the wayside to accommodate the inner circles of baseball fans. Editor Steven Goldman could have done a much better job linking the stories together and improving overall flow, and the lack of attention in this area results in disjointed reading that exposes Mind Game for what it really is - a series of articles that, while indeed interesting and all focusing on one team, seem to have accidentally found their way into one volume with no thought to order or continuity.All of this said, I did truly enjoy the book. A big fan of math and a bigger fan of baseball, I'm admittedly the target audience. B.P. is famous throughout the baseball sphere for their invention of new statistics and clever usage of preexisting numbers, so I was more than happy to sift through several hundred pages of just that. Similar to one of the world's most overused cinematic phrases (yes, I'm going to use it again), "suspension of disbelief," it helped me a lot to make a conscious choice: a few chapters in, I stopped looking for high-quality prose and took the book at face value: numbers complemented by words. While I highly recommend Mind Game, I do so under the following conditions: You are a baseball nut and at the very least mildly interested in statistics. You are willing to accept that the book is, to restate, numbers complemented by words. Anyone who goes looking for the opposite will, I expect, be disappointed.Now, go enjoy Mind Game.SUMMARY: Great for baseball fans; very interesting statistics. Little literary polish and few erudite niceties.GRADE: B Books41943@blogcritics.org Sat, 7 Jan 2006 14:28:30 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/30/230736.php Andrew QuinnAll right, I'm coming clean - I was a skeptic. I had seen the ads for Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and my interest was significantly below the keen level. This distrust was based on a multi-level foundation, not the least of my concerns being that ever since the horror that was Harriet, the Spy, I've harbored a secret hatred for any film emerging from the cinematic hellhole that has been Nickelodeon Movies. Furthermore, without having read the book series I am somewhat familiar with the novels, and I was skeptical of the filmmakers' ability to, with the threads that are the dark stories, weave a bright tapestry suitable for the viewing of young children.Luckily for me and for moviegoers everywhere, Snicket (as it has come to be lovingly known) really proved me wrong. The movie was quite good in most areas, and excellent in some. It's truly a treat to look at: dark, gloomy, looming, and desolate best describe the filmmaking style. Except for a symbolic burst of sunshine at the film's climax, the entire film was grey and cold and wet - and yet this somehow endears it to the viewer.The acting is unexpectedly good; Emily Browning and Liam Aiken are great fits for the pensive and brilliant Baudelaire orphans, Jim Carrey is as remarkably humorous as always, and cameos by Meryl Streep and Jennifer Coolidge are pleasant surprises. I hate to fuel the constant comparison between this and Harry Potter, but whereas the H.P. kids squeak by with precious little theatrical talent (hey, look, Daniel Radcliffe can shout! "Roonnnn!" "Hermione, NO!!!!" "SIRIUS!!!" Isn't he special?), these relative newcomers (hey, guys, let's not forget about Emily's unforgettable roles in cinematic masterpieces Ghost Ship and Darkness Falls) can really act. The film is so engrossing that, without the distractions of poor acting, you actually get wrapped up in the Mystery/Adventure aspect of times; I feel that with Harry, too often is the film enjoyed simply as a collage of nice pictures with little substance.Overall, the dark film makes for surprisingly light entertainment. I would have liked to have seen the ending wrapped up a tad better, though... I understand that loose ends had to be left for sequels, but the film seemed to pretend that said ends were tied up, making for a confusing conclusion to the movie.And about the comparison that I so do not wish to feed into? Lemony is twice, no, thrice as good. If you enjoyed any of the Potter films, see this at once. And if you didn't, see this at once. Video24911@blogcritics.org Sun, 30 Jan 2005 23:07:36 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/20/182713.php Andrew QuinnOriginally posted to Verité.Sadly, I absolutely don't have the time for the detailed inauguration writeup that's itching to get out... but I'd like to make a quick comment:Apart from the over-religiousness, there was gaping hypocrisy when the President quoted Abraham Lincoln. He repeated the following words of #16: Those who deny freedom to others do not deserve it for themselves.Except gay marriage. Because God told Bush to ban that... right? Again, he contradicts his own beliefs: We cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.Except... against... homosexuals. Right? Politics24485@blogcritics.org Thu, 20 Jan 2005 18:27:13 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/14/235149.php Andrew QuinnThe Terry George film Hotel Rwanda is not an easy film to watch - but it is well worth the uncomfortableness. After all, it's not pleasant to see young children threatened with machetes... field after field of unceremoniously dumped members of the social minority... the non-intervention of Western powers.The film is very well done. The movie is carried by an unexpectedly strong Don Cheadle performance (the hotel manager who takes on hundreds of political refugees), while much of the other acting is fairly weak. Monologues are either overly predictable or nonsensical, and dialogue is quite dry. Tense, nail-biting scenes run amok in Hotel, and you will not realize you've been holding your breath for ten minutes until you release it.The picture is by no means painful to sit through, but its most rewarding characteristics come after the film. You're left thinking about quite a few important topics after witnessing the U.N. be fairly ineffective, and Britian, France, America, etc. call in troops only long enough to evacuate their own kind. Should Western powers intervene? Do we, morally, have the right to? Conversely, the obligation? One way or another, you will be rethinking your entire philosophy of American foreign policy.All in all, the movie is a very rich experience. Dramatic, dark, eye-opening, and above all: THOUGHT-PROVOKING. I heartily recommend this film for all audiences - and let's get to work on that Sudan situation! Video24260@blogcritics.org Fri, 14 Jan 2005 23:51:49 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/27/013024.php Andrew QuinnAt the moment, I'm computing to a lil' Howard Shore* (FotR soundtrack). I absolutely love "The Breaking of the Fellowship", as it serves as a bittersweet epilogue to the rest of the album -- much like the film scene during which this piece is performed, where sadness is expressed but the promise of future triumph lingers (this too is evident in the score). To this day I am amazed by the musical geniuses that exist in today's world, and by the fact that Shore (and others, naturally) can so vividly depict cinematic and literary scenes, plots, characters, and emotions through his music.If you haven't already, go buy the score-soundtracks to all three Lord of the Rings films. And I hope you have the DVD's as well! The glorious music is just the icing on a delicious cake, albeit a metaphorical one.* the composer for the Lord of the Rings films' orchestral accompaniments. Music19123@blogcritics.org Fri, 27 Aug 2004 01:30:24 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/14/151632.php Andrew QuinnWe all remember Howard Dean's brief yet famous Presidential campaign, right? The enormous grassroots support, the massive publicity, the gigantic online fundraisers; Dean's success was mostly because he was the first candidate to effectively use the Internet. It wasn't just a portal with one-paragraph "Issues" pages and a weak, unusable layout - he had online contributions, news... but most importantly a campaign weblog. What just a few months ago was almost unheard of and only for "technogeeks" (and Lockergnomes) has become almost a given for any Senatorial or Presidential candidate. And no, Alan Keyes doesn't have one. Waste of 'net space, if you ask me. While the candidate failed, Dean C.M. Joe Trippi's campaign has revolutionized politics forever.Let's take a look at the two biggies: Kerry's weblog, and Bush's. GeorgeBush.com/Blog - The incumbent's got a fairly slick weblog, but it's got some "issues" as well. It has category icons, but they appear at the bottom of each post, somewhat defeating the purpose. An upside, however, is the category archives actually link to category archives - and look at the URL: archives/cat_xxx_xxxx.html . Do I smell Movable Type at work? Some of the icons are very good, but others are hard to read (blue-and-white text on white background).Unfortunately, Bush's permalinks (using the classic "link" icon made famous by InstaPundit, no less) are not individual archives, just the Blogspot classic date archives with anchors. Overall, the Bush camp has put up a pretty good weblog, but one thing is obnoxiously absent: COMMENTS. TRACKBACKS. Bush's campaign has absolutely no method of user feedback, a feature which is considered more or less mandatory in blogs today.Blog.JohnKerry.Com - This is by far the more traditional weblog of the two. First of all, it utilizes a smaller font which I prefer. The title fonts aren't too big, nor is the "posted" paragraph too small. Wait, what do I see here? COMMENTS! Hurray! This has already one first place simply for allowing its users to talk back. I'd think method of gaining voter feedback would be especially cherished on political sites, and yet the Bush webmasters apparently haven't thought to install it. This is also more of a true blog, content-wise, than its competitor. Bush's weblog seems more like a big infomercial (New advert up!), while Kerry's contains more photos and stories from the campaign trail. My conclusion? I would say that both weblogs are effective, but Kerry's is more of a true blog. Bush's weblog seems to use weblog technologies to generate a "news" page. It's all in what you're looking for, but weblog purists will prefer Kerry's page.Originally posted on Andrew Quinn's blog, SOUTHMOUTH. Sci/Tech18655@blogcritics.org Sat, 14 Aug 2004 15:16:32 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/14/012104.php Andrew QuinnOriginally posted to Andrew Quinn's SOUTHMOUTH How great a job did Athens do with that opening ceremony? The makeup effects to make humans look like statues, a rocket fired into a pool of water igniting giant Olympic rings to burn in the water, and I have only two more words for you: "Cube Guy" !! I wouldn't want to be in THAT man's shoes! Oh wait, he was barefoot ... even worse!Kevin Drum has an interesting, and ever-growing in subscription, perspective on the evolution of the Games: There's really no sense of genuine sport anymore; it's like watching a highlight reel. What's worse, since they often only show heats in which Americans have done well, it's a highlight reel where you frequently have a pretty good idea how it's going to turn out.Part of the essential ambience of watching a sporting event, I think, is seeing the whole thing, even the boring bits where nothing much is happening. When you edit a 4-hour event down to 30 minutes of pure action, it may be exciting but it just isn't sports anymore. It's a video game.I'm going to have to disagree with the Calpundit on this point, however. In my opinion, it would take a lot more than crappy editing to ruin one of the most epic worldwide events.How 'BOUT that Cube Guy? Sports18645@blogcritics.org Sat, 14 Aug 2004 01:21:04 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/10/105335.php Andrew QuinnFrom Andrew Quinn's IndyPundit DailyThis morning started like all others seem to, as of late. I got up, stumbled to my computer, fired it up, and started checking headlines. But this peacefulness was not to last... Alas! Any calm or tranquility was shattered upon logging onto the BBC News page and seeing this: Bush appoints new CIA director. Aieee! Dare I click this, I thought. Do I really want to know who the latest cronie to join the ranks will be? But, then, that ever-shrinking side of hope, that slim-and-growing-slimmer facet of optimisim within me, chose to rear its falsely attractive head. You don't know that, it purred. Bush might want to use this appointment to woo the moderates. It could be someone decent... And I gave in, like I often do, and allowed myself to entertain that hope, the mere possibility that one of the most important appointments in my lifetime could be somebody other than a right-wing extremist, or at least, someone who could stand up to Bushie. So I click the article. And when the new page comes up, my hopes slide away. Just like every time I allow Bush-involved news to build them up, they were dashed as I see that the President appointed a congressman. Not John McLaughlin, the post-Tenet interim who has at least some experience in the post. It wasn't even a moderate Republican - my dreams of maverick, strong-willed, and all around good guy John McCain somehow being appointed to a high-level post are unsurprisingly set to remain just dreams. The apointee is a House member, whose represented state's indentity is indeed a cruel twist of irony: Florida. Ah well, at least it isn't Katherine Harris. It's Porter Goss. It could be worse, but they'd have to work overtime. Goss is just all-around unlikable --politically-- to me. He wants to cut the rich peoples' taxes, spend on the Army but not on missile defense, promote prayer in public schools, and banning gay people from adopting children. I already hate his homophobic guts. However, we should probably take a closer look at his stances as they relate to what will most likely be his new job (barring a coup in the Senate). He, as Bush says in his soundbyte explaining his puzzling choice, does have a few years in the CIA, as well as some time on an Intelligence Committee post. These mediocre qualifications aside, I see no real evidence that the man is fit for the job moreso than any Senator who has served on an intel board, or any well-experienced intelligence operative.Hey, I don't like the guy whatsoever, but let's hope that he is more qualified for the post than he seems - for our safety. Politics18488@blogcritics.org Tue, 10 Aug 2004 10:53:35 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/26/154218.php Andrew QuinnA review by Andrew Quinn.I attended yesterday the opening showing of the documentary that managed to both stir up controversy and get a 25-minute "Standing O" at the Cannes: Talented film crafter Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. I am too tired to write an official review at the moment, but that's not the only reason. Simply put: My writing skills are at a level where any attempt to praise this film on my part would be a gross understatement. The best movie I have seen all year (and since The Return Of The King for that matter), Michael Moore makes true the cliche "It makes you laugh; it makes you cry." This masterpiece does both with a passion - from showing the hilarious Bonanza parody with Bush and his cronies' faces CGI'd over the sitcom characters, to a scene where a military mom with tears streaming down her face reads the last letter her son ever sent. After viewing this film, only one question remains in my mind: Why only twenty-five minutes? Reviewer's Note: I viewed this film to a full house, and it was the first time I heard more than two minutes of applause and sporting event-style cheering at the conclusion of a film. Video16853@blogcritics.org Sat, 26 Jun 2004 15:42:18 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/26/151242.php Andrew QuinnA review by Andrew Quinn."And I'm divided Between penguins and cats, But it's not about what animal you've got, It's about being able to fly, It's about dying nine times."So begins one of the best songs on an excellent album. In "Belfast (Penguins and Cats)", teenage singer/songwriter/guitarist and British pop sensation Katie Melua sings of her time in the Irish city as a child. This excellent song is far from lonely on this very rich album. Melua's voice alone is incredibly developed in spite of her youth, with a certain quality that allows her to sing the low, raspy parts and the higher, more piercing notes with an equal air of serenity. Indeed, Katie has often been compared to Norah Jones... but let us not get bogged down in precedents. This teen has certainly come into her own - she doesn't have (thankfully, in my opinion) the country-ish stylings that Jones adds on such tracks as "What Am I To You" (Feels Like Home, Blue Note) but adds a bit of a honky-tonk feel that is evident in the extremely well-sung "My Aphrodisiac Is You" in addition to the uptempo pop-jazz blend that works so well in the extremely catchy "Crawling Up A Hill". One of the things that amazes me about this singer is her enormous range - she can do the deep, throaty blues-y ballads and one track later belt out a higher, edgier and faster little ditty. All in all, is Melua just another Norah Jones? Not at all. She has the same (if not more) vocal abilities than Norah, but uses her stellar pipes to produce a much more exciting album. Music16851@blogcritics.org Sat, 26 Jun 2004 15:12:42 EDT