Blogcritics Author: Coryluscontorta

Book Review: Bonk: The Curious Coupling Of Sex And Science by Mary Roach

Coryluscontorta — Sun, 1 Jun 2008 23:51:27 EDT

"You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the Discovery channel."
I admit it. I'm shallow. I chose to review this book because of the title: Bonk - The Curious Coupling Of Sex And Science. Be honest, tell me that doesn't get your juices flowing. Well, it worked for me.I confess to having more than a passing interest in sex, certainly more than many middle-aged working mothers would admit to, or have the energy...

Music Review: Fish - 13th Star

Coryluscontorta — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:06:00 EDT

Don't worry, there's life in the old fish yet.
In this little corner of Scotland you are never more than three degrees of separation from the local hero that is Fish. It seems every shop assistant, every drinker on a bar stool next to you, knows somebody who knows Fish. My only real connection to him is a long distant memory of spotty geek days writing treasured Marillion lyrics on my...

Music Review: Murder by Death - Red of Tooth and Claw

Coryluscontorta — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:59:20 EDT

Best enjoyed with a pint in hand
As the drunker, punkier cousins of The Waterboys and the inbred cousins of Flogging Molly, Murder by Death begs to be listened to with a pint in the hand, in the sort of establishment where your tapping foot would stick to the floor. I've spent many a happy hour locked in a pub after hours with a motley crew of amateur songsmiths singing all the...

Book Review: Manic: A Memoir by Terri Cheney

Coryluscontorta — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:55:10 EDT

Embrace the absurdity of life with bipolar. Cross over into a different dimension where the rules simply don�t apply.
Living with bipolar disorder is difficult, even in these 'enlightened' times. Although the condition has nudged its way into public awareness, the stigma and the misconceptions persist. The little knowledge people acquire makes for countless lay-psychiatrists, innumerable armchair psychologists, and plenty of misdirected good intentions.Terri...

Book Review: I is for Indecent, J is for Jealousy, K is for Kinky, L is for Leather edited by Alison Tyler

Coryluscontorta — Sun, 2 Mar 2008 19:47:37 EST

Better by far than cocoa for bedtime reading.
I don’t read a lot of erotica. It’s not that I like to be tucked up with a cocoa by 10pm, but too much of the gusset-moistening stuff I’ve encountered simply fails to hit the spot. If the themes of lust-tickling were universal, it would be simple work to turn anybody on and my husband, for one, would be a much happier man.But...

DVD Review: Liberty In Restraint - Behind the Eyes of a Fetish Photographer

Coryluscontorta — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:00:32 EST

Frequently disturbing, often beautiful...
First, a caveat. There are many things that Liberty In Restraint is not. It is not a salacious exposé, fodder for the moral mainstream to laugh and point at the marginalised. It is not titillation, a wank fest for the furry handcuff brigade. It is not educational -- for every question it answers, it raises three more. Above all, Liberty In...

Music Review: 3 - The End Is Begun

Coryluscontorta — Fri, 1 Feb 2008 08:11:07 EST

A solid addition to the prog rock stable
Liking prog is no longer the musical equivalent of social suicide. I’ve spent years shielding the Rush, Yes, and Pink Floyd entries from prying eyes on my iPod. But no longer. There are a whole slew of young bands who are proud to muck around with time signatures and steadfastly refuse to adopt the “verse, chorus, verse, bridge,...

Music Review: A Whisper In The Noise - Dry Land

Coryluscontorta — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:40:52 EST

A aural landscape of murderous beauty
If I'm not careful, writing a review of Beautiful Land is going to read like a thesaurus for the word "melancholy". It is beautiful and disturbing fare, hinting at malevolence throughout. The pace rarely rises beyond the funereal and the mood never lifts. It took quite some listens to settle into the grey scale of the music given the unrelenting...

Music Review: BIGBANG - Wild Bird

Coryluscontorta — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:08:25 EST

BIGBANG - a taster to make you spit like a snake?
BIGBANG wants to break America. They’ve already got their native Norway sewn up and now they need somewhere a little bigger to gnaw on. So, they played a few well received gigs, impressed some of the locals (Rolling Stone, Flaunt), and attracted a smattering of comparisons with esteemed classic rock staples like Cream and early REM. Now, to...

Book Review: An Uncertain Inheritance - Writers on Caring For Family, edited by Nell Casey

Coryluscontorta — Tue, 4 Dec 2007 19:06:22 EST

Required reading for anyone who ever gave a damn.
By the time I was halfway through An Uncertain Inheritance I found myself sitting in the dark in the garden with tears rolling down my cheeks. I walked back into the light of the kitchen and placed the book on the table. “I can’t review this book,” I announced unsteadily to my husband, “it’s too sad”.The book...