Nipplegate II: WWE's "Live Sex Act" Shows Nudity by Matt Paprocki (Jan. 10)
An exposed nipple during a live sex act is news? Well, it is if it happens on TV. I'm not sure how the wrestling part figures in, but Matt has the full scoop and I'll leave you to work it out for yourself. Way to jump on a story, Matt!
Movie Review: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang by Mike Cullinan (Jan. 10)
When a movie review makes me salivate, it simply must be included in the Ed. Picks section. Mike managed to convey the excitement and humor inherent in the movie, and he did it flawlessly. Great writing, great reviewing, and best of all: convincing. This is one movie that goes on the "must see" list.
Culture
Culture Editor: Lisa Hoover
Ms. Hoover did not make a selection this week, so I went to the far Blogcritics shore to find a recently-inebriated Shark:
Shark's Post-Holiday Booze Report by Shark (Jan. 9)
It's a report from the front lines and boozed-out alleys of the United States, reported in a way only Shark can relate, as in his own words:
Anyone can get drunk, but not everybody can afford to do it from an inverted chandelier designed by a dead Bauhaus architect.
Politics
Politics Editor: Natalie Davis
Ms. Davis did not make a selection this week, so I went to the political salt mines and came away with Blogcritics gold:
Seymour Hersh, the Reporter's Reporter, Speaks on Iraq by Steven Hart (Jan. 8)
Great coverage of a great coverer and uncoverer:
Hersh's Nov. 30 speech got some cursory coverage at the time, but nobody captured every detail and nuance of this gem-studded lecture and the followup questions, which are refreshingly articulate and pertinent.
Sports
Sports Editor: Matthew T. Sussman
Hype Machine Breaks Down in Rose Bowl" by Zach Baker (Jan. 5)
After a very exciting championship game, Zach broke down exactly what broke down. No, not the USC defense. It was the media-inflicted llusion that USC was unbeatable, proved by citing that three years ago the same mistake happened when nobody could beat the Miami Hurricanes until Ohio State did just that. Not satisfied with blasting just the media's premature love for a human team, Baker also parallels USC quarterback Matt Leinart's comment of "we're still better than them" to that of another loser 10 years ago — the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. Few have compared Leinart to Carlos Baerga, and few ever will.
Gaming
Gaming Editor: Ken Edwards
Cross System Comparison Review: Peter Jackson's King Kong by Matt Paprocki (Jan. 4)
A direct comparison between eight different versions of this strong movie-based video game. That is a lot of game playing! Read Matt's in-depth review of everything from the mobile phone to the Xbox 360 Kong.
Article comments
1 - alpha
I thank you, my plumber thanks you, the mechanic thanks you and we can hardly wait for the check to arrive.
Alternatively, what happened to those neat little "Pick of the Week" boxes? That would suffice.
"Google Cooking" was not, perhaps, my most serious effort but it is fun. So is working with Lisa as an editor.
2 - swingingpuss
My humble thanks for bestowing this grandiose honor. Can I have the "Pick of the Week" sticker so I can stick it on my 7-Eleven cashier booth?
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
If that does come back, I move that it be a giant thumbs up.
4 - Mark Saleski
gee, thanks.
but honestly, i made the whole thing up.
;-)
5 - Bennett
The Hot Topic Gang sends thanks to Lisa for her obvious intelligence, good taste, and razor sharp perception in picking our column this week.
:-]
Thanks!
6 - Aaman
Bennett, you should be sniffing some Space Dust soon, hoping for a good post on the same
7 - Bennett
Will do Aaman, I received it just before hitting the road on Thursday AM. Thanks for the reminder!
Also, New Horizons is set to launch next week. Live web-video of the launch is a sure thing, and I'll do up something with a link.
Cheers!
8 - Matt Paprocki
I'd like to nominate this one for next weeks picks:
9 - Shark
[Shark -- looking pretty spiffy in his Levis, cowboy boot, and tuxedo --stops wolfing down free hor d'oeuvres and chugging cheap champagne long enough to get up out of his squeaky metal folding chair and slowly walk to the stage in a silent, empty auditorium.]
Thank you, thank you. I appreciate this honor, and I'd like to thank God, my parents, my high school English teacher, our esteemed editor Mr. Berlin -- and especially Mr. Eric Olsen -- for providing us the opportunity to ply our trade in this empty cavern -- and to all of you who've supported me over the years.
Oh... and I want to... oh...
[Shark gets tearful -- tries to buck up in case someone takes a photograph -- then realizes his tux shirt has slipped off his shoulder -- exposing a nipple]
[Cassette tape of loud orchestra cue begins to drown him out]
10 - Michael J. West
Sorry so late on making this selection, but I can't wait another second to nominate this piece for a reader's pick.
Mark Schannon, in the space of thirteen paragraphs, covers seemingly all of the nuance and shades of gray that exist between the two dominant sides of the political divide. It's honest and, dare to believe it, surprisingly nonpartisan.
11 - Shark
I'd like to nominate A Moment Frozen: Ten Hours Old by Trinket.
A short beautiful essay about a photograph, a child, and a memory preserved. This is an example of the kind of personal writing style that initated the blogging revolution we now enjoy.
Trinket (and another BC veteran Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti) consistently demonstrate that with talent -- personal thoughts and memories can be elevated to art.
12 - Tony Figueroa
I’m thrilled just to know that people are reading my stuff.
Thanks again.
13 - John Owen
Wow... So someone from time to time is actually reading what I write? That's gonna cramp my style... it's so liberating to assume that my words are for an audience that is purely theoretical!
By the way. I have to give a big nod to Stephen V. Funk's review of American Primitive, Vol. II from Jan. 13.
As Elvis Costello once (apocryphally) said, "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." In his review, Funk in his way resorts to a tactic I myself have used in the past, abandoning reason, wit, and urbane deployment of metaphor and analogy in favor of wild hand-waving and interpretive Alvin Ailey acrobatics on the page. Of course, this tactic only works when the music you are writing about has touched you so deeply that mere words cannot do justice to the occasion.
Although Funk, being a more together cat than I am, never actually loses his mind. Instead, his review encapsulates as best it can the electrifying and completely indescribable energy of the very old and strange 78s collected on American Primitive, Vol. II. Moreover, his review made me really, really want to listen to the set, and that's the ultimate test.
14 - alpha
Since "Digital Cookery" was chosen as a Pick of the Week, I am allowed to pass the torch for another story for the week ending 1/17. After trying hard to decide between three posts, I finally decided on "Pro-Life or Anti-Sex" of January 14 by Elvira Black.
It was not the most original (this is an on-going as well as emotional controversy) and, though well-written and coherently thought-out; it doesn't hit you over the head. Still, it is a fine post that is also an excellent rebuttal to a post by John Bambenek "Number of Cases of "Child Rape" Covered Up by Planned Parenthood in Illinois Remains Steady in 2004" which suffers seriously by not agreeing with me.
However, I really chose this post as a performance: both the writing and the moderation of comments. She answered critics, thanked commenters, found good things to say whenever possible and attempted to keep the thread on a fair and thoughtful rather than personal track. A Blogcritics strength is the comments make each article interactive. Elvira used and guided that firestorm to make her article, the Bambanek post and the comments one long conversation. Kudos.
15 - Aaron Auzins
I'd like to nominate:
Gamecube Review: Mario Party 7 written on Jan. 13, 2005 by Matt Paprocki. It's one of the most current games reviewed for the week and provides great insight on a series going nowhere.
16 - Eric Berlin
Congrats to all the pickees again!
17 - swingingpuss
I'd like to nominate- this post by allendrury
I hope I met the 17th deadline....thanks for giving us the oppurtunity to nominate our favorite post
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