Blogcritics Editors’ Picks: October 18 through October 24

Turn on the heat, make yourself a cup of tea, and curl up with the best of the week. Our editors read it all every week and pass on the best to you, so enjoy. When you're done here, there's lots more to explore, so don't change the channel.

 

MUSIC

From Music Editor Connie Phillips:

Lisa McKay graced the music section this past week, taking the reins on the Band of the Week feature and introducing us all to Naomi Sommers. In Music Review: Naomi Sommers – Flying Through and Hypnotized she shared her insight and passion for this artist's music with readers and persuaded me to give Sommers a listen.

In Music, Software, and Video Piracy, Shari eloquently shared her memories of the best parts of buying a new album and took a well rounded look at the controversial topic.

Ian Woolstencroft dug deep into the new Who album, and shared his insightful observations with readers in Music Review: The Who – Endless Wire. It's a must read for a fan of the band… and anyone else.

From Asst. Music Editor A.L. Harper:

Fantasma el Rey shows us just how vibrant Goth music can be in El Bicho's Music Review:  A Life Less Lived – The Gothic Box.

Big Geez reviews the new CD from the Dave Brubeck Quartet by looking over his shoulder at their past.

From Asst. Music Editor DJRadiohead: 

I probably would have selected Lisa McKay's review of Naomi Sommers' album just to encourage her to contribute more articles to our music section. That she did such a tremendous job and it is such a great read really just takes me off the hook.

Mark Saleski couldn't outsmart the CD player for this week's Friday Morning Listen but he did find a workaround and gave us an entertaining read in the process.

BOOKS

From Books Editor Natalie Bennett:

Nominating Mayank Austen Soofi's review of Azadeh Moaveni's Lipstick Jihad isn't easy. A drop intro, for those who don't know the term, refers to an introduction that keeps the reader guessing as to the main part of the story – and this is a doozie. But a promise that you'll be glad you stuck with the little mystery.

Howard Dratch in his review of Q&A also has a surprise – a diplomat who can spin a yarn like Scheharazad while putting himself into the shoes of a street boy who finds one chance of escape from an exploitative life. After reading this review you'll be looking for Vikas Swarup's first novel straight away.

From Asst. Books Editor Gordon Hauptfleisch:

Has Mat Brewster stayed too long at the Book Fair? Balzac! (Or, if you time your Pavlovian "salivation mode" just right, $5 a bag o' Balzac!). But what the Dickens — though it may have been the worst of times when it came to that particular subject — Mat brought us along for the best of times in his marathon mad dash for bargains galore that, if they didn't end up on book shelves back home, "still lie on the table, the tops of shelves, and on the floor…" Sounds about right.

TV/FILM

From TV Editor Jackie:

Diane Kristine has made up her mind. She chose her Worthy Few of the Fall TV Lineup. Now, my own tastes radically differ from hers. However, I found her article and reasoning behind her choices intriguing nonetheless.

Tony Figueroa likes Tina Fey. So do I. His review of 30 Rock describes the show as Dilbert meets backstage Saturday Night Live. He nailed it!

From TV Editor TV and Film Guy:

She sums it up, she breaks it down, and she tells us all what to TiVo. There's good, there's bad, there's ugly. Some of it is funny, much of it isn't. Whether any of that is purposeful is anyone's guess. Any which way you look at it there is a lot of TV out there. Leave it to Diane Kristine however to tell us all about the worthy few.

It's not airing in the United States yet, but Cptalbertwesker arrives back on the scene to tell us all about Torchwood, the Doctor Who spinoff series starring Captain Jack. We can only hope that he'll get us by tonight, and take us to our special island. Sure, Captain Jack could make us die tonight, but one little push and we'll be smiling.

From Film Editor Lisa McKay:

Pat Evans' review of Taxidermia, a Hungarian film currently rounding the film festival circuit, will either pique your curiosity or turn your stomach. Either way, an insightful and intriguing read.

 

CULTURE

From Culture Editor Diana Hartman:

Although titled for a specific country, Donnie Marler no less conveys a very human, global experience. Those of us who made it to adulthood are often greeted by a different world than the one we enjoyed or endured as children. As we age, our awareness is expanded and what it comes to include is not always pretty and may even be uglier than we thought. The sentiment of I Miss My America is written by an adult but deftly reflects the child who finds himself haunted by a once limited perspective.

From Asst. Music Editor A.L. Harper:

JJ teaches us that wine is more afraid of us than we are of it in her fabulous A Fear of Wine Bottled Up Inside You.

 

POLITICS

No picks this week.

 

SPORTS

From Sports Editor Matthew T. Sussman:

Let me get this straight. There's actually a rapper named Fabolous? Who names a rapper Fabolous? Anyways, he was shot in the leg and Boston Celtics player Sebastian Telfair is involved or suspected of being involved or something, and Adam Hoff (who I believe was involved, if ya ask me) laid out the Fabolous/Telfair connection so that a guy like me who half-paid attention to this story when it broke could understand.

And it looks like the excitement of the NLCS — which I admittedly slept through until Game 7 — got to Indians/Reds fan Zach Baker. Hmm. Now I wonder if Tommy Lasorda ever set foot in Zach's kitchen wearing a tuxedo and consoled him.

GAMING

From Gaming Editor Ken Edwards:

PSP Review: Metal Gear Ac!d 2 by Tim Weaver. Not your grandfather's card game.

PC Game Review: Battlefield 2142  by Johnny Rock. It's Battlefield, but with lasers.

PS2 Review: Bully  by Jason "Njiska" Westhaver. It's like Columbine, only without the blood, guns and death… okay, it's nothing like Columbine.

SCI/TECH

No picks this week.

 

COMMENT OF THE WEEK

From Comments Editor Christopher Rose:

Ms Toigo is blessed with both a clear-minded view of the world and a deft control of language, both of which make her articles and comments stand out in the ever-growing Blogcritics crowd.

Posted by Margaret Romao Toigo to 300 Million American Souls on 2006.10.21, 20:42:48 PM:

Sgtmajorbrad, when I write news articles, I make an effort to be fair and balanced. However, when I write editorials, I editorialize. In other words, this is an opinion piece, it's supposed to be biased. I don't believe in the pseudo-scientific concept of "race." We're all humans here, and we come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. Cultural differences, which are often mistaken for manifestations of the archaic notion called "race," are based upon geography, not genetics. Resolving our immigration situation is not just a matter of compassion, it is a matter of economics, and our economy is not served by the reduction of our numbers, nor by the denial of the existence of 11-12 million people working 11-12 million jobs.