Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is a masterpiece of moviemaking. Presented as if it were one continuous flowing shot, it gives a tremendously heightened sense of real life, of the seer inside us who follows paths — hallways, staircases, sidewalks — and...
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Frances Ha (2013 movie, Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig)
If you'd like to spend an hour and a half sometime watching a thoroughly enjoyable portrait of an adorable young woman coming to grips with adult life in New York City, Frances Ha is the movie you should see. Directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Greta Gerwig as...
Bob Dylan’s memoirs: ‘Chronicles: Volume One’
On my living room bookshelf, next to a few other books about the singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, was an autobiography from 2004 I had bought some time ago, but not yet read. Chronicles: Volume One is a hardback of moderate size, containing 293 rough, deckle edge pages...
Child air traffic controller at JFK Airport?: FAA investigation
Take Your Child to Work Day gone too far? There are reports this morning that a child was allowed to stand in as an air traffic controller for a JetBlue flight and another flight to Mexico at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. [includeme...
History of Christmas in America: ‘The Battle for Christmas’
Now that Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, we can look forward to a full month of Christmas ads in the newspapers, Christmas commercials and specials on TV, Christmas music on the radio and in every retail store, and Christmas decorations throughout our...