Feb 6, 2021Member-onlyThis is 40: Judd Apatow’s Home Movie Magnum OpusApatow’s characters often talk like TV sitcom characters where a facility with insulting others, especially for any flaws in their physical appearance, is an important character trait, proof of one’s wit and toughness. Paul Rudd … Pete Leslie Man … Debbie Albert Brooks … Larry John Lithgow … Oliver Written and directed by Judd…Movies7 min read
Jan 16, 2021Member-onlyThe Circle: A 1984 for Our TimeReview by Dan Geddes The Circle, Dave Eggers’ novel named for a fictitious Google-like company that profits from its users’ data and destroys individual privacy, is a topical and compelling read. The story takes place in a near-future Silicon Valley where cheap video cameras are being deployed nearly everywhere, even…19846 min read
Jan 10, 2021Member-onlyJ.D. Salinger — In Memoriamby Dan Geddes It will probably be impossible for future generations to understand the special place that J.D. Salinger held in the minds of readers in the mid-to-late twentieth century. The Catcher in the Rye remains a classic statement of youth alienation, and continues to attract defenders and detractors. Many…Salinger13 min read
Nov 21, 2020Member-onlyThe Psychoanalytic Movement: Freudianism as Historical AccidentHow did Freudianism achieve such a solid foothold in the intellectual life of the West with so little scientific basis? Review of Ernest Gellner’s The Psychoanalytic Movement The Psychoanalytic Movement tries to answer the question: how did Freudianism come to achieve such a solid foothold in the intellectual life…Psychoanalysis5 min read
Nov 15, 2020Member-onlyNo Logo: Review of Naomi Klein’s Classic Anti-Corporate TextNo Logo is a now classic book of the anti-corporate movement. Although No Logo was not the original catalyst for the movement, Klein draws together the threads of 1990s anti-corporate activism into a compelling story. The story is the rise of the mega-brand in the 1990s. Business consultants agreed that…Naomi Klein5 min read
Nov 4, 2020Member-onlyThe Conquest of Cool: The Sixties as Advertising GimmickReview of Thomas Frank’s The Conquest of Cool Review By Dan Geddes Thomas Frank’s The Conquest of Cool successfully reframes the traditional perception of the Sixties counterculture: that it represented a rebellion against the consumption-oriented values of “mass society.” Frank’s purpose is to demonstrate that Madison Avenue and consumption-based industries…1960 S4 min read
Oct 4, 2020Member-onlySurvey of World’s Billionaires Finds That Billionaires Never Conspire with Each Otherby Dan Geddes While conspiracy theorists often imagine billionaires meeting together in secrecy to plan the future of the world, billionaires themselves scoff at this idea. Based on a recent Washington Chronicle survey of the approximately 1,000 billionaires in the world (81% of billionaires responding), most billionaires claim they have…Billionaires3 min read
Oct 4, 2020Member-onlyFox News: Yellow Journalism is a Thing of the Pastby Dan Geddes NEW YORK — Fox News issued a statement today proclaiming that “yellow journalism is now a thing of the past.” Wikipedia defines yellow journalism as “a type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques…Satire2 min read
Aug 26, 2020Member-onlyThe Big Lebowski — The Coen Brothers’ Funniest MovieReview by Dan Geddes Spoiler alert: This review assumes you’ve seen the movie and so contains spoilers. Why do so many people love The Big Lebowski? The Big Lebowski is the Coen brothers’ funniest movie, a smart, feel-good comedy. While all the Coen’s movies feature a dry sense of humor…The Big Lebowski6 min read
Aug 19, 2020Member-onlyFargo (1996)Review By Dan Geddes Fargo dramatizes how one small crime can snowball into a series of tragedies. Criminals are often not the smartest human beings, and the law of unintended consequences rules our world. But it seems so simple. Jerry Lundegaard (Macy) is a Minnesota car salesman who really needs…Movies5 min read
