35 posts tagged with culture.
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Book: Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer, by Rax King

In an oral history of Bat Out of Hell that appeared in Classic Rock magazine, Meat Loaf has claimed that two Ivy League professors performed a “psychological test” in the “U.S. Medical Journal” (all quotations sic) to determine the subjects’ state of mind, using the album as a litmus test. Per Meat Loaf’s interpretation of this test, any listener who doesn’t like Bat Out of Hell is psychologically unsound. This sounds exceptionally incorrect, but as a lover of this album, I agree that its emotional highs and lows feel informative. I trust people more when they admit that they love this album as I love it; I trust them less when they offer the same old critiques of it, the predictable way my proto-irony guy did. “Meat Loaf?” he said doubtfully when I made my suggestion. “I can’t have that in my Spotify history.”
posted by The corpse in the library on Aug 21, 2022 - 1 comment

Reply 1988: (aka Answer Me 1988) Eungdabhara 1988  Season 1, Ep 0

Reply 1988 centers on the lives of five families living in a small neighborhood in Seoul. No cell phones, just one TV in the main living area, and absurdly large family meals (frequently shared with the whole neighborhood). As with Hospital Playlist, Prison Playbook, and the rest of the Reply series, shows from this writer & director pair are about relationships; in Reply 1988 the relationships are between the childhood friends as they slowly mature, between parents & children, and across all the adults. It’s a slice of life drama, with a lot of comedy, romance, culture, and history mixed in. 20 episodes, most over 90 minutes. [more inside]
posted by kbar1 on Jun 21, 2022 - 2 comments

Book: "What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat," by Aubrey Gordon

From Your Fat Friend, a book about the need for "fat justice." This book diverges from the well-trod path when it comes to fatness and fat people. In it, you’ll find a mix of memoir, research, and cultural criticism all focused on unearthing our social and cultural attitudes toward fat people, along with the impacts those attitudes can have on fat people, ourselves. Where our cultural conversation focuses relentlessly on personal responsibility and the perceived failures of fat people, this book seeks to zoom out, offering personal stories while simultaneously identifying the macro-level social, institutional, and political forces that powerfully shape the way each of us thinks of fat people, both in general and in particular.
posted by The corpse in the library on Dec 10, 2020 - 2 comments

Book: The Revenge of Analog

A funny thing happened on the way to the digital utopia. We've begun to fall back in love with the very analog goods and ideas the tech gurus insisted that we no longer needed. Businesses that once looked outdated, from film photography to brick-and-mortar retail, are now springing with new life. Notebooks, records, and stationery have become cool again. Behold the Revenge of Analog. [more inside]
posted by COD on Dec 6, 2019 - 2 comments

Book: Built on Bones

Humans and their immediate ancestors were successful hunter-gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years, but in the last fifteen thousand years humans have gone from finding food to farming it, from seasonal camps to sprawling cities, from a few people to hordes. Drawing on her own fieldwork in the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia, and beyond, archeologist Brenna Hassett explores the long history of urbanization through revolutionary changes written into the bones of the people who lived it. For every major new lifestyle, another way of dying appeared. From the "cradle of civilization" in the ancient Near East to the dawn of agriculture on the American plains, skeletal remains and fossils show evidence of shorter lives, rotten teeth, and growth interrupted. The scarring on human skeletons reveals that getting too close to animals had some terrible consequences, but so did getting too close to too many other people. Each chapter of Built on Bones moves forward in time, discussing in depth humanity's great urban experiment. Hassett explains the diseases, plagues, epidemics, and physical dangers we have unwittingly unleashed upon ourselves throughout the urban past--and, as the world becomes increasingly urbanized, what the future holds for us. In a time when "Paleo" lifestyles are trendy and so many of us feel the pain of the city daily grind, this book asks the critical question: Was it worth it?
posted by Homo neanderthalensis on Oct 30, 2019 - 3 comments

Book: Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion

Trick Mirror is an enlightening, unforgettable trip through the river of self-delusion that surges just beneath the surface of our lives. This is a book about the incentives that shape us, and about how hard it is to see ourselves clearly in a culture that revolves around the self. In each essay, Jia writes about the cultural prisms that have shaped her: the rise of the nightmare social internet; the American scammer as millennial hero; the literary heroine’s journey from brave to blank to bitter; the mandate that everything, including our bodies, should always be getting more efficient and beautiful until we die. [Goodreads] [more inside]
posted by ellieBOA on Sep 30, 2019 - 3 comments

Book: America Is Not the Heart

How many lives fit in a lifetime? When Hero De Vera arrives in America–haunted by the political upheaval in the Philippines and disowned by her parents–she’s already on her third. Her uncle gives her a fresh start in the Bay Area, and he doesn’t ask about her past. His younger wife knows enough about the might and secrecy of the De Vera family to keep her head down. But their daughter–the first American-born daughter in the family–can’t resist asking Hero about her damaged hands. (Penguin Random House blurb) Elaine Castillo's debut novel, and well-regarded, from Kirkus Reviews to Bustle. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Feb 16, 2019 - 4 comments

Book: Sapiens

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” From IndieBound.org.
posted by CMcG on Jan 10, 2019 - 7 comments

The Department of Time: Cambio de tiempo (Change of Time)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 13

Season Finale: After the defeat of the Spanish Armada along the English coast in 1588, King Philip II decides to break the Ministry rules (imposed by his great-grandmother Isabella) and travel back in time to so the Armada will win the battle. When the Ministry refuses to help, Philip takes over, discovering that he can not only travel into the past but the future as well. Julián, Alfonso and Amelia return to 2016 from a mission to find history has been drastically changed. Philip is now King of the World, and the King of Time. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 20, 2018 - 6 comments

The Department of Time: Hasta que el tiempo os separe (Til Time Do Us Part)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 12

Ortigosa and Natalia's wedding is complicated by a hidden time portal and a romantic legend from the 13th century. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 19, 2018 - 5 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de lo oculto (Time of the Occult)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 11

When the host of a show about paranormal mysteries and conspiracies reveals the existence of the Ministry on the internet, Salvador tries to convince him that he is mistaken by inviting him on a tour of headquarters, while pretending that it is the dullest government office in Spain. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 12, 2018 - 5 comments

The Department of Time: Separadas en el tiempo (Separated by Time)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 10

In the present, Irene looks into a mystery involving "Las Sinsombrero," a group of avant-garde women artists and activitsts who have been forgotten. In the course of her investigation, it is discovered that the Vampire of Raval was not arrested when she should have been. She is free, and may be traveling through time. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 6, 2018 - 6 comments

The Department of Time: Óleo sobre tiempo (Oil Painting Over Time)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 9

A Velázquez painting is auctioned off in 2016. But the painting in question was one of many destroyed in a fire at the Alcázar de Madrid in 1734. Velázquez is given a mission: travel back in time with Irene to investigate the paradox. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 5, 2018 - 5 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de valientes (Time of the Brave) -- Part 2  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 8

Salvador sends Alonso on a mission to save Julián from a lengthy battle during the Siege of Baler in the Philippines. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 4, 2018 - 9 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de valientes (Time of the Brave) -- Part 1  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 7

While hiding out in the Philippines in the 19th century, Julián makes a promise to a dying soldier that gets him into a dangerous situation.
posted by zarq on Jun 4, 2018 - 2 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de magia (Time of magic)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 6

The team travels to 1920s New York into the world of magic and Houdini, as the Ministry's own existence is placed in peril. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jun 1, 2018 - 6 comments

The Department of Time: El Monasterio del Tiempo (The Convent of Time)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 4

In 1808, Napoleon visited the Royal Convent of Santa Clara de Tordesillas, where the abbess convinced him to release three prisoners that were about to be executed. Unfortunately, the abbess has unexpectedly died before she met Napoleon. Now, the Ministry must send a replacement to convince him not to execute the prisoners, as one of them is an ancestor of Adolfo Suárez González, the first Prime Minister of Spain after the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Adolfo guided Spain through its transition to a democracy. His ancestor must survive! [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 29, 2018 - 4 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de hidalgos (Time of Noblemen)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 3

Pacino joins the team for the first time as they work to ensure that Miguel de Cervantes publishes "Don Quixote" in 1604. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 24, 2018 - 5 comments

The Department of Time: El tiempo en sus manos (The time on his hands)  First Watch   Season 2, Ep 2

Salvador activates a protocol to have Julián detained and returned to the Ministry. Meanwhile, a cop from 1981 arrives in the present chasing a murderer who fled through a closet that turns out to have been a time door. His name is Jesús Méndez, nicknamed "Pacino" for his resemblance to the actor. In 2016, Pacino discovers that the he was declared guilty in absentia of the murders he was investigating. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 22, 2018 - 6 comments

The Department of Time: La leyenda del tiempo (The Legend of Time)  First Watch   Season 1, Ep 8

Season finale. When the Ministry discovers that a young Salvador Dali has designed a film poster in 1924 depicting a modern electronic tablet computer, the team is sent to investigate. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 14, 2018 - 12 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de venganza (Time of Revenge)  First Watch   Season 1, Ep 7

In 1843, Isabella II of Spain became Queen at the age of 13 (with her mother Maria Christina assuming regency). A year later, she demanded to visit the Ministry of Time. Former Ministry agent Armando Leiva, who recruited Irene back in 1960, has escaped from a Ministry prison in the Middle Ages and plans to kill the Queen during her visit. With the very existence of the Ministry at stake, Ernesto, Amelia and Alonso are sent to foil Leiva's plans. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 11, 2018 - 9 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de pícaros. (Time of Rogues)  First Watch   Season 1, Ep 6

The Ministry is called to investigate when archaeologists find a cell phone belonging to a missing 21st century corrupt executive in a room that was sealed off in 1520. Julián, Amelia and Alonso travel to the past and meet the novella-inspiring Lazarillo de Tormes. Meanwhile, Irene interrogates Paul Walcott who has been captured by the Ministry and locked in a 1053 prison in Huesca. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 10, 2018 - 4 comments

The Department of Time: Cualquier tiempo pasado (Any time in the past is better)  First Watch   Season 1, Ep 5

Julián, Amelia and Alonso travel to 1981 to ensure a Picasso painting is returned to Spain. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 9, 2018 - 9 comments

The Department of Time: Una negociación a tiempo (Bargaining in time)  First Watch   Season 1, Ep 4

Salvador sends the team to 1491 to save the first discoverer of the time doors from the Spanish Inquisition. Amelia hides her job at the Ministry by telling her 1880 parents that she has a boyfriend. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 7, 2018 - 5 comments

The Department of Time: Tiempo de Gloria (Time of Glory)  First Watch   Season 1, Ep 2

Julián, Amelia and Alonso are ordered to travel to Lisbon, 1588 to prevent the playwright Lope de Vega from dying before he writes his greatest works. [more inside]
posted by zarq on May 2, 2018 - 8 comments

Ugly Delicious: Pizza  Season 1, Ep 1

You can throw ramen on top of pizza dough—but is it pizza? Chef David Chang travels to restaurants around the world in search of the best pizza in season 1 episode 1 of Netflix's "Ugly Delicious." [more inside]
posted by gemutlichkeit on Mar 2, 2018 - 14 comments

Podcast: Still Processing: We Have a Theory About Oprah

Jenna and Wesley are back for Season 3! This week, they look at the movie “Proud Mary” as a jumping-off point for the cultural moment that black women are having. The discussion includes a brief history of black women in movies and television, from Hattie McDaniel to Dorothy Dandridge to Whoopi Goldberg to Halle Berry. Then Wesley and Jenna consider what all this means for Oprah’s theoretical presidential run. [more inside]
posted by roger ackroyd on Jan 18, 2018 - 0 comments

Book: Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud

In Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, cultural critic Anne Helen Petersen has written her own catalog of unruly women: celebrities and other cultural figures who have been called too strong, too fat, too gross, too slutty, too old, too pregnant, too shrill, too queer, too loud and too naked for uncomplicated cultural acceptance. She ranges from Serena Williams (too strong) to Lena Dunham (too naked) and shows how each woman defies norms while still staying close enough to the edges of respectability to achieve mainstream success.
posted by ellieBOA on Jul 24, 2017 - 7 comments

Podcast: StartUp Podcast: Friendster: Part 1 (Season 5, Episode 2)

In 2003, Jonathan Abrams was sitting atop one of the hottest new companies in Silicon Valley. He and his website were at the forefront of an industry that would eventually be worth more than $400 billion. So, what went wrong? Let's discuss episode 2, the second part of this episode, as well.
posted by bq on Jul 1, 2017 - 2 comments

Steven Universe: Monster Reunion  Season 3, Ep 14

Steven uses his healing powers to help out Centipeedle.
posted by Small Dollar on Jul 27, 2016 - 20 comments

Podcast: SRSLY: SRSLY #52: New Blood / Absolutely Fabulous / Bewitched

Meet your new friends. Anna and Caroline from the left wing UK weekly the New Statesman discuss popular culture. They are awesome.
posted by thatwhichfalls on Jul 26, 2016 - 1 comment

Movie: Lake of Fire

Lake Of Fire is a very dark, very thorough, very good, and very triggering 2.5-hour documentary by Tony Kaye about the politics of abortion in the US in the ‘90s and early aughts. The film captures a range of beliefs about abortion, manifestations of community among the pro- and anti-choice, the blood that has been shed in the war, and (a fraction) of the reality of the process of getting an abortion. [more inside]
posted by Going To Maine on Sep 30, 2015 - 0 comments

Movie: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar. IMDB (7.9/10); Rotten Tomatoes (99% fresh).
posted by gemutlichkeit on Feb 12, 2015 - 17 comments

Black-ish: Crime and Punishment  Season 1, Ep 5

Although Dre and Rainbow agreed they would no longer spank their kids, all bets might be off when Jack disobeys.
posted by cashman on Oct 23, 2014 - 6 comments

Black-ish: Pilot  Season 1, Ep 1

Advertising exec Dre looks forward to a promotion that would make him the first African American senior vice president at his firm in the premiere of this family sitcom, but he worries that there is a price to pay for his success when his son Andre Jr. announces that for his 13th birthday he's converting to Judaism in order to have a Bar Mitzvah like all his friends.
posted by mathowie on Sep 24, 2014 - 8 comments

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