Liz Phair at the World Series

Liz Phair will sing “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch tomorrow during game one of the World Series.

Survivor Guatemala Fantasy League update

Survivor Guatemala Fantasy League

Well, I still had Margaret on my team when she got the boot, so I’m down to 560 points, but that’s only 7 points behind my mother-in-law, who is in first place. So far, this season is pretty good, but I’m anxious for them to hurry up and get to the merge, since that’s when it gets really interesting.

Liz Phair article in Harp magazine

I come from a visual arts background where you’re expected to try and change and explore you’re art [sic] — I mean, Picasso had five phases in his career. To me, if you’re a real true artist I don’t expect you to stay the same. Now I don’t necessarily expect people to continue to buy the art, but I do expect the artist to try it at least.

Visual artists are supposed to do a few things: They’re supposed to be provocative; they’re supposed to drill into society and make you look at things a different way; they’re supposed to change styles; and they have distinct periods. That’s how I approach my music.

Apparently, Harp is some music magazine that I’ve never heard of. Despite that, it’s a good interview, spelling mistakes aside.

Time Magazine’s Top 100 English-language novels from 1923 to the present

Sign of a slow news week: Time Magazine has published a list by their critics of the top 100 English-language novels from 1923 to today. Obviously, such a list is highly subjective (where’s Lonesome Dove?), but I’ve read a fair number of books listed:

1. Animal Farm
2. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
3. The Catcher in the Rye — Which I remember nothing of, other than a character was described as having “mossy teeth,” an uncomfortably vivid image.
4. The Grapes of Wrath — I think I read this.
5. The Great Gatsby — Every time I read this, I find more in it.
6. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
7. Lord of the Flies — Astonishingly good, and simply astonishing in general.
8. The Lord of the Rings — I prefer The Hobbit, myself.
9. 1984
10. The Sun Also Rises — Which I remember nothing of.
11. To the Lighthouse
12. Watchmen — The inclusion of this instead of Maus will likely make the Comics Journal crowd go nuts.
13. White Noise — An awesome book.

An astonishing number of those are from Mrs. Nyrop’s 12th grade AP English class back at South Lakes High School, leavened with books I read for my English major at Virginia Tech.

There are also a fair number of books on the list that I started, or was supposed to read, but never finished.

(Source.)

The Shield: Season One

Very few police dramas expand or redefine the genre. Dragnet, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and CSI are among the few that have. Add to that very select list, The Shield.

Although Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue featured police officers straying into gray areas of morality, in The Shield, cops operating outside the law are the center of the action. Like in the Sopranos, viewers are challenged by these characters: Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) isn’t a good guy, he isn’t a bad guy, he’s something in between. To Vic, his rogue behavior serves the public interest. To everyone else, a cop with a pet crack dealing operation who murders, plants evidence and savagely beats suspects is a danger who needs to be taken off the street. But Vic is an old pro at this, and viewers get to watch him attempt to out-maneuver the forces trying to take him down, and not always for the best of reasons.

But the show is an ensemble, as the best cop shows have been, and everyone from beat cops to detectives to the police captain get their moments to shine. Especially impressive is Detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), who radiates morality, maturity and wisdom. Claudette has to deal with an over-eager partner (who, on paper, the audience should love, but who in practice practically invites the abuse the other officers heap upon him), a politically minded captain and, of course, the Strike Team, led by the obviously corrupt Vic Mackey.

Bear in mind that the series, which will begin its fifth season in January 2006, is constructed in 13 episode arcs. At times, the first few episodes will seem slow, but it’s always building to a shattering conclusion at the end of each season.

This is one of the few television shows that can justly be called a classic. More importantly, The Shield redefines what audiences can and should expect from police dramas in the years to come.

Strongly recommended to fans of police dramas. Be warned that The Shield skirts an R rating much of the time, especially in the adult and dark subject matter.