From Contemplation to Emotion: The Decline of the Novel

From Contemplation to Emotion: The Decline of the Novel

Let me preface this post by referring you to this outstanding essay by Mike Flynn. It covers the transitions in thought, art, culture, politics, and more that occurred between the Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Post-Modern ages. All six parts are worth your time, but Part 5, dealing with the rise…
Frank Discussion

Frank Discussion

I recently had the pleasure of watching Frank by quirky comedy director Lenny Abrahamson. The film follows an aspiring young musician named John whose yearning to escape his dreary workaday life is fulfilled when he's unexpectedly offered a keyboardist gig with avant-garde jam band Soronprfbs (no definitive pronunciation is every established).…

Songs of Relevance

Like five hundred million other iTunes subscribers, I was recently issued U2's latest studio album Songs of Innocence. Which is why you're reading this, since I probably wouldn't have bought the record on my own. It bears noting that I've been an avid fan of U2 since I was seven.…

Sandman Overture #3

I recently finished the third and most recent volume of Neil Gaiman's triumphant return to The Sandman. (For the sake of the sole reader who doesn't know what The Sandman is, it's the horror/fantasy comic book series that established Gaiman's place among the greatest storytellers currently working in any medium.) [Spoiler Alert] Issue 1 sets quite an intriguing plot hook with Dream…