Category Archives: arts

More songs about buildings and bikes

Posted on August 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

I was watching a sunburned woman with red hair in a thick braid. In the corner of my eye, a bike rider zoomed past and disappeared behind a bus. I stepped into the street for another look, but the rider … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, enviromentalism, Great Recession, humor, livable cities, Philadelphia, pop music, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Her fame was fleeting, but Jones’s songs endure

Posted on August 13, 2011 by oddmanout215

Mojo has been a better music magazine than Rolling Stone for a long time, and forget that there isn’t much good music to write about these days, that’s another story. The July Mojo profiled singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, who debuted … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, mainstream media, pop music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

London looters bypass bookstores… Sign o’ the times?

Posted on August 12, 2011 by oddmanout215

Looter A: Listen, mate, two quid will get you ten boxes of the latest Franzen, in hardcover. Looter B: Bollocks! What about the new Xbox 360 games? Cutbacks in social services for the poor helped trigger riots this week in … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, humor, livable cities, mainstream media, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

One reason so many current movies suck

Posted on August 11, 2011 by oddmanout215

The leading men are either pumped up and dim or paunchy whiners who still live with their parents. Hollywood actors used to have more range. Even in the hippie era there was Robert Redford, who could do romantic comedy then … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, mainstream media, movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Panetta sounds like Strangelove

Posted on August 7, 2011 by oddmanout215

Ignore the jobless, kick people out of their homes, starve the kids. These consequences are grim but acceptable. The one thing we cannot afford, you slimy Congresspeople, is to cut the Defense budget. Doing so might set off a “doomsday … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, Congress, humor, mainstream media, movies, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Snooki does Florence. Ain’t it ironic?

Posted on August 6, 2011 by oddmanout215

Did you know the hit reality show “Jersey Shore” was quickly “co-opted by the would-be hip” but overcame this potential liability “by staying true to its artificiality”? This must be true, I read it in The New York Times, in … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, mainstream media, NJ | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Debt bill destroys America. Who’s next for a swim?

Posted on August 4, 2011 by oddmanout215

I’m on the home stretch with my novel-in-progress Good Sal/Bad Sal, set in casino-era Atlantic City. One of the final chapters starts with Good Sal asking: Have you ever let the cold surf creep between your toes and thought what’s … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, Great Recession, livable cities, NJ, Philadelphia, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

To Frank Rich, the future looks like Hamlet, Act V

Posted on July 6, 2011 by oddmanout215

You may have noticed that more and more social critics are looking at the future and seeing very few smiley faces. Here’s Frank Rich’s take on the end of the world as we know it: What haunts the Obama administration … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hemingway was right — Big Brother was watching

Posted on July 3, 2011 by oddmanout215

Yes, Ernest Hemingway suffered from depression that grew more acute as he realized his best writing years were behind him. Very late in life he also was plagued by paranoia — i.e., by the notion that the FBI was monitoring … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, mainstream media, New York Times, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In praising Scott-Heron, Inquirer buries his message

Posted on June 1, 2011 by oddmanout215

Gil Scott-Heron, the African-American poet and musician who died this week at age 62, was most famous for his recording of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a funny and uncompromising call-to-arms that envisions the downfall of the corporate masterminds … Continue reading →

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