Category Archives: movies

A Christmas blessing

Posted on December 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

So I’m biking to pick up medicine in South Philly a few nights ago, and I find myself behind a slow-moving flatbed truck, tall and wide and crammed with Christmas trees, and spewing vile fumes. And there are cars parked … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, livable cities, movies, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Great lit to great film? Well, there’s ‘The Dead’

Posted on November 6, 2011 by oddmanout215

How often have great literary works been made into great movies? Certainly more often than the Eagles have won the Super Bowl (never), but only slightly more often than the Phillies have won the National League championship (seven times). What’s … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, movies | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Marx Brothers, still in their prime

Posted on November 2, 2011 by oddmanout215

How cool that one of the greatest comedic movie scenes can be downloaded and watched with the click of a mouse. A few minutes of screwball perfection, more than 75 years old, as fresh as any skit you could name. … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, movies | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Back in the saddle. Bike thief still at large.

Posted on October 30, 2011 by oddmanout215

I forgot to mention weeks ago that I finally found an affordable used bicycle to replace my Iron Horse, the theft of which left me in a funk not unlike Jimmy Stewart’s in Vertigo after he failed to save his … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, bicycling, humor, movies, The New Depression | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

More bad apples in NYPD? I’m shocked!

Posted on October 29, 2011 by oddmanout215

How many bad apples does it take to spoil the whole barrel? Every week, all over the country, police misconduct takes place, much of it violent. Cops take heat if the misconduct is related to big stories — the tear-gas-and-rubber-bullets … Continue reading →

Posted in Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, mainstream media, movies, Occupy Wall Street, The New Depression, Wall Street | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

As sure as the sun will shine…

Posted on October 14, 2011 by oddmanout215

This was ripped right from the movie, I think. It simmers. Great rhythm section. The whole band is the rhythm section. Check out the sinister bosses sizing up Cliff’s commercial potential.

Posted in arts, movies, pop music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

‘You’re way wrong… I read Erica Jong’

Posted on September 30, 2011 by oddmanout215

Whither the zipless fuck? I’ll back up… One thing you can count on these days is the bizarre ubiquity of Facebook, which is always “on” and always ready to introduce you to new friends — or, more accurately, to friends … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, humor, mainstream media, movies, Politics, The New Depression, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Are e-books tomorrow, or just the end of time?

Posted on September 18, 2011 by oddmanout215

Check out this from The Economist in case you’re still wondering about the future of mass-produced paper books: To see how profoundly the book business is changing, watch the shelves. Next month IKEA will introduce a new, deeper version of … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, enviromentalism, humor, mainstream media, movies, pop music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mitchell’s ‘Coyote’ still lean and mean

Posted on September 4, 2011 by oddmanout215

Recently, watching the Band back Joni Mitchell on “Coyote” (the video I put up here has been blocked) in Martin Scorcese’s The Last Waltz, I wondered about the link between cocaine and the fashionably emaciated look in the 1970s. Never … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, movies, pop music | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

It’s the end of the world…! Well, not quite

Posted on August 28, 2011 by oddmanout215

Disaster stories are crowd pleasers, partly because oblivion can seem an appealing alternative to everyday problems that have no solution. At the very least, such stories disrupt the monotony of our insulated, digitized environments and force us to imagine other … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, livable cities, movies, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment