It’s got to say something about the hypersensitivity of the contemporary American right that Iron Man—Iron Man fer chrissakes—can be cast as a piece of anti-American leftie propaganda. For those unfamiliar with the plot—which nobody should be, because the movie is awesome and ought to be viewed immediately—let me sum up without, I hope, [...]

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Some libertarians out there think Larry Lessig, whatever his faults, might have a few ideas deserving of serious consideration. And that seems to have sent at least one supporter of strong IP hurtling over the edge. Over at Ars Technica, I take up the question: Is the creative commons really a Soviet gulag?
Addendum: I should [...]

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The University of Texas at Austin has recently made available online the video archives of the old Mike Wallace Interview (complete with Wallace touting the joys of the Parliaments he’s chain smoking throughout). I was especially fascinated by this interview with Salvador Dalí. Oddly, its when Dalí is most cogent and illuminating that Wallace seems [...]

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Why?’s Alopecia

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Los Campesinos—who, despite the name, hail from Cardiff, home of Torchwood—have just (a) shamelessly lifted your sound and (b) done it approximately 7.92 times better. It’s OK, it happens to the best of ‘em. If it helps, call Leonard Cohen and ask him about Jeff Buckley. Alternatively, substitute Bob Dylan and… anyone.

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I used to joke that it was cosmically unjust that my old Manhattan neighbor Paul Pope not only won wide, persistent acclaim for his excellent comics artwork, but looks like a runway model to boot.  Well, now I see he’s actually dressing runway models.  If Paul ever starts writing about FISA, I’m becoming an accountant.

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I’ve just asked for a review copy, but in the meantime I’ll have to content myself with reviews by Laura Miller and Jeet Heer.

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I knew before going into last night’s show that Cadence Weapon was a brilliant musician—and probably the smartest lyricist currently working in hip hop, so no surprises on that front. There were, however, some things I did not know:
(1) CW is also an incredibly nice, approachable guy. He’s Canadian, so the odds were in [...]

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Sweeeet.  The first in-costume stills from the upcoming Watchmen movie have been released.  Though as New York magazine notes vis a vis that Ozymandias outfit, the fake-muscles-with-nipples look has a bad track record. And yes, I realize Watchmen is probably completely unfilmable, and that trying to translate a classic work that makes such brilliant use [...]

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Tonight: Graphic novelist Adrian Tomine at Politics & Prose, 7pm.
Tomorrow: Brilliant Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon, who is sick enough to flow over bizarro electroclash beats and make it sound perfectly natural, at DC9.

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