I would probably have to say that reading fiction — those stories fill the space that other people might use religious stories for. The bulk of what I know about human life I’ve gotten from novels. And I think the thing about novels that make them important to the people who love them is that there’s always another perspective.
— Tom Perrotta on fiction vs. religion
This is the truth, or at least a clear facet of it.
(via nprfreshair)
Citizen Greg: Marvel's The Avengers (Part II of the Summer of Joss Whedon) →
3.5/5
So, The Avengers. Plenty of spectacle, a couple of laughs, and no surprises. They save the day, no one is hurt, and the only people who die are the extras. That’s what you expect and that’s what you get. But, there is a lot to be said beyond this. The beginning of the film felt…
More or less completely agree.
Wilco at the St. Augustine Amphitheater
This concert was INCREDIBLE. I’ll post the setlist later.
Affection was that which, and the only thing on earth which, you should be eternally thankful for.
— Padgett Powell, “Aliens of Affection”
from Aliens of Affection
Unpaid Internships: Bad for Students, Bad for Workers, Bad for Society →
A must-read in general. One fantastic response:I think that it’s important to consider the implications that all of this unpaid (and likely stemming from the upper-class) labor has on society as well, especially within the industries that largely require entire chunks of time and resources from those aspiring to join them. Particularly within the public sector, one glaring example of this is the field of legislative aide job opportunities that are often only handed out to those who have toiled away for months (and indeed sometimes years) on end as campaign volunteers.
This creates a setup where an entire profession (any job offering Congressional support) effectively shuts out the very large proportion of the college-aged population who do not have parents (or some other richer benefactor) that can afford to subsidize living costs for however long they need to gain the extensive and unpaid experience necessary to enter the good graces of a Congressman or Senator. The implications of this are far-reaching and structural; and reinforce the culture of privilege already rampant in Washington D.C. where not only do federal lawmakers themselves often lack valuable perspective on the issues plaguing lower- and middle class Americans that constitute the majority of the nation’s citizenry, but also with the advisors and assistants working for them, who by virtue of being able to land their jobs in the first place already were fortunate enough to have been born into the nation’s wealthy economic minority. This creates a cycle of dissonance between the real world economic reality that Americans face and what the legislative class in Washington understands the proper solutions are to those very problems.
(via theatlantic)
Citizen Greg: Masterpiece Classics Presents: Casablanca →
Pardon my title, I’ve been on a Downton Abbey binge…
4.5
The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is because I only give 5 stars to the films that I feel I must watch again immediately. The movie, though, is pretty much perfect. I should also note that I had seen this before now. The reviews say…
Where had I been all my life? How had I not been on a Chihuahua quest until now? What had been wrong with me? Why had I even passively plodded along on the group hiking trails? Why had I listened to Park Rangers whom I knew to be pederasts? I had paid my bills and stopped at my stop signs, and it suddenly looked as if I need not have. I may have tied my Reeboks a little looser than my peers, but I had strode the mall all the same.
— Padgett Powell, “Chihuahua”
from Aliens of Affection
We pay for this stuff and it goes right into the waste bin, and we’re not capturing it the way our recycling programs are intending us to capture it. We’re just sticking it in the ground and building mountains out of it.
— About 69 % of our trash goes immediately into landfills. And most landfill trash is made up of containers and packaging – almost all of which should be recycled, says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edward Humes, (via nprfreshair)
(via nprfreshair)
Citizen Greg: A Message From ME →
As a part of my film class, we have been asked to write 3 papers for each student and put them on to a website to create a “Museum of Film History.” My 3 sections are listed under the drag down menu called “The 39 Steps to the Nouvelle Vague: Hitchcock’s Influence on the French New Wave.” Then if…
MOVIES
