Monthly Archives: February 2009

Book Notes: Tom Vanderbilt, Traffic

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Timothy Burke

Before I launch into my more complicated reactions to some of the material in the book, I should be clear: this is a really good book (and Vanderbilt has a nice blog to go along with it). If you get … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 4 Comments

The Star Wars of 3D?

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Timothy Burke

Ok, that’s a bit strong as a description of the film Coraline. But there were moments seeing it this weekend where I flashed back to that first viewing of Star Wars in 1977, to that moment where the Imperial Star … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 5 Comments

The Embarassment of Paratext, the Insufficiency of Culture

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Timothy Burke

It’s a little thing, but let me make it into something slightly bigger. In the Sunday Week in Review section of the New York Times today, there’s a brief item about road signs warning of zombies ahead. The item mentions … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Technology and Information Literacy, Popular Culture, Production of History | 10 Comments

Book Notes: Alexandra Fuller, The Legend of Colton H. Bryant

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Timothy Burke

My students know that I really like the work of Alexandra Fuller about her childhood and later experiences in southern Africa. I appreciate her aggressively unsentimental vision. She doesn’t tell the usual story of rising to self-awareness, rejecting her society, … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Books, Politics | 1 Comment