Monthly Archives: July 2007

Why Does the Martian Manhunter Suck?

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Timothy Burke

I have to take a break here from the war-related posts: they are getting a bit heavy, I’m sounding too much like a caricature of some think-tank armchair general. Over at Comics Should Be Good, Bill Reed asks why the … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 15 Comments

War Aims

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Timothy Burke

Continuing still further on some of these questions. If the answer to the question, “What is the declared aim of the United States in Iraq?” is, “The establishment of a stable liberal democracy”, that’s not a sufficient answer. Because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 19 Comments

Phillippines, Malaysia, South Africa: A Full Disclosure Approach to Historical Analogy

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Timothy Burke

To keep a conversation rolling along on a single major point, I want to look at the claim that the history of counter-insurgency in South Africa, the Phillipines and Malaysia supports the tactical and strategic conduct of the current Iraq … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 18 Comments

Age of Janus

Posted on July 15, 2007 by Timothy Burke

I’m trying to keep a clear head about the current political news from a number of directions, and that sometimes keeps me from dumping a quick rant in this space and hitting the post button. However, I also think that … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 15 Comments

Laugher Curve

Posted on July 14, 2007 by Timothy Burke

Brad de Long and Kieran Healy are discussing a plot representing something about corporate taxes that’s in the Wall Street Journal. Brad even draws what he thinks is a better plot. I’ve made an even better one, and I’m not … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Miscellany | 7 Comments

Criticality

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Timothy Burke

Henry Farrell pointed out this week that Facebook seemed to have hit a point of phase transition somewhere in the last couple of months, broadening rapidly beyond undergraduate and graduate students. I created a page this last autumn when I … Continue reading →

Posted in Information Technology and Information Literacy | 1 Comment

Wii Wii Wii All the Way Home

Posted on July 11, 2007 by Timothy Burke

Since the beginning of summer, I’ve been occasionally stopping by various local retailers and asking if they have a Wii in stock. Nope, nope, nope. I’m not going to go chasing the thing like Ahab after the white whale, nor … Continue reading →

Posted in Games and Gaming | 15 Comments

I Want a Plush Doll of Anton Ego

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Timothy Burke

I’ve seen very few of the big films this summer. For some reason, they all turn me off, even when I liked previous films in the franchise. Ratatouille, on the other hand, is fantastic. Whatever Brad Bird wants to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Popular Culture | 4 Comments

Footnote From the Peanut Gallery

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Timothy Burke

Regarding violence, media and childhood. My daughter’s comment about the first day of art camp, in which it was revealed that the theme for this summer’s creative work would be “peace”: “Peace is boring”.

Posted in Domestic Life | 2 Comments

Sex and Violence

Posted on July 9, 2007 by Timothy Burke

An interesting response to my comments on Schechter’s book at Withywindle’s blog makes me think a bit more about the representation of violence in mass culture. Withywindle suggests that there is a difference between violence for violence’s sake and violence … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture | 3 Comments