Category Archives: Other (including pop culture of all kinds)

Third Class Superhero

Depressed by seeing a not-that-great movie that everyone assured me was a Great Movie, a Pow! Wowie Zowie! Movie, I avenge myself by re-reading Charles Yu’s short story “Third Class Superhero.” The story begins as follows: “Got a letter today … Continue reading

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On the Game of Thrones title sequence

a map that renders time as well as space! maps and their dangerous illusions tricky shadows: questions of power in Thrones the Song/Thrones/HBO/fandom complex fire-forged swords: GRRM and JRRT maps and literature A colleague of mine at Swarthmore, Bob Rehak, … Continue reading

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“The Death of the Cyberflâneur” ?

The Death of the Cyberflâneur – NYTimes.com. Lots of good things to think about in this article.  However, as Mark Twain quipped once about a newspaper that said he had died, this particular “death” too may be somewhat exaggerated. 1. … Continue reading

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What Should I Do With the Dead Turk in the Bedroom? Class, Sex, and Otherness in Downton Abbey

Julian Fellowes’ Downton Abbey is fun and fascinating TV for lots of reasons.   It has an excellent script and superb acting, and the detailed development it gives just about all the major and minor characters is smartly set against a … Continue reading

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Could Beowulf Have Been a Source for the Star Wars Lightsaber?

I’ve been reading my colleague Craig Williamson’s splendid new translation of Beowulf, the first time I’ve re-read this poem since college.  Coming across Craig’s fun discussion of compound words and “kennings” in Anglo-Saxon poetry (pp. 8-9; kennings are 2-word metaphorical … Continue reading

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