danielshankcruz

The Django Unchained Trailer

Here’s the trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s forthcoming film, Django Unchained: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/django-unchained/ I am fantastically excited about this movie! I love most of Tarantino’s work. Deathproof was only so-so, but Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bills are two of my favorite films (remember that Kill Bill was meant to be a single release). I am alsoContinue reading “The Django Unchained Trailer”

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me”

Here’s the video for U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_WDG8iLT1o There’s not much to say about it other than that it’s a fantastic video: It’s animated! Bono reads The Screwtape Letters! Batman plays the cello! It was always a treat when it came on television, back when MTV still played videos.

Samuel R. Delany’s Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders

I just finished reading Samuel R. Delany’s new novel Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders. It is his longest fictional work (beating the classic Dhalgren by three pages and a much larger word count), and includes many themes which will be familiar to Delany fans (characters with nailbiting fetishes and/or massive penises, graphicContinue reading “Samuel R. Delany’s Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders”

Mario (Barwuah) Balotelli Does Something Right

According to this article, Italian/Manchester City bad boy Mario Balotelli will be wearing both his Ghanaian and Italian last names on his shirt for Euro 2012. http://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/Euro2012/Balotelli-to-sport-two-names-20120605 Balotelli’s reason for doing this is to combat the racism which it is feared black players will face in Poland and the Ukraine during the tournament. He saysContinue reading “Mario (Barwuah) Balotelli Does Something Right”

Book Acquired Recently: Theodora Keogh’s Meg

Keogh, Theodora. Meg. 1950. New York: Signet, 1951. I bought this book after reading Keogh’s novel Gemini, which I enjoyed. I love old pulp fiction paperbacks, and thus am especially excited to add this edition to my library. The cover painting isn’t as lurid as pulp fiction illustrations often are, but the descriptions ofContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Theodora Keogh’s Meg”

A Blog Post About a Blog Post About Lax Bros

Here’s a fantastic blog post from Grantland.com (one of the best sports websites out there) about a rather ridiculous Boston Globe article about “lax bros,” who are apparently just jocks who play lacrosse, i.e., lacrosse players (and people wonder why newspapers are dying!). http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/28743/trend-alert-lax-bros I giggled the entire time I was reading it. It’s surreal evenContinue reading “A Blog Post About a Blog Post About Lax Bros”

Et tu, Andy?

I still haven’t gotten over Kristen Wiig’s decision to leave Saturday Night Live, and now Andy Samberg has announced that he is also leaving, and Jason Sudeikis might be, too: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/andy-samberg-leaving-saturday-night-live-16478784#.T8xRK79ob7c. This is a tough blow. Samberg’s digital shorts and “Weekend Update” characters (especially his impression of Nic Cage!) are fabulous; next to Wiig andContinue reading “Et tu, Andy?”

Euro 2012 Predictions

Here are my predictions for the first round of Euro 2012, with teams listed in the order I think they will finish. Group A Russia Greece Czech Republic Poland I am generally not much of a believer in “home field advantage” in big tournaments when the host isn’t already a decent team to begin with.Continue reading “Euro 2012 Predictions”

Johan Santana, Mets Legend

Tonight Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in New York Mets history (boxscore: http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=320601121). As a life-long Mets fan, it is difficult to describe how amazing I feel. The Mets have existed since 1962 and were one of only two Major League teams (out of 30) to have never thrown a no-hitter (the San DiegoContinue reading “Johan Santana, Mets Legend”

An Ode to Advertisements in Old Comic Books

I’ve been reading some older comic books lately, and I’m struck by how a large part of the aesthetic pleasure which results from this activity comes from the advertisements sprinkled throughout the books and on their back covers. In other words, the activity is more about re-experiencing material culture to create pleasant nostalgia than it isContinue reading “An Ode to Advertisements in Old Comic Books”