In case it’s not clear in my review of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, I did enjoy it. The event’s crowd control was nonexistent and the AV was inadequate, so my group opted to watch it from the cozy confines of Elephant & Castle on nearby Pennsylvania Avenue. The pub had all of [...]
Archive for the ‘More Intelligent Life’ Category
A Rally Without Reason
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Activism, Congress, Humor, Journalists, Politics, Video, Washington DC on November 1, 2010 |
Clowning Around in Government
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Art, Brazil, Humor, Politics, Theater, Video, Washington DC on October 6, 2010 |
I was originally just going to note on my blog how prescient my talk with Selena turn out to be, but I ran it by my editor at MIL and she was interested in seeing a polished write up. Below is what I threw together. Really, I never cease to be amazed by the dark, absurd comedy [...]
Sounds of ‘The Suburbs’
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Arcade Fire, Minnesota, Music, Spoon, Washington DC on August 11, 2010 |
My blogroll-ed friend Ted Reinert badgered me into going to this show and I’m glad he did. I had seen the Arcade Fire and their awesome openers Spoon twice each and didn’t expect much from either this time around. Both bands put on better shows than I thought were possible. UPDATE: After many, many posts [...]
The Q&A: Selena McMahan, Clown
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Africa, Art, Asia, Clown, Humor, Mexico, Politics, Refugees, South America, Theater on July 22, 2010 |
I lived on the same dormitory floor as Selena during my freshman year of college. Although we didn’t see each other as much as we did when we lived on either side of the floor’s co-ed bathroom, we remained friendly enough during the next three years that Selena made a point of adding me to [...]
The Odd Case of the Newseum
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Media, Washington DC on June 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I hope this wasn’t lost in my critique: I really did enjoy the Newseum. But more as Disneyland for news junkies than as a museum. I do recommend it, with the caveats listed in the More Intelligent Life article. One of Washington, DC’s most popular attractions is also its most unwittingly moribund Walking up historic [...]
Green is the new Gold
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Art, Environment, Sport on February 16, 2010 |
My editor chose not to feature the video that inspired this MIL post, so I’ve linked to it at the bottom. Environmentalism, sports, and art–what’s not to like? Leave any comments here. Despite having hosted the Winter Olympics twice before, only on Sunday did Canada succeed in winning a gold medal on its own snow-covered [...]
Keep Jazz Real
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Music, Washington DC on January 11, 2010 |
According to the National Endowment for the Arts, in 2008 jazz fans were less numerous and much older than ever before. Stuffy, stodgy jazz aficionados couldn’t figure out why. I explain. In his lament for the state of jazz, Terry Teachout began by noting that in 1987 Congress passed a measure honouring jazz as “a [...]
Twilight of the Town Car?
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Environment, New York City on December 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This was originally a thoroughly well-researched pitch for a sidebar in Mother Jones‘ forthcoming Wall Street/Washington issue, due out in January. I made the first lineup but this narrative piece was dropped in favor of more facts and figures. Disappointing, but I’m glad my work it found a home on MIL. Rows of sleek, black Lincoln Town Cars [...]
A Story Requiring More Than 140 Characters
Posted in More Intelligent Life, tagged Humor, Media, Politics, Republicans on November 16, 2009 |
I originally wrote this for Hiar Learning without any intention of publishing it for a wider audience. But before I posted it I showed it to the editor of MIL, who decided to publish it–even though she described it as “self-indulgent.” Guilty as charged: I had fun with this one. So maybe you don’t do the Twitter. [...]
