November 2011
30 posts
9 tags
Margin Notes: Charles Yu
The Quote: “Most people I know live their lives moving in a constant forward direction, the whole time looking backward.” —Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
Margin Notes:
I did a full review of this novel a few weeks back. In a way, I did it to hopefully let my brain move on to thinking about other topics (like cafeteria food). Yu’s...
5 tags
Now Hear This: Rick Ross, You're What's Wrong With...
Rick Ross, You’re What’s Wrong With America
Dear Rick (or is it Tha Boss, Mr. Teflon Don or Rozay? I can’t really be certain),
You’re terrible. And I don’t just mean your “music”—which is more of an abomination on taste punctuated with guttural “Unh’s” every twenty seconds, like this gem: “Pull up on the block with a drop top chicken box/Mr. KFC. UNH.”—I...
16 tags
The Letterpress: Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days...
Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days by Derek Landy
Talking skeletons, magic, Pythonesque humor, doomed alternate worlds, and shady political dealings. If any or all of those light up a “Hell Yes!” reaction in you, you need to get yourself involved with Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series.
Dark Days is the fourth tale in Landy’s ever-longer series of young adult...
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The Reaction: Favorite Jim Henson Character?
With the release of The Muppets this weekend, what is your favorite character from fellow UMD alum Jim Henson?
(Click “Read More” to see The Dispatch’s reaction.)
Jared: Rowlf is the only Muppet with some soul in the whole bunch. While Gonzo is acting a fool and Kermit is getting twenty lashes from Ms. Piggy’s bitchy ass, my man Rowlf just chills in the background playing...
4 tags
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Now Hear This: I've Got Some "Thanks" To Give
I’ve Got Some “Thanks” To Give
Without a doubt, 2011 has been an amazing year, and there are so many people—7 billion and counting, now—that contributed to its success. Though I can’t thank them all, I’d like to take a moment to thank a few who made this year a really “special” one.
Thank You Steve Jobs for proving that corporate marauding and rebooting the age-old spirit of...
10 tags
Now Hear This: Occupy Thanksgiving
Occupy Thanksgiving
Ladies and gentlemen, there is a threat that has gone ignored for far too long. A threat of the most grave variety, one that—if left unchecked—could destroy the very fabric that this nation pilfered and then built upon. We silently recognize it, hiding behind the excuse that to challenge such a notion would be a long, harsh struggle. You know what I’m talking about: despite...
5 tags
Now Hear This: Black Friday - The Biggest Ripoff...
Black Friday: The Biggest Ripoff Going
4:17 a.m.
I’m standing in a huddled mass of four along the side wall of a Best Buy. On any other day, our location and time would be suspect at best, mugger/rape-bait at worst. Not this day, though. The human centipede of anxious shoppers is about a hundred deep in front of us, maybe more. We’ve only been here for ten minutes, but a dozen new...
13 tags
Now Hear This: Pizza, Vegetables, and Alchemy
Pizza, Vegetables, and Alchemy
If you’re a regular reader, you know that food is both near and dear to my heart. I’ve noted that good people eat good steak and I’ve pointed out where to find some damn good steak in the city of Baltimore. What I can’t quite understand, though, is the mass confusion that has entered into the minds of our congressmen regarding school...
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The Reaction: What to Occupy Next?
Now that the movement has gotten full force momentum behind it, what should they Occupy next?
(Click Read More to see the Dispatch’s reaction.)
Jared: If it were up to me, I’d take the movement from the ramshackle tent villages in DC and New York to somewhere kinder and sexier; somewhere like Megan Fox’s dressing room or a Panera. Or, if we really want to be revolutionary,...
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Now Hear This: Why Man Must Cook
Why Man Must Cook
There was a time where it would have been unacceptable for a man to step in the kitchen and whip up a meal. A time where helping out with dinner would warrant cruel remarks about one’s masculinity would be tossed about from all around. Unless, of course, this man was a professional chef and that kitchen—that dinner—was all taking place in a restaurant. Then...
8 tags
Margin Notes: Dog's Eye View - Down
The Quote:
Did you get lost on purpose or should I come for you? Did you set out seeking solitude with a dangerous desire? Did you call yourself Amelia as you walked out on a wire? —Dog’s Eye View, “Down”
Margin Notes:
It’s a damn shame that Peter Stuart dropped off the face of the Earth. His records under the moniker of Dog’s Eye View are filled with...
4 tags
Behind The Bar: How To Drink Beer Part II
Part II: Selecting A Craft Brew For You
(For Part I, Click Here)
These days, picking up a six pack from a decent store has gotten to be an insurmountable task. With the craft beer revolution in full effect, the selection has gone from a handful of choices to hundreds of bottles lined up on a wall. It can be overwhelming. It can be discouraging. And for many, the fear of choosing the wrong one...
13 tags
The Letterpress: How to Live Safely in a Science...
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Time travel is one of science fiction’s greatest assets. From H.G. Wells to Back to the Future, the idea of playing with our timelines is irresistible. We are, after all, stuck with going in one direction. This idea of breaking free from time (though different from Glen Phillips’ approach) is the foundation for one...
6 tags
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The Reaction: The Mystery of The McRib
Why does McDonalds only release the McRib every couple of years instead of making it a permanent menu item?
(Click Read More to see The Dispatch’s response)
Jared: Ever think to yourself: “Self, how often do they clean the ball pits at McDonalds?” Well, a quick look at the cycle of McRib releases will answer that little gem of a question. Once every couple of years, the...
7 tags
7 tags
Now Hear This: Donald Glover To The Rescue
Donald Glover To The Rescue
How many talented personalities can one man have? You may know him as Troy Barnes, the affable, simple-minded jock character on NBC’s Community. Or you might have laughed a few times at the lines he wrote for Tracey Morgan during the first three seasons of 30 Rock. Still no? Well how about as his hip-hop alter-ego Childish Gambino, who SPIN magazine put on...
8 tags
The Mix Tape: Craig Cardiff - Floods and Fires
Craig Cardiff - Floods and Fires
My article for today is a quick one. This isn’t an album review, but a single song review. Craig Cardiff, a Canada native, has a new album out called Floods and Fires. On it, you will find the best song of 2011. It’s called The Very Last Night of the End of the World. It’s every bit as apocalyptic as the title sounds and every bit as...
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Behind The Bar: How To Drink Beer Part I
Part I: The Perfect Pour
Drinking beer is a tradition nearly as old as time. Even upon the weathered walls of the great Egyptian pyramids, one can find depictions of thirsty men quenching their ails with ale, celebrating life with the hoppy nectar of the Gods. And while it might not get the same appreciation in our society as fine wines and aged scotches, beer deserves our respect.
Too often I...
12 tags
The Mix Tape: Bob Schneider - A Perfect Day
Bob Schneider - A Perfect Day
The thing I like the most about Bob Schneider is that he knows how to wear a lot of hats. I’m not talking about his fashion sense, though, as much as I’m talking about his ability to slide across genres in the span of any album. At the same time, though, he’s one of the best artists out there when it comes to putting out a record with a cohesive...
4 tags
4 tags
The Reaction: Eddie Murphy's Best Movies
In light of Tower Heist being released to (surprise) a fairly warm critical response, what are your favorite movies in Eddie Murphy’s catalog?
(Click Read More to see The Dispatch’s reactions.)
Jared: For those that have never witnessed Coming To America, you have not lived. That movie was so good, it even made Arsenio Hall look like he had a shred of talent. Eddie played a slew of...
5 tags
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Now Hear This: Evasion of Privacy?
Evasion of Privacy?
When the federal government announced the details of the Patriot Act in 2001, many Americans shit a brick due to the gross privacy invasions that could be legally acquired from a judge with only a wee-modicum of evidence. The ACLU’s head nearly erupted as the first wire taps began and the country as a whole wondered where their “right to privacy” (not actually a right)...
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The Mix Tape: Nine Days - So Happily Unsatisfied
Nine Days – So Happily Unsatisfied
The early 2000s saw the internal restructuring of many record labels and surprising, untimely decisions to stop representing a ton of bands. Nine Days was one of these bands, whose major label follow-up album, So Happily Unsatisfied, was canned by Epic Records (owned by Sony) despite being weeks away from release. In the years since, the band has...
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On The Menu: Bar Pilar
Bar Pilar
1833 14th Street NW
$ Cheap
As many of you know, the U Street Corridor is my coveted Holy Land for food, drink and entertainment within the cozy confines of DC proper. As such, I venture there frequently and when I do, I always feel magnetically pulled to this 14th Street gem of a bar/restaurant.
What Bar Pilar lacks in size, it makes up for in quality. Step inside and...
