The Plot: Washed up “actor” (I write “actor” in quotes for a reason) turned high school drama “teacher” (I write “teacher” in quotes for the same reason) Dana Marschz—played by Steve Coogan—reacts to the principal’s threat to shut down their high school’s drama program by vowing to write and perform the best musical that has ever been. The result is Hamlet 2, which is exactly what it sounds like: a sequel to Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”—you know, the one where everybody dies. Continue…
1. She knows you are sleeping with him. You’ve never had a slip up: no condom wrappers left wantonly in the trash, no awkward walk-in moments, but Mrs. Palin knows. She doesn’t confront you about it, but there is a flare of crazy in her eyes when you come over for mooseburgers. Continue…
Classes just started, and I know what you’re all thinking: I am never going to read a book for pleasure ever again. Maybe you’re overwhelmed by the 200 pages a week you’re going to be held responsible for in Brit Lit, or maybe you’re angry at books in general since your wallet got slaughtered at the NYU Bookstore. Or maybe you’re just one of those kids who don’t like to read.
Nonetheless, I have found a book that the entire NYU community is going to want to read. In fact, you’ll probably love it so much that you’ll want to actually buy it and read it aloud to all of your friends. Seriously. Continue…
Thursday, September 4, 2008 10:23
It’s time to drop a bomb on countless Americans: In Western Europe, soccer season has finally begun. Continue…
Over the course of the next few weeks, literature bloggers Jake Fournier and Joe DiGrigoli will compile what they’ve dubbed “The List,” and count down the 16 greatest books of all time. An ambitious endeavor, to be sure, but Fournier did quite a convincing job at laying out the case for such a list, and you can check out his reasoning here. But before we get rolling with the official festivities, check out their honorable mentions, in no particular order, after the jump. Continue…
In season one of Mad Men, buxom Joan tells diminutive Peggy to enjoy the male attention she’s getting because Peggy ain’t much to look at and it’ll all end soon. We all breathed a sigh of relief, finally sure that we weren’t missing anything—that Peggy is, in fact, ass ugly. The season continued, Peggy gained weight due to (spoiler alert) the bastard baby she was carrying and all notions of her being even vaguely attractive were forgotten. Continue…
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 12:29
“I know the game is crazy, it’s more crazy than it’s ever been. I’m married to that crazy bitch, call me Kevin Federline.” -Lil Wayne, “I’m Me”
My favorite song on Tha Carter III is “Mr. Carter”—featuring Jay-Z, making good on the fact that both rappers share the same name—because it has Jay finally accepting his status as the hip hop King Lear and handing the torch over to Wayne. Validating, I would think, for a kid who spent all of last year running victory laps in honor of the title he’d awarded himself on the intro of his last mixtape. “I can jump on any nigga’s song and make a part two,” which turns out was the most germane way to become the best rapper alive. Continue…
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 11:48
Over the next few weeks, my friend and colleague Joe DiGrigoli and I will be posting a list of the top 16 books of all time—excluding, of course, the ones we have not read. It’s a tall order. One might say, “Impossible,” but Joe and I would never go so far. Continue…
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 0:30
Good morning, Lower East Siders.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008 8:49
Various corners of the internet are reporting that the legendary voice behind every exciting film trailer, Don LaFontaine, was pronounced dead Monday afternoon after a struggle with a blood clot in his lung. As the anchor to over 5,000 clips and commercials of all kinds, this truly is crushing news not only for friends and family, but for fans of movie previews everywhere. Continue…