Baumann and Burch Podcast #2 – Decathlon of Playground Sports (Underrated Coed Athletics)

Less bracket, more conversation today. Listen to the second episode of the podcast here, in which we talk about why coed sports are overlooked and what we can do to improve the situation. (You’re going to have to deal with the jiggery-pokery of playing it in Music Player for Google Drive instead of that link… Read More Baumann and Burch Podcast #2 – Decathlon of Playground Sports (Underrated Coed Athletics)

July 10, 2015June 1, 2016 TimLeave a comment

Baumann and Burch Podcast #1 – I Live! I Die! I Podcast! (Sports Nicknames)

It’s not an essay! My friend Matt and I have put together our first podcast. Right now, it’s a bit of a song and dance to get in and listen. The link should take you to an audio player; go ahead press play, and then open it in Music Player for Google Drive, which should… Read More Baumann and Burch Podcast #1 – I Live! I Die! I Podcast! (Sports Nicknames)

July 9, 2015 TimLeave a comment

The Searchers (1956)

Dir. John Ford. Starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Henry Brandon The diagetic portions of this movie begin with a surprisingly striking image: a woman stands in a doorway, black in the way Pierre-Auguste Renoir said a painting should never use black, her silhouette blocking the majestic view of the ostensibly Texan skyline. (It’s Monument Valley,… Read More The Searchers (1956)

July 8, 2015June 30, 2017 Tim2 Comments

Brief Encounter (1945)

Dir. David Lean. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Cyril Raymond At least it wasn’t penalties. When Laura Bassett’s clearance fell short and went in off the crossbar (half an hour after Toni Duggan’s shot went out off the crossbar), resulting in a crushing own goal with no time left for England to regroup, the result… Read More Brief Encounter (1945)

July 5, 2015June 30, 2017 Tim1 Comment

Tanking in Basketball: A Treatise

Before we begin, some quick statements: 1) I’m from the Philadelphia area and, until this past season, had not kept up with the 76ers with any real interest since Allen Iverson and the 2001 Finals. I was ten. My defining memory of that series is that my grandmother was watching my brothers and me at… Read More Tanking in Basketball: A Treatise

July 2, 2015 Tim1 Comment

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Dir. Alexander Mackendrick. Starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison There’s a movie out there about what Bill O’Reilly would have been like if he’d been born handsome in a different era. It’s called Sweet Smell of Success, and you should see it. If you are like me, and you went to high school and… Read More Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

June 29, 2015June 30, 2017 Tim2 Comments

Inside Out (2015)

Dir. Pete Docter. Starring Amy Poehler, Kaitlyn Dias, Phyllis Smith That’s my Middle West – not the wheat or the prairies or the lost Swede towns but the thrilling, returning trains of my youth and the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark and the shadows of holly wreaths thrown by lighted windows… Read More Inside Out (2015)

June 28, 2015May 28, 2018 Tim4 Comments

June 26, 2015

https://twitter.com/mallelis/status/614830229240950784 Like Mallory Ortberg, I just woke up and found out. Bree Newsome, who appears to have skipped the sugary cereal and cartoons this Saturday morning and went straight to acts of marvelous civil disobedience, went up a flagpole and came down a hero. Nikki Haley, who apparently was waiting on more Fortune 500 CEOs… Read More June 26, 2015

June 27, 2015June 28, 2015 TimLeave a comment

Brief Thoughts on Bob Jones III

“As I wandered through the salon, I played a little game with myself. This man had written his first concerto at the age of four. His first symphony at seven, a full-scale opera at twelve! Did it show? Is talent like that written on the face?” –Salieri, in Amadeus “Take a good look, my dear.… Read More Brief Thoughts on Bob Jones III

May 11, 2015 TimLeave a comment

JFK (1991)

Dir. Oliver Stone. Starring Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Joe Pesci I was looking through the Wikipedia article for The Da Vinci Code recently, and I was surprised/not surprised to find that there’s a Wikipedia page for “Criticism of The Da Vinci Code.” Without really reading the article, one can guess at its contents… Read More JFK (1991)

May 8, 2015June 30, 2017 Tim3 Comments