[WATCHED: June 2009] The Power of Nightmares
This is a film, not a book. But I found it so fascinating that I had to say something about it. I have to say it again, this series was truly amazing, and I encourage everyone to watch it.
The Power of Nightmares is a 3 part documentary, totaling about 3 hours. It was created by the BBC in 2004. The underlying theme of the film is that politicians have begun to resort to fear in order to achieve their desired aims. Where in the distant past, politicians offered hope and future fulfillment, nearly all campaigns now try to scare you into voting for them. (This was before Obama, and may explain the popularity of Obama’s campaign).
The premise of the series is that the rise of the radical Islamist movement (including al Qaeda) and the rise of the American Neo-Conservatives not only parallels each other but actually supports each other.
This documentary is well researched and, obviously, controversial. It has, to the best of my knowledge, never aired in the U.S. (more…)
This is a periodical I haven’t mentioned before. Wholphin is a “DVD Magazine of Rare and Unseen Short Films.” So yes, the reason I hadn’t mentioned it is because it is a DVD and not a book. However, as I have been watching Vols 1-8 over the last few months, I have noticed that a few writerly names keep cropping up in the credits. Plus, it’s got that whole McSweeney’s connection.
film possibly ever by Scott Prendergast called “The Delicious” which you can watch, and I encourage you to, 
SOUNDTRACK: NADA SURF-High/Low (1996) & The Proximity Effect (1998).
High/Low. This CD features the “novelty” hit “Popular” from some years back, you remember, the spoken word bit about trying to impress your high school sweetheart by washing your hair “every two weeks, once, every two weeks.” The song is pretty great, even after the novelty factor has worn off. However, you may feel that you got screwned (see What I Learned… (5)) if you thought the rest of the record would sound like that. For the most part High/Low is kind of forgettable, and a surprising lead off point to what are some really fine follow-up albums. Overall the sound is, not quite murky, but very samey. So that even the catchy parts sort of blend together. It was not until their next album that they start to show some great songwriting.
The Proximity Effect. As I understand it, when Nada Surf didn’t produce a hit like “Popular” for their second album, the label dropped them. Which is typically short-sighted because The Proximity Effect is a much better album. In fact, it contains a song akin to “Popular” called “Mother’s Day” but it is so much darker–almost the anti-“Popular.” It too has a spoken word type vocal, and yet the song is an anti-rape song. A dark subject to be sure, but the guitar riff is so great it stays in your head, and you wind up thinking even more about the song. The first four songs really break Nada Surf out of the sameyness of High/Low by introducing high notes! It really cracks through the grungy sound by including some contrast. However, it’s the next album, Let Go, that really shows Nada Surf taking off.
I Just Read About That... 