Part two in a series. As I suggested in Part One, the messianic/utopian view of science and technology attributed to LIFE Magazine is consistent with an ideological bent that traces its lineage to the dawn of the Enlightenment in Europe. Francis Bacon’s highly influential New Atlantis, first published in 1626, recounts the narrator’s fictional shipwreck on the shores of Bensalem,
Read moreHi folks, and welcome to SVR’s Halloween in March special. Today we’re going to have a look at things that just scare the bejeezus out of us. First up, Tiny Toons. I was never as big a fan of the series as some of my friends, but it did have its moments. The subtle homomegalomaniacism of Pinky & The Brain,
Read moreItem: Citizens are concerned about online privacy and security. According to a new report from USC’s Center for the Digital Future, “Sixty-one percent of adult Americans said they were very or extremely concerned about the privacy of personal information when buying online, an increase from 47 percent in 2006. Before last year, that figure had largely been dropping since 2001.”
Read moreIn today’s special edition of SVR, S&R asks a critical question: what the fuck is wrong with you people? Let’s start here. While we watch, will somebody get Drs. Phil and Laura on the line?
Read moreTim Karr has an important read for music lovers up at HuffPo. In it, he covers OK Go’s descent into Washington to promote the importance of Net Neutrality to independent musicians. The band’s success is a testament to an open Internet. OK Go was propelled to national fame via the popularity of their YouTube videos. One, a treadmill dance along
Read moreThe serious bands get all the respect. All the critical acclaim. All the love from all the right people. Which is probably as it should be. But for every Beatles there’s at least one or two Rolling Stones, bands that aren’t terribly respectable and that clearly aren’t worried about cultivating an intellectual legacy. Sometimes you even get a little Beatles
Read moreWho are the most influential bands and artists in the history of rock? Well, start with The Beatles and Elvis, I guess, and for good reason. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, The Stones, of course, The Who and David Bowie. The big names. All of them signed their names on our culture with a fat permanent marker, and in doing so
Read moreLast September we hit you with part one of our best music videos ever, featuring Death in Vegas, The Prodigy and Pop Will Eat Itself. Powerful stuff, to say the least. Today we’re back with round two – alieNation. Up first is Orbital’s “The Box.” I used this one in a class or two back in the late ’90s. Humanities
Read moreAlan Wilder of Recoil (and formerly of Depeche Mode) has some thoughts on the state of music these days. So who shall we blame for the whole mess? Do we stick two fingers up at the record companies who have sat around twiddling their thumbs, peddling overpriced re-issues for years while their A&R men bombard us with shallow, faceless pop
Read moreOpening night for NBC’s new Millennial-targeted series, Quarterlife, was an unparalleled disaster. The drama series which made headlines about its transition from internet to TV, “Quarterlife,†succeeded in being a flop in its NBC debut Tuesday night, having the worst ratings in at least 20 years, according to Nielsen Media Research. The brazilian-dollar question now becomes: what happened? More at
Read moreOnce is a film that deserves more, so much more. A truly independent effort built around music and characters whose authenticity simply bursts off the screen and fills your heart, this movie was so real in its violation of all things Hollywood that it was almost hard to watch. I kept waiting for the goddamned formula to kick in, and
Read moreI’m a lucky man. I have a Marvin the Martian mouse pad. I have a Marvin the Martian house key. And now, I have a Marvin the Martian SVR to share with all my friends. Let’s start by watching Bugs Bunny save the Earth in one of the more prominent easement cases in galactic history.
Read moreThe results of the most recent S&R poll are in. Readers were asked: What issue do you feel has not been adequately covered in the presidential debates thus far? 1: Civil liberties (26) 2: Green energy (15) 3: Media consolidation (11) Net neutrality (11) 5: Executive power (10) 6: Mercenary forces (9) Sibel Edmonds/corruption conspiracy (9) 8: Native American rights
Read moreIt’s time for another round of SVR’s Saturday Morning Cartoons. Today we pay tribute to the man I was named for, Yosemite Sam. In “Hare to Heir,” Sam, the somewhat volatile Duke of Yosemite, stands to inherit a millions pounds if he can control his temper. The executor, of course, is none other than Bugs Bunny.
Read moreIt’s FISA Day in your Senate – amazing how this was scheduled for Potomac Primary Day, huh? – and Matt Browner Hamlin has the agenda up at Holdfast. My big issue is item #4: retroactive immunity for telecoms. Verizon and AT&T have done all they can to pretend that they had no idea that their participation in warrantless wiretapping might
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