Tag: Art & Criticism

Reels, Records, & Reads

The Point of “Pointless Drinking”

So what is LaVere’s eternal barfly, that drinker at the end of the bar dispensing a bit of 80 proof wisdom, telling us? Is “Pointless Drinking” meant to be some sort of cautionary tale, a plea to abstain? The song is not so much a soap box lecture as it is a reflection about poor choices. Those of us who imbibe know alcohol and poor choices (like cheap and Walmart) tend to go together.

Any sort of serious drinking requires some serious thought about why you’re drinking. Amy LaVere’s “Pointless Drinking” shows us that drinking without a point is to end up in a world of hurt when you get to the bottom of the bottle.

-K-

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Reels, Records, & Reads

The Machine Stops

I found myself down an Insta rabbit hole the other day looking at a bunch of dystopian themed memes and it got me thinking about a couple things. First, a lot of people stretch the definition of dystopia. Second, a whole bunch of authors had a weird nack of prognostication.

The Machine Stops, published in 1909, presents a dystpopian world that mirrors many aspects of our current world. E.M. Forster’s novella imagines a future when humankind has not just become reliant on but also worships The Machine (technology), a fitting foresight into a not so fictional future. The Machine Stops is shy of sixty-five pages and can be read in one comfortable coffee shop afternoon. It’s a worthy read for anybody interested in sci-fi and/or dystopian works.

-K-

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Author’s intentions v. reader’s interpretations.

-K-

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Reels, Records, & Reads

The Grind of Getting By

“What is your blood and sweat worth?” This is the question Bill Tully, an aging boxer, asks his manager in Fat City. John Huston’s 1972 movie tackles the topic of what it means and what it takes to get by.

The movie’s characters struggle with the everydayness of work, the complexity of relationships, and their desire to do more with their lives. It is a slow paced character study that peers into the protagonist’s life and examines his efforts to do more and to be more.

Fat City is worth a watch if you are interested in a character study of individuals trying to move beyond getting by to hopefully getting ahead.

-K-

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On Art & Criticism

“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather follow your most intense passions mecilessly.”

-Franz Kafka-

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