Some Monstrous Links for Your Friday Afternoon

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:14 pm By Joseph Susanka

Pixar’s Monsters University is definitely on my radar. It’s not a direct result of my affection for Monster’s Inc. or its creators. (“Like” would probably be a better description of my response than “Love,” and I have some growing concerns about Pixar’s apparent drift into sequel territory.) Instead, it is a direct result of their brilliant viral marketing. Like this. Which is AWESOME. (As someone who spends a fair bit of time wrestling with an academic website of my own, let me repeat: AWESOME. And I... Read more

“Ring of Fire” — Capturing Last Week’s Solar Eclipse

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:14 pm By Joseph Susanka

Wow. What exactly are we looking at here? The event is known as an annular eclipse, when the moon moves directly between the Earth and the sun, producing a striking ring of fire effect. During annular eclipses, the new moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than the visible disk of the sun. Since the moon’s orbit is elliptical, its distance from Earth changes periodically. During an annular eclipse, the moon is farther from Earth, so its apparent size is smaller than... Read more

The Man Behind the Booth, Part IV

Last updated on: January 20, 2015 at 12:27 pm By Joseph Susanka

“It is hard to be human. It is hard to know what to do. It is hard to know how to take care of those we love. It is hard to give up on our fantasies of immortality, or power, or the thought that if we could shape the world to our will everything would be better.” — One of my favorite bits from what has become an extraordinarily long (and endlessly interesting) conversation with Christopher “C.K.” Kubasik, creator and writer of The Booth at... Read more

Musical Pop Quiz

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:14 pm By Joseph Susanka

I’ve always been fascinated by the aural and emotional differences between “The Big Three” keyboard instruments — the organ, piano, and harpsichord. The organ’s ability to serve as a sort of mini-orchestra is astonishing. The harpsichord’s tintinnabulatory clarity is wonderfully suited to the continuios (continuii?) that underpin so many of my Baroque favorites. And my personal experience on the piano has always given it a special place in my musical heart. In fact, the three bring such distinct strengths to the musical... Read more

No Commentary Necessary — “First Taste” Edition

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:14 pm By Joseph Susanka

This “First Taste” video (courtesy of TEDxSydney) is probably the best thing I’ve seen on YouTube since Alan Rickman’s Epic Tea Time. Take a moment or two, sit back, and watch it light up your Friday like the Fourth of July!(Epic HT chain from Laughing Squid to Good Food to TEDxSidney’s YouTube channel) Read more

Searching for Bobby Fischer – Family Movie Night

Last updated on: January 16, 2015 at 2:35 pm By Joseph Susanka

The Story: Chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer. The Stars: Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne Release Date: 1993 Rating: PG Our Take: Despite laboring in relative (and surprising) obscurity when compared to many of its “Based On a True Story” counterparts, Steven Zaillian’s Searching for Bobby Fischerhas stuck more firmly in my memory than most other “real-life” films I’ve seen. Even now, some twenty years and... Read more

The Man Behind the Booth, Part III

Last updated on: January 20, 2015 at 11:37 am By Joseph Susanka

“There is a notion, popular especially in Hollywood, that people who watch things on the Internet have no attention span. This is, of course, nonsense. People are people. They’ll watch something as long as it engages them. That’s all that matters.” — From my ongoing conversation with Christopher “C.K.” Kubasik, creator and writer of The Booth at the End. Joseph Susanka: For many, the notion of intentionally limiting oneself to a central character and a single location feels impossibly (and unnecessarily) restrictive.... Read more

Music From Up On Poppy Hill

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:14 pm By Joseph Susanka

Somehow, I managed to fight my way through the weekend’s Graduation Insanity. An unanticipated benefit of my (frankly, unexpected) survival was last night’s opportunity to sit down and watch my sadly-neglected screener for Studio Ghibli’s latest, From Up on Poppy Hill. It was the perfect antidote to the craziness of the past few days — gently charming, surprisingly humorous, and just the right mixture of nostalgia and hopefulness for my post-graduation mood. Definitely recommendable (even for those not suffering from Commencement... Read more

The Man Behind the Booth, Part II

Last updated on: January 20, 2015 at 11:37 am By Joseph Susanka

“I like strange things with strong, unique voices.” — The second part of my lengthy conversation with Christopher “C.K.” Kubasik, whose The Booth at the End show is one of my favorite “accidental discoveries” in recent memory. Joseph Susanka: From Michael Eisner (who has produced both Booth seasons through his production companies, Tornante and Vuguru), to Xander Berkeley (perhaps the paradigm example of the “criminally underappreciated actor”) to directors Adam Arkin and Jessica Landaw, the cast and crew of Booth are folks with... Read more

Chandeliering: The Strangest Thing You’ll See Today

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:14 pm By Joseph Susanka

This is amazing. …and sort of creepy, especially if you watch as many sci-fi shows as I do. (Somewhere out there, Roland Emmerich is screaming “I told you so!” at the top of his lungs.) On a day in which spring made its return to Minnesota with a vengeance, Nadalie Thomas caught Old Man Winter making his last stand with an ice-shattering spectacle known to some as “chandeliering.” Meteorologist Jerrid Sebesta was so impressed at the unusual occurrence that he... Read more