Book Review: Instant City
In “Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi,” author Steve Inskeep explores Pakistan’s largest city, and looks at the impact of cities around the world that have rapidly exploded in size. The instant city, as defined by Inskeep, is a city that grows when “cataclysmic events … tilt the surface of the earth, raising the...
Blogging can’t escape infection in Contagion
[Spoiler info: This post doesn't give much away, but if you're the type who prefers to know nothing before seeing a movie, steer clear until you've seen it] James Huber wrote about Oakland getting its reps in the baseball-blockbuster “Moneyball” earlier this week. Another relatively new movie giving San Francisco some screen time is the disaster-blockbuster “Contagion.” I had looked forward to...
Moneyball wins big
Billy Beane (Brad Pitt): “He gets on base a lot. Do I care if it’s by a walk or by a hit?” [Silence] Beane points to Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Brand: “No, you do not.” And so goes the scene where Beane introduces us to the core concept of Moneyball, the baseball movie released to critical...
The Swinger tees off on Tiger’s character
Man, I wish Tiger Woods was good at golf again. The sport has been incredibly boring since Woods fell from his perch, starting with his “car accident” in 2009. I think the last golf tournament I actually watched was the 2008 U.S. Open, when Woods triumphed with a bad leg over the underdog, Rocco Mediate....
Train Rides and The Art of Racing in the Rain
On my way to the CSPA High School Journalism Workshop in San Luis Obispo I realized two things: 1. long train rides rock 2. taking the time to read a book in one sitting is legit Besides taking the occasional Caltrain to Giants baseball games, I never take the train. So it was a new...
Deathly Hallows Part 2 Disappoints
I was really disappointed by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. As an avid reader of all seven books, I was disheartened by how far the movie strayed from the book. It’s common for Potter diehards to bitch and moan about the differences between the books and movies, but the changes the director made...
Book Review: The Tennis Partner
I just finished reading Abraham Verghese’s memoir The Tennis Partner. Verghese, a professor of medicine at Stanford University who lives in Palo Alto (gotta give PA its reps) is more famous for his novel Cutting for Stone, which was published in 2009 and is ranked #2 on the New York Times trade paperback fiction list....
Thoughts on Hangover Part II
What did i think of Hangover Part II? Hmm, good question. Hangover 2 was exactly like I expected it would be. A slight disappointment of a movie, same jokes as the first one, but still a lot of fun. One’s opinion of movies always depends on one’s expectations for the movie. If you go into...
Album Review: “21″ by Adele
Adele, female British singer and songwriter, has released another magnificent record that is “21.” A collection of soul, pop, R&B, and a hint of gospel, Adele shows us that raw emotion still has a prominent place in popular music. Her voice is simply profound – it combines the wailing intensity of Aretha Franklin but also...
Album Review: “Manners” (2010) – Passion Pit
Passion Pit, an electronic/alternative/pop group from Massachusetts, released “Manners” in April of 2010. “Manners” is mainly defined by its delightful collection of blissful and bright songs that have an exciting upbeat tone to them. With a broad span of smooth piano, dazzling synths, minimalist guitar, perfectly-suited beats, and an amazingly high-pitched lead voice (Michael Angelakos),...
The Good Soldiers
I just finished reading The Good Soldiers, an amazing non-fiction book by David Finkel that follows the soldiers who were at the front of “the surge” in the Iraq War. The soldiers of the 2-16, as their battalion was called, were President Bush’s last hope to turn around a war that seemed to be getting...
Slaps Section
Hey this is the first installment of our Slaps Section. In the Slaps Section, we will be providing you with recommendations for new (and sometimes not so new) music in just about any genre. We will give you both mainstream music and stuff off the beaten track. Also, we will be covering both artists and...
