Originally posted February 2006 Please be warned there are spoilers in this review. I went to The Corpse Bride expecting something fantastical and whimsical, much like Burton’s earlier The Nightmare Before Christmas (TNBC). In a way it’s a shame this movie did not come before TNBC, as it isn’t exactly bad… it just isn’t very…
This is a class assignment to critique Huber’s article “Biodiversity vs. Bioengineering?” solely on the issue of whether the use of deception was sound argumentation technique. Huber’s short but fascinating article appears in The Environmental Predicament, shown to the left. From the article, I quote the most personally relevant portions: [T]here are still transcendentally important…
Originally posted April 2004 Thanks to George for making this a better review, as he always does. Books of historical fiction are based, in varying amounts, on the reality of the past. However, the lack of good record keeping, coupled with the problem of information conservation, has left us more often with mysteries than fact….
Book review originally posted June 2004 With thanks to Guthrum, oddly enough, who showed me loving horror didn’t mean you were one. ;-) King has actually written two books here. One is a surprisingly candid review of his memories of childhood and young adulthood. The other is about the craft of writing, and it is…
Originally written December 2003: more of a grumble than usual… As you probably don’t know, by profession I am a web site designer. I take pride in my work, as I assume most competent craftspeople do. However, recently I’ve had the most incredible frustration in my job — on this very web site! — due…
Originally written in the late 1990’s for a “Popular Culture” Anthropology class. In her book Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature, Janice A. Radway explores the apparent fascination of romantic fiction to many women, and examines the needs this literary genre fulfills for its readers. Our required reading was the Introduction and the…
Originally written in the early 1990’s for an absolutely amazing class on the bible as history and literature. My later notes, to clarify the paper, are in blockquotes. The story of Genesis in the bible has been used throughout history as an excuse for, and explanation of, why women should be subjugated by men. This…
Just got back from the opening weekend of the newest exhibit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. The museum’s in the old SGI building, for locals, and it’s a lovely little place. The exhibit is a working Babbage Difference Engine! The following is based on my memory of what transpired, so if…
directed by John McTiernan 1 August 2006 movie review by Collie Collier Credits: For Dave, who brought it over — you know me too well! ;) This is apparently a movie with a very mixed reputation. I came to it unsure as to whether it would be any good, since I’d heard both that it…
by Mary Jo Putney 20 July 2006 book review by Collie Collier Credits: For my kind-hearted and thoughtful recommender, who I hope will both find this review interesting; and understand that while I didn’t care for the books, I was quite touched at her efforts to help me. Also for Lou, who helped me remember…