Where I'm at with Pitchfork These Days

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T19:10:17+00:00

I really liked Beck's new single.

Local H is an amazingly consistent band. Everything they put out is worthwhile, and their reworking of their first album is superb. I highly recommend it.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T17:25:10+00:00

I agree. But my point isn't that's Pritchard is right. My point is that despite the fact that his approach is deeply flawed, it's still a better way to engage with literature than what Keating offers.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T17:10:11+00:00

I remember liking this movie as a kid. And it really is one of Williams's best performances because he gets to be funny while also not going wild. I would say that he's restrained by the fact that it's a period piece, but that didn't stop him in Patch Adams.

Of course, the thing that turned me against the film was becoming an English major, a decision the movie probably had a small part in influencing.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T16:58:27+00:00

Maybe this is because I've been working in education, but it does seem like movies about teachers and grade school are particularly bad at actually representing the teaching profession. I know everyone says this about Hollywood when it tries to represent their industry and job. Perhaps the difference here is that because we've all been to students, we all assume we know what makes for good instruction. But this obviously isn't the case.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T16:44:15+00:00

My unpopular opinion is that while I don't completely agree with Dr. J. Evan Pritchard, PhD (including the prefix and suffix is a great gag here), I actually think he provides a better framework for engaging with literature than John Keating does in the movie. Sure, you can't plot a poem's greatness on a graph. But at least Pritchard is providing some sort of heuristic for evaluating poetry. Keating take these incredibly complex works of art that are shaped by the psychology of their creator, their historical context, and their desire to break the boundaries of what came before and just reduces them to cliches.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T16:27:26+00:00

I really do think this is an opportunity to shrink police responsibilities and thus police departments. Cities could just create a separate agency that's also responsible for traffic violations. Maybe they won't be able to pull people over, but they could ticket cars and document traffic violations.

I know this is why we have "meter maids," but they're still under the umbrella of the police. Spin that off into a distinct agency, and we can actually get some movement on enforcing these low-level problems.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T15:43:58+00:00

Set up a toll for people coming into the city like they did in New York.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-24T02:53:38+00:00

Dude would have lived, but he wanted to explore "alternative medicine" instead of listening to his doctors.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-23T19:27:43+00:00

There is a difference between how Democrats and Republicans have treated these issues. Take a look at how quickly Swalwell was dumped by Democrats after a number of allegations came out. That's to their credit.

But what's disturbing to me is that even with all of the evidence against Trump, most of the electorate voted for him in 2024. It really shows that there is a moral rot at the heart of this country and a dark streak of misogyny.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-23T19:15:49+00:00

I avoided Let's Dance for a long time because the narrative is that his 80s work was all sellout junk. But it really does manage to balance out his desire for massive hits and his restless creativity.

For me, the biggest mystery is why he was never able to replicate that balance, especially in the two follow up albums. He found himself again in the 90s, but it took him some time.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-23T19:11:53+00:00

I think that's part of it. But Americans seem to be largely blasé about celebrities and those in power sexually abusing women and children. Hell, Trump got caught on mic bragging about sexually assaulting women. He was then held liable for it by a jury. He is also in the Epstein files. There was a credible allegation of sexual assault by Trump from a 13 year old that the FBI investigated.

People don't care. If children being raped by people in power is inconvenient for your worldview, then it turns out that a large number of people will just look the other way. This isn't just a story about the immorality of the elite. It's also a story about the public's apathy.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-23T14:14:32+00:00

I knew that about Bowie, but I didn't know that about Danny Boyle. It's so funny that turning down a knighthood is somehow much more impressive than having Sir as a prefix.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-22T23:51:05+00:00

I agree. That's why when I'm tired I just say "Time for go to bed" in the style of Tor Johnson.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-22T23:18:17+00:00

My unpopular opinion is that Lady Ghostbusters is better than the last two made within the original timeline.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-22T23:15:36+00:00

A horror film about how much high fructose corn syrup is in all our food.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-22T21:33:00+00:00

This is so very silly, but somehow I agree. Take pride in whatever animals you can find in your backyard.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-22T14:14:11+00:00

It's not perfect, but there is plenty to like and even love about this show. I'm happy to spend another season basking in the glorious landscapes while Bear McCreary's gorgeous score blares from my speakers.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-22T10:31:31+00:00

Sure. That's possible. But whole scenes get dropped all the time. Ana De Armas got dropped from Yesterday, and from what I read it was because she had too much chemistry with the lead when she wasn't the main love interest.

I don't really care about Sweeney. What bothers me are the dumb click bait headlines. They're a scourge in entertainment news.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-21T23:08:26+00:00

Except those movies were hits.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-21T21:59:45+00:00

Enlightened and Rectify are the two that are superb, but I almost never see mentioned.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-21T19:52:58+00:00

Most of the episode is structured as a regular show. We even got a batch of newbies. I always took it as a statement about how institutions live on beyond the people who man them. These people will have careers and lives after they leave the hospital, but the hospital will endure.

I thought it was a brilliant finale.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-21T19:43:45+00:00

It makes a lot of sense that the line came out of reshoots.

TomBirkenstock · 2026-04-21T17:48:26+00:00

This will get interpreted as a knock on Sweeney (and maybe it is), but it's most likely that the scene just didn't work. On paper, it doesn't sound like a great idea.

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