:: On the politics of academia, a vigilante in paradise, and micro-patronage ::

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

I've been batting around a few things that don't call for full entries by themselves, so I'm going to bundle them here.

• Everybody chill out a little about Lawrence Summers' being virulently misogynistic and otherwise incompetent. If he's a repeat offender - and alienating Cornel West (no small matter) seems to support that - then axe him, but keep in mind that the man saw fit to mention his own past "research [featuring] an influential report demonstrating the very high return on investing in educating girls in developing countries" in his official bio. The mention was included prior to his January speech which ignited the fervor.
• I recently saw the two-part pilot episode of Magnum, P.I. As a child I couldn't get beyond its kitsch factor and I hadn't seen it since, so I was surprised to find it highly enjoyable on a few additional levels. While saying it exceeds the confines of a television action series is going a bit far, I was impressed with how well it managed not just to carry on the traditions of classic film noir (a private detective with a tortured past working outside the letter of the law but well within its spirit, voice-over narration), but modernize them as well (ample self-aware humor/parody, Magnum's tortured past comes in the form of Vietnam service). The tension between Magnum and the stiff-shirted Higgins - something previously reduced in my memory to an old codger wanting to stop a young rapscallion from having a good time - is multi-layered; it's at once generational (Higgans is old enough to be Magnum's father), occupational (each is competing for the favor of a common, unseen, boss), methodological (by the book vs. loose cannon), and cultural (UK vs. US) - all despite the two being war veterans working more or less towards a common end. Even the original theme song hints at the show's broad and ambitious intentions (the one you're probably more familiar with is here).
• I can't believe I just wrote a film-school term-paper thesis paragraph about Magnum, P.I., but I'm not surprised to find out a movie is in the works.
• The blog meme du week is Jason Kottke's decision to forego standard employment in favor of being a full-time blogger sponsored only by his readers and not advertisers. Kicking a few bucks his way got me this rad button. I can't decide if this is a big milestone portending a broader qualitative shift or just some guy asking for money (though I am certain ye olde sphere will argue the former), but for me it came down to very simple reasoning: I've read his site for years and I think it's worth it.

Posted by morland @ 11:11 AM

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