Sections
Call of Duty: Black Ops Do Not Pray For Easy Lives, Pray To Be Stronger Men
Call of Duty: Black Ops brings back to the series what has been missing in the past few games, a sense of realism. Whether it be the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba or battle in the Quang Tri province of South Vietnam, Call of Duty games have made a practice of using real historical scenarios and locations in the telling of their single player campaigns. This holds true, except of course for the last two games.
Better Read than Dead: A Three-Part Investigation into Soviet Science Fiction
It was by fortuitous accident that Peter Lang stumbled upon the work of Dmitri Bilenkin while rummaging through the dusty enclave that is the science fiction anthology section of the Montclair Book Center. Bilenkin’s book, The Uncertainty Principle, by title alone was intriguing and soon learning it was one of a series entitled The Best of Soviet Science Fiction not even the Glavlit could bar Peter’s ownership of this gem.
Unwinnable Theater Review: The Pee-Wee Herman Show
Well, you’ve been waiting for it and now here it is: Unwinnable’s first theater review! Yes, I saw The Pee-Wee Herman Show at the Stephen Sondheim theater in NYC on Halloween weekend, and it was pretty great! I figured I should write a little something to justify paying for the tickets with money from the Unwinnable petty cash jar, but I’ll keep things nice and vague here. The show is full of nice little surprises and I’d hate to spoil them for anyone who’s planning on seeing it in the future (and I do recommend seeing it!).
The Man That Time Forgot: Hard-Boiled Wonderland at the End of the States
Peter Lang takes to the road knowing not what Brunswick, Maine holds in store for him. What secrets, clues and curiosities await in the untapped vein of American scholarship that is the Edward Page Mitchell archive at Bowdoin College?
Striking Back At Reality TV
All summer, hoards of fans of the reality TV show line Washington St. to get a taste of the magical cakes crafted by the gang at Carlo’s Bake Shop, lovingly portrayed on TLC as the Mecca of tri-state area bakeries. So many came this past summer they had to erect barricades across the street next to the CVS and hire crowd control personnel, complete with walkie talkies, to keep fans from furiously rushing the door, absentmindedly getting themselves struck by passing cars, or swooning to the pavement in the 95-degree heat.
The Sound of Horror
What makes a horror movie good? You could say a lot of it has to do with plot, cinematography and direction. However, many of the iconic moments in classic horror movies are related to the music. At the heart of it, music is effective at evoking moods, and the mood of horror classics like The Exorcist, Halloween, or even Jaws would’ve been completely different were it not for Mike Oldfield, John Carpenter and John Williams.
Houdini: In The Shadows of the Leviathan
The name Harry Houdini is synonymous with magic, escape and deception. Indeed, they were some of the Master Mystifier’s greatest passions but he did have others. As we approach the anniversary of Houdini’s untimely death, I want to look back at another of his passions, specifically his love of literature and how it factored into his life and death.
