Category Archives: Popular Culture

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Popular Culture, Space, Technology and Society

Just A Right-Wing Fantasy

5 Comments

No, of course Atlas Shrugged has nothing to do with life in modern America:

Ah, that must be the Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Law, or one of the Fairness Laws, or something, right? The WSJ isn’t sure what law the NLRB is talking about, either. Not only do businesses routinely relocate to find the most advantageous environment possible, states and cities compete for that business by calculating their business climate. If this has escaped the notice of the NLRB, perhaps they should get out more.

This will be an important court case, assuming it’s fought. Then again, it’s hard to feel too bad for Boeing — as Mickey says, live by crony capitalism, die by crony capitalism. Sadly, we’ve also seen this sort of corporatism/fascism wasting our space dollars as well, in addition to inhibiting innovation.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Popular Culture

To The Consternation Of The Suits In Hollywood

6 Comments

Atlas Shrugged seems to be doing pretty well:

business has been brisk enough for producers Harmon Kaslow and John Aglialoro to expand from 299 theaters to 425 this weekend and to 1,000 by the end of the month. They don’t have enough film prints to fill all the orders.

“Things have turned for us,” Kaslow said. “When we started, exhibitors were not embracing the film like we thought they would. Now, we can pretty much go into as many theaters as we want. It’s just a matter of logistics.”

Unexpectedly!

Though he’s still cautious, this would bode well for Parts 2 and 3.

Business, Economics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Popular Culture, Social Commentary

Go Make It A Hit

43 Comments

Amy Holmes interviews some folks at the Washington Atlas Shrugged premiere. I hadn’t realized that the actor who plays Rearden is British. We may go see it in Rolling Hills this weekend.

[Update a while later]

What if audiences shrug? An interview with the producer.

[Update late afternoon]

More interviews from Amy Holmes:

(Hot conservative women alert)

[Update Saturday morning]

Francis Porretto has some ruminations on the book, faith, charity and epistomology.

Popular Culture, Space, Space History

Yuri’s Night In LA

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Griffith Observatory 7:30 – 9:00 PM
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Admission is free

Join us for a very special opportunity to join over 200 events around the world celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of humanity’s first step into the cosmos. Hear Griffith Observatory’s Astronomical Observer, Anthony Cook, describe Yuri Gagarin’s historic 108 minute orbit around the planet and how it still affects us today. Look forward to the future as Virgin Galactic CEO, George Whitesides, describes how space travel might change in the coming 50 years. Meet Yuri’s Night co-founders Loretta Hidalgo-Whitesides and George Whitesides, share your own “where were you?” stories, and take part in this historic, global celebration of people in space.

Wood and Vine 9:00pm – 11:30pm
6280 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

[Via Robin Snelson]

Popular Culture

Top O’ The Mornin’

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[Note: this post will be at the top for a while, so keep scrolling for new crap]

Start your day off with a few jigs from the best trad Irish band ever (in my opinion). Dual fiddles lend them a unique sound.

The leader, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (Mary Mahoney for Anglos, daughter of the famous fiddler Frank Mahoney from County Donegal) also has a beautiful, ethereal voice, particularly when she sings in Irish.

And yes, she sings in English, too. The Lass of Glenshee:

Finally, just to pick things up, a few reels.

[Update a while later]

Jim Bennett links in comments to an emigration song. Here’s another by Andy Irvine (one of the founders of Planxty):

It’s interesting to hear an Irish musician play an octave mandolin. He also plays bouzouki. He bummed around in southeastern Europe quite a bit in the seventies, and brought a lot of Romanian folk songs back with him, including houras, which have a very complicated rhythm.

You might note at the end that the tune starts to segue into another, which is the second in the trilogy from the album on emigration, but it doesn’t seem to be on Youtube. Nor is the third, Edward Connors. As you’ll note from the lyrics, the reality of the New World didn’t always live up to the hype. Thousands of them crossed the Atlantic to flee The Great Hunger to find but a grave.

Continue reading Top O’ The Mornin’ →