Not everyone in real estate or construction is Washington-smooth like Sy Solomon. Thanks to my friend Court Merrigan for this link to an excerpt from the Glengarry GlenRoss movie, adapted from the David Mamet play. Both show, in Court’s words, ”the cold seething black heart of capitalism.” Management doesn’t want you sipping coffee if […]
Read MoreAh, yes! To the Flemish Cap, Speaker Boehner!
Film as perfect budget-crisis metaphor? As generic rhetoric, some in Washington may talk of a “perfect storm” of chaos in the American and global financial markets if Republicans and Democrats don’t raise the debt ceiling by August 2. I myself, however, am thinking precisely of the book and movie title based on the meteorological term—yes, […]
Read MoreE-books vs. movies and other streamed media: Which should be first priority at Library of Congress?
With so many local libraries facing cutbacks, the case for a well-stocked national digital library system grows stronger each day. At TheAtlantic.com I’ve written of the possibility of a decentralized public library system existing within the Library of Congress but run by librarians in many cities, so that Washington does not dictate to America what […]
Read MoreThe original ‘Front Page’ newspaper movie: Free from the Internet Archive
Why wait for the original version of The Front Page to show up on The Tube? You can legally enjoy this Hollywood classic for free from the Internet Archive. As summarized there: “Hildy Johnson (Pat O’Brien), newspaper reporter, is engaged to Peggy Grant and planning to move to New York for a higher paying advertising […]
Read MoreLast hurrah for newspaper movies? ‘State of Play’ opens this week
Well, for an opener, State of Play is a variant on His Girl Friday in a one way at least. Over here we have Cal McAffrey, a reporter of the old school. In the other corner? A female blogger named Della Frye, also working for the Washington Globe. State is a thriller starring Russell Crowe […]
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