Media Nugget

The Third Man

Carol Reed
The Third Man
1949

Post-war Vienna provides a gritty backdrop of bombed-out buildings and rubble-strewn streets for The Third Man, the prototypical noir thriller. Orson Welles plays Harry Lime, who goes missing just as his old friend arrives from America to see him. The American, played by Joseph Cotten, soon finds himself entangled in the intrigues of the city -- divided by war and haven to ruthless smugglers. Director Reed brings together an intriguing mystery (written by Graham Greene), compelling characters, superb acting, skilled cinematography, and a haunting zither score to make one of the classic films of all time.

The Simpsons Archive

The Simpsons Archive

Diehard Simpsons fans have long used the Internet for critiquing episodes and discussing favorite characters. In the early days, the conversation was limited to a couple of Usenet newsgroups. Today, we have the Simpsons Archive -- a massive collaboration that offers an exhaustive, ever-growing concordance of all things Simpson. The searchable episode capsules are great if you're looking for specific Homer/Barney dialogue, while the FAQs, guides, and lists will prove invaluable as you research your doctoral thesis on "The Fin de Siecle Rebirth of the Prime-Time Cartoon." Does the world really need a complete list of Bart's chalkboard openings? Maybe not. But it's a comfort just to know it's there.

AirPort

Apple
AirPort

Notwithstanding the fact that the base station looks like a cute little UFO, AirPort wireless networking is a triumph of packaging, technology, and ease of use. For a decent price, less than half that of Lucent's similar product, Apple has unlocked the door to local mobility for the average home or small-business user. Ten minutes after my base station arrived, I was sitting on the stairs on the other side of my office's brick wall, surfing away on my Powerbook. A short while later, I was connected via my laptop running LinuxPPC. Did I mention it looks like a cute little UFO?

Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey
1925-2000

"Many of Edward Gorey's most fervent devotees think he's (a) English and (b) dead. Actually, he has never so much as visited either place. But his work has imprinted itself on the American consciousness as something from long ago and far away."
          ---The New Yorker

Sadly, this is no longer accurate. The author and illustrator of such strange little books as The Doubtful Guest, The Curious Sofa, and The Gashlycrumb Tinies died on April 15 at the age of 75. He has yet to visit England.

The Four Immigrants Manga

Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama
The Four Immigrants Manga
1998

Imagine a humorous comic in which the hero immigrates to America, survives the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, serves in World War I, and avoids an influenza epidemic. These are just a few of the events of this autobiographical graphic novel, drawn in the 1920s. Many of the gags fizzle, due to the translation perhaps, but the history and the drama overshadow the punchlines. Kiyama attempted to interest a Japanese-American newspaper in printing his work, but the effort proved to be well ahead of its time. He finally self-published The Four Immigrants as a book, mostly in Japanese, in 1931 -- several years before the first comic book was published.

The Moral Animal

Robert Wright
The Moral Animal
1994

Digging deep into the dark side of human behavior, The Moral Animal says things we may not like to hear, such as the fact that men will hustle, betray, and lie in order to spread their genes, and that women will do the same to ensure the protection of their offspring. But Wright also explores such areas as evolution of cooperative behavior and altruism, from chimpanzee group dynamics and sexuality to computer-simulated models. Whether or not you find the theories and research valid, the book does the important job of making you think about humankind and our own society in a new light.

Hourglass

Kate Rusby
Hourglass
1997

From the posthumous arrangement of Woody Guthrie's unsung lyrics to the hills-n-hollers crooning of Gillian Welch, it's a rich time for folk traditionalists, old and new. Perhaps the brightest light on folk's near horizon, England's Kate Rusby has released two albums, both filled with crystalline renditions of powerful songs, many dating from the Medieval period. Hourglass, her debut, offers Rusby's sweet-toned voice, a rogue's gallery of talented instrumentalists, and a bushel of magical tunes, from the playful "Jolly Plough Boys" to the aching "I Am Stretched on Your Grave."

Pogo

Walt Kelly
Pogo
1949-73

For some incomprehensible reason, Amazon.com lists the first volume of the recently reprinted Pogo compendium as suitable for ages 9 to 12. From the proto-environmentalist sentiment of "we have met the enemy and he is us" to Kelly's skewering of Senator McCarthy as "Simple J. Malarkey," Pogo is perhaps the most sophisticated comic strip of all time, acknowledged by Trudeau, Pfeiffer, and Berkeley Breathed as a primary influence. Read it and weep for the sorry state of syndicated comics today. (SC)

NetFlix

NetFlix
NetFlix

This DVD rental service has changed the way I watch movies. For a reasonable monthly fee, I can rent up to four movies at a time with no due dates or late fees. When I'm done with a disc, I slip it into the postage-paid envelope and drop it in the mail. Once NetFlix receives it, they send me the next title in my personalized queue. Thanks to their selection of over 7,000 titles, together with reviews, links, and customized recommendations, I no longer have to settle for whatever is left on the shelf at the video store.

East is East

T. Coraghessan Boyle
East is East
1991

A depressed Japanese sailor jumps ship and washes ashore near an isolated artist colony on the Georgia coast. He quickly becomes a pawn in a bizarre game of dueling egos between the colony's residents and the bewildered locals. While it may sound like an improbable premise, it proves perfect for Boyle's wicked skewering of pretentious artists, petulant rednecks, and cultural prejudices.