The Queen (you know, the English one)

by | Oct 10, 2006 | Dear Dexter

There’s a popular critique — which is to say I read this once and it stuck in my mind; can’t remember where it was, though — of New Yorker film critic Anthony Lane that says that, although he’s a wonderful writer, there’s something...

Powers on Lane

by | Oct 11, 2006 | Dear Dexter

John Powers, one of the best cultural critics working, has a nice passage on Anthony Lane that captures the essence of the "popular critique" of Lane that I described in my last post. I wrote, "although he’s a wonderful writer, there’s...

Wolcott goes Medieval

by | Oct 17, 2006 | Dear Dexter

Vanity Fair critic James Wolcott looks more than a bit like Droopy Dog, the jowly, slow-moving dog who was quietly capable of great feats of strength and cunning, who Wikipedia describes like so:What made the character even more hilarious is his incredible strength,...

Me Smart, You Stupid

by | Oct 26, 2006 | Dear Dexter

According to this article, which cites a very important study, “The Daily Show is much funnier than traditional newscasts, but a new study from Indiana University says it has the same amount of meat on its bones when it comes to coverage of the news.” I...

Oh Rushie

by | Dec 14, 2006 | Dear Dexter

I see that Rush Limbaugh is “in hot water” (as the kids say) because he accused Michael J. Fox of overdoing the Parkinson’s bob and weave in an advertisement Fox cut for the Democrat running for senate in Missouri (or Missour-ah, as Fox, a...