French pop-electronica duo Air's release "Talkie Walkie," while an excellent introduction to synth-pop, is an album divided against itself, warring between a happy-go-lucky, romantic spirit and a melancholy, dark tendency, unified only by an air of inaccessibility.
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" has two things in common with its Best Picture rival, "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King." One, both films are epic tales of heroic struggle; and two, they both have absurdly long titles.
Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" is as close to literature as a thriller novel dare approach. The protagonist, usually a detective or lawyer (in the style of John Grisham), is a symbolist and art historian in Harris tweed suits.
Remember how thrilling it was to open your new composition book in second grade and read all the "Useful Information" on the back inside cover?
Apparently, I am the expert on "humorous" books comprised of prank letters. Apparently, I am not amused by them.
Jerry Stiller calls Paul Davidson's "Consumer Joe: Harassing Corporate America, One Letter at a Time" "some of the funniest writing since 'Seinfeld,'" but "Consumer Joe" is more like a "Jackass" stunt for the literate.
