Blair Kamin, the architecture critic of The Chicago Tribune, wrote a provocative little piece this morning to support the idea that it’s ok to tear down a tiny brick box structure located on a forlorn corner of the Mies van der Rohe-designed Illinois Institute of Technology. It faces demolition to make way for a new mass transit …
Tuned InMovies
Elsewhere on Time.com: J.J. Abrams on Trek, Zach Braff on Scrubs
Because there’s a lot of pop culture out there and I’m only one man—one lazy, lazy man—time.com has you covered:
* As the (visceral, fun and thrilling) Star Trek prequel/reimagining opens, J.J. Abrams offers up a video 10 Questions interview.
* Time.com critic Mary Pols reviews the new flick: “a brisk, joyous romp.” (Nerd …
Tuned InNews Media
Sean Hannity's Smear of Mustard
On the drive down, we stopped at a TGI Friday’s and I ordered a cheeseburger. When the waitress brought the food I asked her if she had any Dijon mustard. Dan [legislative aide Dan Shomon] shook his head.
“He doesn’t want Dijon,” he insisted, waving the waitress off. “Here”—he shoved a yellow bottle of French’s mustard in my …
Tuned InUncategorized
State Your Case! Castle
For the uninitiated, State Your Case! is a regular feature on Tuned In (I’ve kept this one alive two straight weeks, people!) in which I take up a TV show that I have given up watching and invite arguments as to why I should watch it again.
The intent of State Your Case! is to find shows that deserve a second look because they …
Tuned InUncategorized
TV Tonight: Designer Knockoff
I feel as if I’m expected, on principle, to hate The Fashion Show, which debuts tonight on Bravo. It is certainly, whatever Bravo says, a shameless, tactical ripoff of Project Runway, which left Bravo and debuts this summer on Lifetime. That may be distracting to viewers. And it may well be a strategic mistake for Bravo’s larger …
Tuned InUncategorized
Idol Watch: Straight Up, Now
Spoilers for American Idol’s elimination, after the break:
Tuned InUncategorized
Lostwatch: Faith-Based Initiative
Before you read this post, take a deep, deep breath, dive in and watch last night’s Lost.
Tuned In
Happy Lost Day! What's the Plan?
As mentioned earlier, I was out past my bedtime at the Time 100 gala, then up further past my bedtime writing up American Idol. Then received my usual 6 a.m. wakeup call from the Tuned In Jrs., so… kinda running on fumes this morning where Lost Discussion Group is concerned. I refer you to the weekly preview post from Doc Jensen, who …
Tuned In
David Simon Gets Big Easy for HBO
Wire fans, get excited: HBO has picked up David Simon’s next series, Treme, hopefully to run begin production in the fall. [Update: HBO tells me the THR report was incorrect on the start date; the show will air next year.] The series, set in New Orleans post-Katrina, stars Wendell “Bunk” Pierce (a Nawlins native) as well as The Wire’s …
A “New” Leonardo?
You may have read recently that an American specialist in the art of the Italian Renaissance is proposing a major reattribution. He’s arguing that two figures in a small 15th-century silver altarpiece by Andrea del Verrocchio were actually the work of Verrocchio’s precocious apprentice, Leonardo da Vinci. Any time I hear about …
Tuned InUncategorized
The Morning After: Change for a Hundred
I spent last night at the swanky Time 100 gala, held at the Live at Lincoln Center theater in the Time Warner building. (Fun fact: you may know this glass-encased room as the arena where King Silas held court in Kings.) Above, you can see my iPhone photo, from my perch in the nosebleed seats, of John Legend‘s performance. Rather …
Tuned InUncategorized
Judging American Idol: The Final 4
This was rock night on American Idol, which meant a visit from Slash, and, in the great tradition of Spinal Tap’s Stonehenge, a pre-show stage accident that kept the Final Four from singing a run-through. In addition to the solo performances, each Idol sang a duet—an Idol performance night first—which makes it a little confusing to …
Tuned InUncategorized
You're Getting a Chicken! And You're Getting a Chicken!
One advantage of spending time on this “Twitter” thing that all journalists have suddenly discovered is that you can stay appraised, at any time, of what topics are “trending” on the site—what matters are plaguing the universal subconscious of the world, or, at least, that portion of the world blowing its time on Twitter. Swine flu. …