Weekly Wikipedia Find: Slattery Report

The Slattery Report or the "Problem of Alaskan Development" was the proposal that following the Night of Broken Glass incident at a German pogrom just prior to the outbreak of World War II, Alaska, then a territory and not yet a state, be used as a Jewish refugee haven, but faced opposition from American Jews. Instead, Alaska remained an Okie backwater from the dustbowl migrations.

Wikipedia by Week

Week Forty-Four: Isolationism
Week Forty-Three: Foxy
Week Forty-Two: Young Woman with Unicorn
Week Forty-One: Cosmicism
Week Forty: Prisoner's dilemma
Week Thirty-Nine: Demimonde
Week Thirty-Eight: Haemophilia in European royalty
Week Thirty-Seven: Library of America
Week Thirty-Six: Honeypot
Week Thirty-Five: Glasgow smile
Week Thirty-Four: Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel
Week Thirty-Three: Mono no aware
Week Thirty-Two: Royal intermarriage
Week Thirty-One: Amputee fetishism
Week Thirty: Turtles all the way down
Week Twenty-Nine: The Diogenes Club
Week Twenty-Eight: E pur si muove!
Week Twenty-Seven: Unico
Week Twenty-Six: Panopticon
Week Twenty-Five: Legendary
Week Twenty-Four: Ostern
Week Twenty-Three: Kilroy was here
Week Twenty-Two: Jack Parsons
Week Twenty-One: The Wold Newton Universe
Week Twenty: Anonymous
Week Nineteen: Monty Hall problem
Week Eighteen: Brown Booby
Week Seventeen: Dieter Dengler
Week Sixteen: New Jerusalem
Week Fifteen: Technological Singularity
Week Fourteen: Numbers Station
Week Thirteen: Culper Ring
Week Twelve: Mary Sue
Week Eleven: Byford dolphin diving bell accident
Week Ten: Deep-sea gigantism
Week Nine: Bloop
Week Eight: Rat king
Week Seven: Gustave Doré
Week Six: Tomorrow
Week Five: Borscht Belt
Week Four: Swampman
Week Three: Chinese room
Week Two: Ambrose Burnside
Week One: Lolita fashion

Needs More Goldblum: The Big Chill

Jeff Goldblum plays a tall, awkward Jew (L'chaim!). He is a journalist, a real journalist for People, whose average article length correlates to the length of time it takes to take a crap. He is supposed to be on flight to write about a blind baton twirler, but he postpones it to stay the weekend. But what he really wants to do is open a club. Fuck that shit. He's going to go back to his novel.

Back in college, when everyone was still idealistic (like the friends' plan to buy all that land) was to "go to Harlem and teach those ghetto kids." I guess this is like his girlfriend Annie who still sustains those ideals. But we never see her. Are they still together. He tries unendlessly to fuck around on her. He's after Chloe, Alex's girlfriend, before dead friend Alex (suicide) is even cold in the ground. Of course, his ethos seems to be "everyone does everything just to get laid." So it would appear he's still true to his ideals. Plus we see him unpack a shitload of condoms from his luggage.

Top Five V: The Films of Steven Spielberg

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
2. Jaws (1975)
3. Empire of the Sun (1987)
4. Jurassic Park (1993)
5. Munich (2005)

Unseen: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Amistad (1997), Always (1989), The Color Purple (1985), 1941 (1979), The Sugarland Express (1974)

N/A: Shorts, TV Films (Unseen: Duel (1971)), Anthology Films

Honourable Mentions:

• Minority Report (2002)
• "D-Day Invasion," Saving Private Ryan (1998)*
• Schindler's List (1993)*

*If this was an Essential Spielberg list and not my personal top five, these "important" films about WWII would have a spot.

Update 25/05/08: I have since seen 1941 (1979). Having seen it, I can say that the entire film is shot with a sickly, gauzy softness that tries to purpose itself as cinematic shorthand for nostalgia.

Needs More Goldblum

Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription.. is more Goldblum!

Those crazy eyes, that nervous energy, the manic chattering, his tall, lanky frame, the slick black-brown hair, the classical tall, dark, and handsome figure underwritten by a certain, unmistakable Jeweyness. A sort of wry, knowing humour. The eyes darting, overthinking the delivery. You just have to be honest with yourself, and admit, that yes, the Goldblum easily makes any film he appears 300, 400% better.