TitleTales

Dystopian Visions: by Kim Stack

Adult Fiction post—06/05/09
The sky is blue. The birds are singing. We open our eyes to discover that we are marching in lockstep toward annihilation; toward a lack of civil rights; to a society so out of synch with what we desire, that we can only be in “Dystopia.” This summer we look ahead to the authorized graphic novel version of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and later this year will we see the fiftieth anniversary edition of William S. Burroughs Naked Lunch. The newest depiction of society’s ills through the dystopian novel continues with The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. The dystopian novel fascinates the reader, but generally illustrates a world so bleak and barren of joy, that I save them (and reading the also bleak, wintry cold Russian classics) for summertime reading, so that when the author has successfully wrenched my spirits, I can run outside to breath the soothing, warm summer air.

Best Worst Movie: by Erin Stachowiak

Audiovisual post—06/05/09
After seeing Best Worst Movie at the SXSW Film Festival in March of this year, I finally came to terms with the fact that I’m not the only one out there that enjoys watching bad movies. This particular film is a documentary about the cast of characters from the 1989 horror film Troll 2 and why it is celebrated as a cult phenomenon worldwide. The child star of the movie, Michael Paul Stephenson, directs this festival favorite which catches up with Dr. George Hardy (a small town dentist that has never acted again) and the rest of the cast and crew to show the unintentionally hilarious, yet entertaining creation of Italian director, Claudio Fragrasso. Best Worst Movie chronicles the popularity that can arise from a film for all the wrong reasons.

Children’s Choice Book Awards 2009: by Lori Fennel

Children’s post—06/05/09
Since more than 220,000 kids and teens cast their votes for the Children’s Choice Book Awards, and the winners and the books that go with them speak for themselves. Just like every year, some of the choices are eclectic but they’ve all been kid-tested and approved, thanks to the collective efforts of the Children’s Book Council and the International Reading Association. Why am I not surprised to find a certain pigeon here, with his puppy, his bus and his hot dog? I drew the line at him last blog, but, of course, the little guy is nothing if not persistent!

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