Mike S.

  • Movie Mondays: Happy Birthday, David Lynch!

    Director, artist, musician and all around good guy David Lynch turns 68 today. Lynch is indisputably one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary cinema, a man whose style has often been aped but never replicated. No other director can so often scare the pants off me and wow me with intense beauty, often in the same… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: The ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Primer

    It has been three long years since a Coen brothers film graced the silver screen. Thankfully, the drought ends this month with the release of their sixteenth feature, Inside Llewyn Davis. The film follows a struggling singer-songwriter in the burgeoning New York folk scene of the early 1960s. Want to get the most out of… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: Happy 50th Anniversary Doctor Who!

    Doctor Who is a British science-fiction show about a humanoid alien who travels through space and time with a companion (or two, hi Rory!) looking for adventure. On the eve of the show’s fiftieth anniversary it has never been more popular, especially in the United States. However, some of the show’s most ardent fans have… Continue reading

  • Happy Birthday Akira Kurosawa!

    While Akira Kurosawa’s status as the greatest director of all time is debatable, we’re all agreed that Seven Samurai is the best movie ever made, right? Good, I’m glad we got that all squared away. Akira Kurosawa was born 103 years ago today. A few short months later, in August of 1910, the University Branch… Continue reading

  • Paperback Readers

    Although not nearly as famous as Paul McCartney’s “scrambled eggs” dream that resulted in the iconic “Yesterday,” the birth of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is equally interesting. Being the 1960s, George Harrison was really into the I Ching at the time (see also: Pattie Boyd and LSD). He vowed to write a song by… Continue reading

  • See how pretty, see how smart

    Well kids, the self-proclaimed “greatest band in the history of music,” the Melvins will once again be gracing Seattle with their exalted presence May 13 and 14. They will be playing some of their most esteemed works, including the albums Houdini and Stoner Witch, in their entireties. If you need to find me I’ll be… Continue reading

  • Sit Down with Stand-Ups

    My colleagues inform me that March is the official month of mirth, a more depressing concept I truly cannot think of. Despite my enormous reservations with such a frivolously joyful demarcation (what next, Cake and Presents Day?!?), I resign myself to acknowledging such trivialities in my role of public servant. So here we are. Mirth.… Continue reading