Blog Profile / The Critical Condition
| URL : | http://www.thecriticalcondition.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Entertainment / Pop Culture | |
| Posts on Regator: | 406 | |
| Posts / Week: | 2.5 | |
| Archived Since: | April 27, 2010 | |
Blog Post Archive
Visit My New Website!
Hey everyone! The Critical Condition is closed, but you can keep up with all my writing and filmmaking, plus contact me at markgblankenship.com.
Join Me at Logo TV’s New Now Next!
Hey everyone! Perhaps you noticed that I stopped updating The Critical Condition last month. I am delighted to say that my long pause is being followed by a great opportunity. As of today, I am a pop music blogger for Logo TV’s New Now Next. That’s right! I’m getting paid to write about pop songs [...]
“Warrior:” The year’s most philosophically terrifying Oscar nominee
No joke: The worldview in Warrior, the fighting movie that scored an Oscar nomination for Nick Nolte, makes me shiver. It’s terrifying. And I just wrote about why at NPR’s Monkey See. Here’s an excerpt: make no mistake, Warrior wants us to know it has a philosophy. Consider younger brother Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy): Within [...]
Elizaveta’s music is weird… and I like it
You guys, Elizaveta’s music is weird. Her album Beatrix Runs, which was physically released yesterday after arriving in digital form a few weeks ago, fuses opera, chamber pop, and electronica into this Regina Spektor-Tori Amos-Enya combination that really stands out from everything else I listen to. I only discovered her work, in fact, because it [...]
When Watching a TV Show Is Like a Screwed-Up Relationship
You know how sometimes you feel like you’re in an actual, romantic relationship with a TV show? A few days ago, my friend Casey and I G-chatted about that, and we started thinking about all the different types of TV romances we’ve had. The broken, the beautiful… we covered it all. And just in time [...]
“Top Chef” Meets Pee-wee (God help us all)
Last night, Pee-wee Herman was the guest judge on Top Chef. And I don’t mean that “Paul Reubens, the actor who plays Pee-wee Herman” was a guest judge. No. I mean that Paul Reubens in character as Pee-wee Herman showed up for the Quickfire and opined on everyone’s pancakes. Then he told them they’d be [...]
The Best Food Writing I’ve Read in a While
As I was making my daily internet rounds this morning, I came across an especially delightful essay in the New York Times by Leslie Kaufman. Titled “My Sons, the Sous-Chefs” it chronicles her recent decision to get her sons—one 14, one 10—to be responsible for cooking some of the family meals, and if I were [...]
Two of My Favorite Musical Theatre Songs (And Why I Love Them)
I don’t have a particular reason for writing this post today, except that I’ve been meaning to write it for a while. In late 2010, I had the good fortune to see this embedded performance of William Finn’s Elegies, a song cycle he wrote about the people in his life who had passed away. Finn—who [...]
My Dream Oscar Ballot
The Oscar nominations are being announced tomorrow morning, and unlike most recent years, I’m not really jazzed about the frontrunners. I mean, I liked The Artist well enough, and I didn’t hate The Descendants, though that little brat of a teenage boy sure pulled me out of the story every five seconds. When a film [...]
5 Hollywood Stars Who Squandered Their Goodwill
Last night, while I was waiting for Top Chef, I decided to watch Devil on HBO On Demand. In case you don’t know this masterpiece, it’s mostly set in the elevator of a Philadelphia office building. The elevator gets stuck, and one by one, the five people in it are murdered. Because one of the [...]
“Roseanne” and My Adolescent Shame
On today’s installment of the Extra Hot Great podcast, I recount how an episode of Roseanne sparked one of the most embarrassing things that ever happened to me. Along with the rest of the team, I also discuss Joyful Noise, Mark Wahlberg, and several other high-octane topics. Do go listen… and enjoy my shame!
Let’s discuss the Wikiepdia blackout (and all it suggests)
It’s not just that I’m a Wikipedia junkie. It’s more than that. Although I am a Wikipedia junkie. At 12:07 this morning, I reflexively went to the site to look up some random bit of trivia—the chart peak of a Sting single, to be exact, even though I have a book with the same information [...]
The Year in Songs 2011: #10-1
[#40-31; #30-21; #20-11] [Last year's countdown] Here they are: The best of the best, the most of the most, the… you know. 10. “Countdown” by Beyonce As a nation, I still don’t think we’re ready for the genre-smashing dance explosion of this song, which I analyzed in depth a few months ago. How else to [...]
The Year in Songs 2011: #20-11
[#40-31;#30-21] [Last year's countdown] The countdown continues! Get ready for some devastating ballads and a few happy songs that are so happy you’ll probably freak with all the happiness. 20. “Dimming of the Day” by Alison Krauss and Union Station This song is a minor classic in the country-folk world. It was originally written by [...]
The Year in Songs 2011: #30-21
[#40-31] [Last year's countdown] Welcome back! Let’s keep things rolling with some very, very cute boys. Oh, and some good songs, too… 30. “I Won’t Let You Go” by James Morrison Ooh, lord! James Morrison is all, “I’m sensitive, and I sing really well about loving you through hard times!” And I’m all, “Kiss me [...]
All the content is back!
Hey everyone! As you may have noticed, all of the content is back on the site. WOOOOO! The only things are missing are the three most recent posts—the last three entries in my music countdown. Those will all be re-posted by Tuesday.
Technical Difficulties
Hello everyone. For no apparent reason, my site crashed today, deleting every post I’ve written in the last 18 months. All of them. Gone. I will keep you updated about what this means and whether or not the work can be retrieved.
The Year in Songs 2011: #10-1
[#20-11; #30-21; #40-31] [Last year's countdown] The time has come… the time to get down with our baddest selves, to weep our most beautiful tears. It’s time to unveil the year’s ten best songs… 10. “Countdown” by Beyonce Inexplicably, “Countdown” has failed to become a massive international hit, while “Party Rock Anthem,” the worst song [...]
The Year In Songs 2011: #20-11
[#30-21; #40-31] [Last year's countdown] The countdown continues! Get ready for some devastating ballads and a few happy songs that are so happy you’ll probably freak with all the happiness. 20. “Dimming of the Day” by Alison Krauss and Union Station This song is a minor classic in the country-folk world. It was originally written [...]
The Year in Songs 2011: #30-21
[#40-31] [Last Year's Countdown] —- Welcome back! Let’s keep things rolling with some very, very cute boys. Oh, and some good songs, too… 30. “I Won’t Let You Go” by James Morrison Ooh, lord! James Morrison is all, “I’m sensitive, and I sing really well about loving you through hard times!” And I’m all, “Kiss [...]