Remembering Roger Ebert

by Tim McMahan

I always liked Siskel better.

Nothing against Roger Ebert, it's just that Gene Siskel seemed like a nicer guy. He seemed more relaxed, more like he was having fun, more like me. And his opinions about film more closely matched my own.

Plus, Ebert always seemed to be one beat behind Siskel, always catching up, always trying to meet Gene’s level of relaxed argument, but never quite getting...

It Began with Jodie Dallas

by Tim McMahan

Yesterday morning while getting ready for work, NPR ran the following story on 91.5 KIOS FM, which began like this:

“As the Supreme Court prepares this week to hear two cases testing the constitutionality of gay marriage, there’s one undeniable fact surrounding the debate: Americans’ views on gay marriage are changing dramatically. Steve Inskeep explored why with NPR’s Shankar Vedantam.”

This Quarter’s Music Roundup, Brought to You in Spotify

by Tim McMahan

Time for the usual roundup of what I’ve been listening to, this time stretching back to the beginning of the year. And for your information, all of it is available right now via Spotify.

I’m not trying to endorse the service, which is systematically fleecing just about everyone involved in the music industry. I'm just letting you know how I've come across the music, and it’s a lot different...

Consumer Politics in the Facebook Era

by Tim McMahan

Social media has breathed new life into the old concept of boycotts.

Case in point: I was perusing my Facebook newsfeed last weekend when I came across a post by someone urging his "friends" to follow him in boycotting Hy-Vee grocery stores. The reason: Hy-Vee (apparently) advertises on the the Rush Limbaugh radio show.

The comment was linked to an online petition at signon.org with this...

Dancing About Architecture

by Tim McMahan

Before we get started, a caveat: I’m not a huge fan of museums.

I know, what’s not to like about majestic limestone-carved capsules of history? How could you not want to spend hours studying the miracles and wonders of our great civilization’s past?

There’s just something about museums that bore the piss out of me.

Maybe it’s the static nature of it all, like staring at a bug encased...

The Project, Pt. 2: Growing Up Brady

by Tim McMahan

This is part two of a series that began in the Dec. 20 issue of The Reader. Read Pt. 1 here.

A quick scan of the internet showed that The Brady Bunch house had been on the market for more than a year. Once we finally got a look inside, we found out why.

The four-foot-wide solid oak door swung open to reveal a virtual lumber yard of blond wood paneling that stretched from the narrow,...

Oscar’s Dilemma: You Can’t See ‘em All

by Tim McMahan

The annual Oscar telecast is Sunday night, and I have yet to see all the movies up for “Best Picture.” I bet you haven’t, either.

A few years ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Blah-blah-blah made an obvious money-grab move for the studios and upped the number of nominees for Best Picture from five to 9 or 10. It would be as if the NCAA increased the number of teams invited to its annual...

Dirty Dancing: Singer/Songwriter Taps into the Power of Porn

by Tim McMahan

To say the video that feature’s Nebraska musician Eli Mardock’s song “The King of the Crickets” is NSFW (Not Safe for Work) would be an understatement.

Titled “Double the Pleasure,” the video opens with the sound of Mardock’s somber piano chords as two young women in bikinis -- Francesca and Caprice -- nuzzle on a cushioned wicker beach chair sipping cocktails. As they kiss, an MTV-styled...