Open Levinson

Paul Levinson's Open Salon Blog

Paul Levinson

Paul Levinson
Location
New York City, New York, USA
Birthday
March 25
Title
Professor
Company
Fordham University
Bio
Paul Levinson's The Silk Code won the 2000 Locus Award for Best First Novel. He has since published Borrowed Tides (2001), The Consciousness Plague (2002), The Pixel Eye (2003), and The Plot To Save Socrates (2006). His science fiction and mystery short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards. His eight nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), and Cellphone (2004), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into ten languages. New New Media, exploring how Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and blogging have changed our lives, was published in September 2009. Paul Levinson appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News," the “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS), “Nightline” (ABC), and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog. Paul Levinson is Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City

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MARCH 9, 2012 5:48PM

Person of Interest 1.17: Hearts and Places

Person of Interest 1.17 brings out Reese and Finch's humanity when they're set to protect a six-month-old baby girl.  And Reese's, even more so, when he's faced with a decision.

Reese and Finch are also trying to protect Elias' father - just released from prison - from Elias who wants to kill/… Read full post »
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MARCH 9, 2012 4:44PM

Awake 1.2: "Whole" Family

With episode 1.2,  I would now say Awake is the most complex, intelligent show on network - and maybe all - of television.

Among the central issues:  Why are the shrinks - Dr. Lee in the yellow, wife-alive reality, Dr. Evans in the blue, son-alive reality - not also present in the/… Read full post »
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MARCH 9, 2012 3:08PM

In Defense of KONY 2012

KONY 12, the 30-minute documentary uploaded to YouTube on March 5, already has more than 56 million views - or averaging better than 10 million views per day.   The video is being talked about in mass media - I heard reports about it on WINS radio in New York City yesterday,/… Read full post »
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MARCH 6, 2012 11:38PM

Super Tuesday: Money Isn't Everythng in Politics

Mitt Romney outspent Rick Santorum better than ten to one in GOP primary states voting or caucusing today.   The result:  Santorum won in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and North Dakato;  Romney won in Massachussetts, Virginia, Vermont, and Idaho, and may win by a whisker in Ohio.  And… Read full post »
3 Comments
MARCH 5, 2012 9:31PM

The Walking Dead 2.11: Young Calling the Shots

Another to-the-wall ethical dilemma on The Walking Dead 2.11 last night - which means the most exquisite kind - about what to do about Randall.

In favor of killing him, everyone other than Dale at first.  Argument in favor:  Randall was part of the group that attacked Rick et al in town.&nbs/… Read full post »
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MARCH 4, 2012 3:02PM

Doo Wop Forever

Not the most important topic in the world,  but I couldn't help shaking my head and laughing about this article in yesterday's New York Times -  "A Doo-Wop Shop Prepares to Close, Signaling the End of a Fading Genre" - not only needlessly apocalyptic about this music, but illogical and igno/
… Read full post »
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MARCH 2, 2012 6:57PM

Awake

I was awake enough to see and enjoy Awake on NBC last night.  And you do have to be fully awake to appreciate this show, whose story is a little complex.

But here it is:  Police Detective Michael Britten (played by Jason Isaacs, of Brotherhood and lots of other fine fame) is/… Read full post »
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MARCH 2, 2012 6:29PM

Sandra Fluke and Two Presidents

It was good to see Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke supported by two Presidents today - the President of the United States, who called Ms. Fluke just before her appearance on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC show this afternoon, and the President of Georgetown University, who sent an email this morning tha/… Read full post »
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MARCH 2, 2012 1:01PM

Obama and Time Travel

Sheriff Joe Arpaio dragged out the birther fantasy yet one more time yesterday, releasing a report that found fault with Barack Obama's birth documents.   I understand that paranoia is insatiable, and if you want to believe that a birth certificate has been forged or altered, no amount of e… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 29, 2012 3:56PM

Why the Monkees are Important

The untimely death of Davy Jones raises the question of why The Monkees were and are important.  They sold millions of records in the late 1960s, but beyond that -

The Monkees were the first example of something created in a medium - in this case, a rock group on television -/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 27, 2012 1:11AM

After the Oscars, The Walking Dead 2.10 Meets John Stuart Mill

After an excellent Oscars with Billy Crystal - except for the cowardly ABC bleeping - it was pleasing jolt to see The Walking Dead 2.10, which was all about rules.

Rick vs. Shane: whose rules?  We've seen that before, lots of it, but this time their argument over what to do with/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 25, 2012 4:50PM

Person of Interest 1.16 Meets Wall Street

One of the good things about Person of Interest is the variety of people needing rescue, protection, and stopping in the stories, ranging from victims of criminals to victims of the CIA and lots of situations in between.  Episode 1.16 brings Reese to Wall Street - not the Occupy kind, but/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 24, 2012 11:21PM

Fringe 4.14: Palimpsest

A palimpsest is a page from which the original text written upon it has been scraped off or removed, so new text can be written upon it.   But if you scrape away the new text, you might still find enough remaining of the original text to read it.

This is the subject/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 24, 2012 4:27PM

Santorum's Deficient Education

Probably Rick Santorum's blanket denunciation of colleges and universities as "indoctrination mills" is the least offensive of his 18th-century regressive, repressive views publicized in the past few weeks.  But that's because his views about contraception, for example - which he opposes, even t… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 24, 2012 3:44PM

Trying to Like Alcatraz

Well, I've been watching Alcatraz - seven episodes so far - the latest J. J. Abrams production.  That in itself was a good reason to watch it.  Although I disliked the ending of Lost, the series at its best was one of the best ever on television.  Alias was also superb,/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 22, 2012 9:09PM

John King Fails to Ask Santorum Crucial Follow-up Question in CNN Debate

The point just came in the CNN Republican Presidential debate in which moderator John King asked Rick Santorum about his views against birth control.

Santorum gave a long answer, mostly about the large number of children born out of wedlock, how they are so often in poverty, and how that was ruining/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 20, 2012 1:13AM

The Good Wife 3.15: Will and Baseball

The coming attractions to The Good Wife 3.15 showed Will, in danger of disbarment, leaving the office with a baseball bat.  The relative good news, as we found out tonight, is that Will isn't going off to bash anyone.  He's going off to play baseball.

He'll have a little time on his/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 20, 2012 12:32AM

The Walking Dead 2.9: Worse than Walkers?

What could worse than those flesh eating, hard to kill cause they're already dead, walkers?

Well ...

We  found out early in s 2.9 tonight that Lori is ok - after killing a couple of walkers.  And her baby's presumably ok, too.

Except that Shane is sure it's his.  And Lori gives Rick what/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 19, 2012 9:52PM

Rick Santorum's Wikipedia Page Is Locked

Rick Santorum's Wikipedia page is locked - or "fully protected," to the use the Wikipedia parlance - which means no one other than administrators can write to the page, make edits, make corrections.  The protection started on February 18th and will be in effect until the 21st, unless an administ/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 18, 2012 12:14AM

Fringe 4.13: Tea and Telepathy

Let me get the excellent standalone story of Fringe 4.13 out of the way:  Walter, adding honey to his tea, realizes that the case at hand involves a telepathic group of people who, just like bees, are able to communicate to one another at a distance and pursue shared  survival goals.

Excelle/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 14, 2012 11:39PM

NCIS 9.15: DiNozzo and the Word-Slinger

He's DiNozzo.  She's a reporter - a "word-slinger" as DiNozzo puts.  There were engaged, on the verge of getting married, nine years ago.  And she called it off.  And Gibbs puts them together on the case in NCIS 9.15, in a funny Valentine's episode indeed.

Better than usual fine li/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 13, 2012 3:30PM

Best Grammys Ever

I don't remember any Grammy Award ceremony being better than last night's - and I've been watching every one of them since the 1960s.

Any one of the following would have been enough to make last night's Grammys extraordinary -
  • Paul McCartney's ending medley, joined about halfway by friends (including J/
… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 13, 2012 1:05AM

The Walkiing Dead 2.8: The Farm, the Road, and the Town

The Walking Dead was back tonight with the second part of it second season, and I might as well get to the most stunning part:

Lori is driving into town to bring back Rick, Glenn, and Herschel.  She's not sure of the way, looks at her map - no GPS in walking/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 11, 2012 2:42PM

Person of Interest 1.14: Reese as Ronin

A soulful Person of Interest 1.14 this past week, with Reese teaming with the kid he has to protect, as he helps him bring to justice the killer's of the kid's older brother.  The kid's talented in music and art, and well versed in the popular culture.  He sizes Reese up/… Read full post »
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FEBRUARY 10, 2012 11:02PM

Fringe 4.12: Double Westfield / Single Olivia

Another primo Fringe tonight - 4.12, co-wrriten by J. R. Orci and Graham Roland - which,  like previous episodes this fine season, tells two stories, one proximate, one deeper, which reflect the central setting this season, or of our universe/alternate universe generating a seemingly new our uni/… Read full post »
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