Open Levinson
Paul Levinson's Open Salon Blog
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
MY RECENT POSTS
- Paul Levinson reads from
Unburning Alexandria
April 20, 2013 03:07AM - The Americans: True and Deep
January 31, 2013 03:39PM - New Dallas Back for Second
Season
January 29, 2013 08:08PM - The Following 1.2: Joe, Poe,
and the Plan
January 29, 2013 01:32AM - Bones 8.13: Two for the Price
of One
January 28, 2013 11:18PM
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “How is what I'm
proposing tyranny?”
July 28, 2012 11:30PM - “Depraved people may
indeed be able to get banned
weapons. But
the best we can
do…”
July 22, 2012 08:28PM - “Thanks, Walter.”
July 18, 2012 03:13PM - “:) Glad to hear
it!”
July 13, 2012 07:12PM - “Gordon - actually, I
always thought a smile is
worth a
thousand words.”
June 30, 2012 09:14AM
Paul Levinson's Links
APRIL 20, 2013 3:07AM
Paul Levinson reads from Unburning Alexandria
I've just finished writing the concluding chapter of Unburning Alexandria - sequel to The Plot to Save Socrates - which will be published on Kindle, iTunes, etc as an ebook by JoSara MeDia next month. As a little appetizer, I thought you might enjoy this brief reading… Read full post »
JANUARY 31, 2013 3:39PM
The Americans: True and Deep
The
Americans, with Keri Russell as one half of the Soviet sleeper
spy couple so deeply undercover in Washington they're more American
than most of us, debuted on fx last night. It was superb.
First, about Keri Russell, there are two interrelated things about her past as an actress that make her/… Read full post »
First, about Keri Russell, there are two interrelated things about her past as an actress that make her/… Read full post »
JANUARY 29, 2013 8:08PM
New Dallas Back for Second Season
Not long after
the sad news of Larry Hagman's passing, the new Dallas came
back last night for the two-hour debut of its second season.
J. R's still in the first number of episodes, and his
appearance now gives a special tug on the emotions.
The plot has been revved up to/… Read full post »
The plot has been revved up to/… Read full post »
JANUARY 29, 2013 1:32AM
The Following 1.2: Joe, Poe, and the Plan
The
Following followed through tonight with an episode as tight and
powerful as the premiere, which is to say, about as
on-the-edge-of-your-seat powerful, frightening, and unexpected in
its twists and turns indeed. The Following is not like
any other show on network television, and more than mo/… Read full post »
JANUARY 28, 2013 11:18PM
Bones 8.13: Two for the Price of One
Bones
8.13 opens with two corpses, buried right next to each, one
apparently dead of natural causes, the other of the unnatural cause
of murder.
I guessed the killer - the killer being the killer of both women - pretty much as soon as I saw him. There was something about the/… Read full post »
I guessed the killer - the killer being the killer of both women - pretty much as soon as I saw him. There was something about the/… Read full post »
JANUARY 27, 2013 9:03PM
The Hobbit: A Review
Finally had a chance to see The
Hobbit, Peter Jackson's beautifully rendered prequel to his
Lord of the Rings masterpiece trilogy.And I mean beautiful. The Shire never looked more verdant and shimmering. Rivendell and its falling rivers was just breathtaking - you could practically f/… Read full post »
JANUARY 26, 2013 12:44AM
Fringe Evita
There was no Fringe to
see tonight, so my wife and I went to see September - aka Michael
Cerveris - in the next-last-evening in the fine Broadway
revival of Evita. Our daughter, who is not a
Fringe fan, bought us the tickets - because she knows my
wife and/… Read full post »
JANUARY 22, 2013 1:57PM
Bones 8.12: Face of Enigmatic Evil
As much as I
enjoy the dancing, comedy, flirtation, and intellectual puzzles in
Bones, it's always good to see the team beset by a good
old-fashioned psycho genius. Zack Addy is still the
quintessential best example of this - what more could you ask for,
the beloved Bones intern in/… Read full post »
JANUARY 22, 2013 3:06AM
The Following Begins
A nasty night of entertainment on Fox
tonight, with a dark episode of Bones followed by the
premiere of a much darker series - as in a serial killer just
one or so steps below Hannibal Lecter - called The
Following.James Purefoy, best known to the American audience as Mark Antony/… Read full post »
JANUARY 20, 2013 4:22PM
Criminal Minds 8.12: Spencer's Burden
An excellent
Criminal Minds 8.12 this past week, which prompts my first
review of this long-running show in more than a year.
Spencer has had a girlfriend all season - a girlfriend Spencer style. They almost met in person, but the meeting was left hanging when Spencer was concerned that his/… Read full post »
Spencer has had a girlfriend all season - a girlfriend Spencer style. They almost met in person, but the meeting was left hanging when Spencer was concerned that his/… Read full post »
JANUARY 19, 2013 12:47PM
Free Sample of The Plot to Save Socrates
In the year 2042, Sierra Waters, a young graduate student in Classics, is shown a new dialog of Socrates, recently discovered, in which a time traveler tries to argue that Socrates might escape death by travel to the future! Thomas, the elderly scholar who has shown her the document, disappear/
JANUARY 19, 2013 12:10PM
Fringe Finale: A Review
Some series start off great, then slowly or
quickly fall apart. Some shows start off great, decline, come
back with a brilliant season or two, but falter badly at the end.
Like Lost. Some series just get better and
better. Like Fringe, which saved the very best for
last.There/… Read full post »
JANUARY 15, 2013 9:19AM
Double Bones 8.10-11
A real treat for Bones devotees tonight -
two episodes, 8.10 and 8.11, back to back.The second episode - 8.11 - was one of the best episodes of the series as far as science verging on science fiction, so let's start with that. A murdered archeologist leads the team to/… Read full post »
JANUARY 13, 2013 11:20PM
Lincoln
Well,
Spielberg's Lincoln didn't win the Golden Globe, but I still
think it's the best bio-pic I ever seen.
Daniel Day-Lewis did win for best actor, and his performance was extraordinary. No one alive today can know what Lincoln was really like. But Daniel Day-Lewis certainly captured wha/… Read full post »
Daniel Day-Lewis did win for best actor, and his performance was extraordinary. No one alive today can know what Lincoln was really like. But Daniel Day-Lewis certainly captured wha/… Read full post »
JANUARY 12, 2013 12:17PM
Telepathic Reading from The Plot to Save Socrates - in Second Life
My avatar
reads (via mental telepathy) from the beginning of The Plot to Save
Socrates ... the virtual reality world of Second Life ...
Read this with your own eyes ... a free sample of The Plot to Save Socrates
Read more of The Plot to Save Socrates - Kindle US ... Kindle UK&… Read full post »
Read this with your own eyes ... a free sample of The Plot to Save Socrates
Read more of The Plot to Save Socrates - Kindle US ... Kindle UK&… Read full post »
JANUARY 12, 2013 12:01PM
Fringe 5.11: September with Hair and the Jumping Ropes of Paradox
In many ways it's the least significant part of
the story. But it speaks to how much Fringe has
pivoted to its two-hour series finale next week - a finale in which
Walter's plan to end the Observers will be put to the test.
We find out this plan tonight,/… Read full post »
JANUARY 10, 2013 3:38PM
Justified 4.1: Literate Boyd quotes Asimov and Keynes
I've been
quietly watching and much enjoying Justified on FX the past
few years - it's that kind of show - but decided it was time to
bestow a review upon it.
I picked a good time. The first episode of the 4th season had Boyd Crowder (played by the brilliant Walton/
I picked a good time. The first episode of the 4th season had Boyd Crowder (played by the brilliant Walton/
JANUARY 9, 2013 11:49AM
NCIS 10.11: Family and Bullets
A powerful
NCIS 10.11 last night - in fact, the best of the season so
far, and the first of a two-part story - which features my favorite
character, Ziva, and her father Eli.
NCIS always does a great job with fathers - whether Gibbs', DiNozzo's, or Ziva's - but Eli, being/… Read full post »
NCIS always does a great job with fathers - whether Gibbs', DiNozzo's, or Ziva's - but Eli, being/… Read full post »
JANUARY 8, 2013 11:53AM
The Hour 2nd Season
Hey, I was on
a British roll last night, and saw not only Downton
Abbey, but The Hour.
I reviewed The Hour last summer, in conjunction with the American Newsroom, which must have been inspired in some way by The Hour. But the two shows are also very different, with The Hour… Read full post »
I reviewed The Hour last summer, in conjunction with the American Newsroom, which must have been inspired in some way by The Hour. But the two shows are also very different, with The Hour… Read full post »
JANUARY 7, 2013 5:20PM
Downton Abbey
No time travel
or serial killers, so what's a review of Downton Abbey doing
here? Hey, it's a great period piece that takes place just a
tad earlier than Boardwalk Empire, but that's not really the
reason either. Downton Abbey is a guilty pleasure for
a science fiction and in-your-face cr/… Read full post »
JANUARY 6, 2013 1:49AM
Looper: Close Knit Time Travel
What better way to start of the new year than
with a review of a fine time travel movie - Looper, which
came out this past Fall. I almost never dislike a time travel
movie, so to say I liked Looper is no big deal. But I
more than liked it,/… Read full post »
JANUARY 1, 2013 10:21AM
Happy New Year Emon Hassan
Who's Emon
Hassan - well, if you Google him, you'll find out he's a very
talented photographer, videographer, filmmaker, and lots of those
kind of good things. I've benefited greatly and directly from
his work. He took the black-and-white photo of my smiling
face that you'll see on my Twi… Read full post »
DECEMBER 22, 2012 12:43AM
Fringe 5.10: Montage Revelation
A spectacular and spectacularly informative
montage at the end of Fringe 5.10 tonight - the 4th last
hour of Fringe we'll ever see. A precis of crucial
moments in Walter's life, conveyed by the boy Observer (who we
learn is not a child but a genetic anomaly) to Walter, with/… Read full post »
DECEMBER 17, 2012 1:54AM
Homeland Season 2 Finale: The Shocker and the Reality
Homeland pretty well outside itself
with its spectacular Season 2 shocker-finale tonight - which
is saying a lot, since last season's finale was pretty shocking and
spectacular itself.I knew something big and unexpected had to be up, with Brody getting out of the CIA's assassination cross-hairs/… Read full post »
DECEMBER 17, 2012 12:59AM
Dexter Season 7 Finale: The Surviving Triangle
Dexter's superb season 7 concluded tonight with an episode
that was, well, just superb. It was also predictable, in a
satisfying way, at least to me.
Superb to see Doakes back again, in newly created flashbacks. His presence tonight provided some crucial, specific reasons that he cam/… Read full post »
Superb to see Doakes back again, in newly created flashbacks. His presence tonight provided some crucial, specific reasons that he cam/… Read full post »
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