Paul Levinson
Bio
Novels The Silk Code, The Plot To Save Socrates, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles; LPs Twice Upon A Rhyme & Welcome Up; nonfiction The Soft Edge & Digital McLuhan, translated into 15 languages. Prof, Fordham Univ.
Stories (742)
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Review of 'We Hunt Together' 1.2
We Hunt Together 1.2 really upped its game. First, the killing team of Freddy and Baba got another two murders under their belts -- or, in at least one case, up hanging from a tree -- which is a lot more than the usual one you'd expect from serial killers in a single episode. And our detective team of Jackson and Lola seem even smarter than in the first episode, or at least Jackson did. Lola is revealed as a druggie, which may compromise her work (or maybe not, if we believe what Sigmund Freud said about at least one drug in his infamous Cocaine Papers).
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'We Hunt Together' 1.1
A different kind of detective show, just on Showtime: We Hunt Together. How is it different? British -- well, there are lots of those. Somewhat unusual format: About equal time to the build-up to a murder, that happens three days before the detectives begin to investigate. That's interesting, but not enough to make We Hunt Together compelling.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Report on 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 4
And the 2020 Democratic National Convention concluded on Thursday night, very likely the most important political convention in our American history, because it nominated candidates for President and Vice President for what in many ways is the most important election in our history, upcoming in November. Why so important? Because it's the last and only chance to vote out of office a President who is the biggest threat to our democracy in history, Donald Trump.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'Lovecraft Country' 1.1
Finally had a chance to watch the debut of Lovecraft Country on HBO. I was pulled away this past week by the Democratic National Convention, televised and virtual and truly inspiring. And it was oddly appropriate that I did not look at Lovecraft Country until just a few nights before the upcoming Republican convention, which begins on Monday. Creepily appropriate, because Lovecraft Country is a tableau of racism and horror, and that's pretty much what I expect to find in the Republican National Convention. Would be nice if that meant I didn't need to watch any of those four blustering nights.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Horror
Report on 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 3
What a speech by Barack Obama on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the first virtual National Democratic or Republican Convention in history! I thought the speech was so pertinent and powerful it was even better than his speeches as President, and in his campaigns for that office. Unafraid to call out the monster, the would-be destroyer of our democracy, now in the White House. Sobering, inspiring, chilling, and so very necessary.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Report on 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 2
I thought the second day of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, totally virtual, on television last night, hit an emotional tone which was at once as deep as it gets, and hopeful. The casting of the nominating ballots, state by state, in alphabetical order, was especially moving and satisfying, a much better multi-faceted picture of America than could ever be offered in an in-person physical convention, because we actually got to see the states and cities across this country from which the delegates, multicultural, colorfully dressed and spoken, were casting their votes.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Report on 2020 Democratic National Convention, Day 1
I thought the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the first virtual convention ever held, was truly effective. Not only because of what the well-known speakers said, which was passionate and true and highly effective, but also because of several speakers I don't recall seeing before at any national political convention.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'London Kills'
My wife and I binge-watched another two-season U.K. offering from Acorn TV: London Kills. It's been billed as akin to Criminal Minds and Castle, but, episode for episode (five per-season for this mini-series), I liked it better than either of those fine shows. How's that for praise?
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'Striking Out'
My wife and I binged the two seasons of Striking Out, originally (in 2017-2018) on Irish TV, now on Acorn via Amazon Prime. The show only ran two seasons, and there's apparently no prospect for a third season, which is a shame, because the two seasons were quite good, and the second season ended on an unexpected turn of events.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in Criminal
Defending the Postal Service
It seems strange to have to write in defense of the U. S. Postal Service, but it's a measure of the depravity of the man in the White House, and how far he's willing to go in his flailing attempt to win another term in office. Removing sorting machines, removing mailboxes, doing whatever he can to gum up the works of a service that everyone loves and has never been more essential in this our age of the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming Presidential election. An election which could well determine the fate and future of democracy in this country. An election which the person now in office will do anything to win,
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Kamala Harris: The First Step Back from the Precipice
I wrote a few days ago (and also posted a podcast) about why I strongly disagreed with Wade Davis's conclusion, in "The Unraveling of America" in Rolling Stone, that America was so far gone, in ways that the abysmal treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic epitomizes but didn't initiate, that nothing could reverse that decline. Nothing, including and especially, the upcoming Presidential election. I explained why I thought such a conclusion was not only dangerous but wrong, and cited FDR's election in 1932 as a ringing example of how a Presidential election can indeed make a difference, in that case, lifting us out of Great Depression, and enabling us to the lead the free world to defeat the Nazis.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
Why the Upcoming Election Matters
Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis posted a savvy article in Rolling Stone, entitled The Unraveling of America. Its thesis that America's generally atrocious handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, under our "buffoon of a president," laid bare a decay and decline that already was well underway, in racism and income inequality, is well-evidenced and well-argued, and undeniable. But I disagree with Davis on two important points, one historical, the other up and coming.
By Paul Levinson5 years ago in The Swamp
