• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
James Maguire: Journalist, Author, Raconteur

James Maguire: Journalist, Author, Raconteur

James Maguire, Journalist, Author, Raconteur

  • Blog
  • About
  • Books Worth Reading
  • Music By Decade
  • Best Podcasts
  • Contact

Archives for May 2015

Gloria Steinem in March Across the Korean DMZ

May 25, 2015 by James Maguire
US feminist Gloria Steinem and South Korean peace activists march along a military fence at a military check point in Paju on May 24, 2015 after she crossed the border line through the demilitarised zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. An international group of women peace activists, led by American feminist Gloria Steinem, made a rare crossing on May 24 of one of the world's most militarised borders between North and South Korea. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE (Photo credit should read JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images) Gloria Steinem is one of my all-time favorite heroes. I adore her for her enlightened support of feminism. She’s a bright light of intelligence in a crazy world. Her most recent news: she was part of a group of women activists who walked across the DMZ between North and South Korea. From Huffington Post: "We feel very celebratory and positive that we have created a voyage across the DMZ in peace and reconciliation," said U.S. activist and feminist Gloria Steinem, honorary co-chair of the WomanCrossDMZ group, which is calling for a permanent peace treaty to replace the armistice which ended the conflict. As the women crossed into South Korea, there were greeted by protests by some conservative groups. The conservatives were responding to what they saw as an accommodating stance toward the North Korean regime by WomenCrossDMZ.org. I can’t believe that "accommodating" accurately describes WomenCrossDMZ.org. The group’s web site does, according to the HuffingtonPost, hosts a video that says “millions of North Koreans lack ‘basics of survival’ because of what it describes as ‘crippling embargos’ against the North Korean government.” Certainly the embargo does need to be in place, which is deeply unfortunate, because it hurts regular citizens, not the ruling elite. But North Korea must be hobbled. One point I’m sure the conservatives are missing: the walk across the DMZ was an embarrassment to the North Korean regime, because this rare march points out how rigid and militaristic the regime is; the march was a true mud pie in the face of Pyongyang. Steinem continues to be in the forefront of important work.
Read moreGloria Steinem in March Across the Korean DMZ

Mad Men’s Greatest Narrative Invention

May 21, 2015 by James Maguire
As the Mad Men series ends, the hype is overblown; sure, it was fun TV, but I’m not placing it in the pantheon of great art. Much of the series was enjoyable diversion, with plenty of routine office politics and a delightful splash of soap opera. I loved all those mid-afternoon Scotches and the constant cigarettes. The show’s greatest narrative inspiration was Don’s backstory: the poor boy, born to a prostitute, who goes off to war and (accidentally) kills his superior officer – and in that very moment he decides to assumes the dead man's identity. We don’t learn this until we’ve seen Don as the consummate ad man, able to conjure suburban mythos around a routine brand of soap. When we learn his self-creation story, we realize that this ultra-handsome demigod of Madison Avenue was just a scared buck private when created his greatest image: himself. This central act echoes all of our lives. We are all, to a certain extent, creating ourselves, spinning ourselves, inventing our personhood out of the materials at hand. We’re all doing some branding, selling something fabricated, woven a bit more from cotton candy than we care to admit. So we root for Don; hey, you’re inventing a greater self for yourself? We want to see you succeed; maybe that means we can succeed, too. But after a certain point in the series, Don always seemed to be falling, pulling us in with the pathos, his tumble from business grace or his struggle with some kind of hollowness. His bag was existential angst; his efforts at happiness never spun gold for very long. An early season ended brilliantly on this note. He sat alone at a bar, and a shark-like brunette with sex in her eyes approaches. She asks, suggestively, are you alone? Don turns toward her, facing us full in the camera, and we see that his depth of aloneness is so clearly beyond the romantic. The show’s other fascination was its glimpse of how far we’ve come since the 1960s; in those days, women got coffee, with a few, very notable exceptions – Peggy’s and Joan’s upward trajectory was the show at its most encouraging. As a period piece its glance in a distant mirror flattered us enormously, allowing us to feel thoroughly enlightened. Things are so far from perfect today, but Mad Men let us know they’re a damn lot better than they were. I’ll drink a midafternoon Scotch to that.
Read moreMad Men’s Greatest Narrative Invention
Ex Machina photo

Ex Machina — Deep and Entertaining

May 12, 2015 by James Maguire
Ex Machina photo Hip and funny and futuristic and philosophical and really pretty tippy -- yeah, I really liked Ex Machina. The movie's theme of humans building sentient conciousness isn't new. HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey famously intoned "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that Dave." But Ex Machina feels fresh in that it explores what, exactly, comprises human consciousness. Empathy and self awareness and sexuality and (on the dark side) the ability to manipulate another – these separate us from a programmed machine. Or, as the movie asks, is this enough? Is there something else? The film has fun as it teases its profound themes. Topping it off: actress Alicia Vikander as Eva. She brings a magic to the role, playing the knife edge between what might be really human and what's merely a machine parroting its creator. The viewer does, of a sort, love her, or at least feel enchanted – which is necessary for the film to work. This movie will be remembered.
Read moreEx Machina — Deep and Entertaining

Night is Falling…

May 10, 2015 by James Maguire
sanfrancisco Market and Fourth Street, Saturday evening, about 8:30 PM. Everyone's on their way somewhere....
Read moreNight is Falling…
Man resting on top of newspaper vending machines

This guy knows how to relax – really

May 8, 2015 by James Maguire
Man resting on top of newspaper vending machines
Read moreThis guy knows how to relax – really

Which Candidate Does Hillary Fear the Most?

May 8, 2015 by James Maguire
Chuck Todd surveys the Republican field and claims one young senator is Hillary's biggest worry. I don't agree -- I think her biggest threat is Jeb Bush. Plus: In New Hampshire polling, Chris Christie is actually trailing The Donald. Ouch!
Read moreWhich Candidate Does Hillary Fear the Most?

The Importance of the Mid-Life Crisis

May 7, 2015 by James Maguire
Bright red showy sportscar, parked on the street If not for the classic mid-life crisis, how would the manufacturer of this car stay in business? Sometimes a cigar is not just a cigar.
Read moreThe Importance of the Mid-Life Crisis

Sidebar

Search

Blog

Running Days: Tales of a Teenage Oxygen Junkie

December 18, 2022

The Joy of Pfizer

April 5, 2021

George Floyd and the Protests Heard Across History

June 6, 2020

Women in Tech, Tech in Transition

October 26, 2018

The ‘Rustic Apple Tart’ (Can Barnes and Noble Survive?)

October 23, 2018

Who is James Maguire?

October 14, 2018

The Meaning of Autumn

October 12, 2018

The Red Tide in Florida: What Have We Done?

October 9, 2018

Humblebrag: I won an award for my feature writing

April 28, 2018

My Tribe in the Music Store

April 7, 2018

March for Our Lives in SF – Feelin’ It

April 1, 2018

I turned the corner and there it was….

January 21, 2018

Nightfall 

December 2, 2017

The Zen Mountaintop of Transcendent American Consumerism

November 25, 2017

Life in the Bay Area

November 18, 2017

Copyright © 2023 · jamesmaguire.com ·sitemap