The problem is the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. So, if a person condemned to die is kept from knowing the source, consistency and content of the drugs that will kill him or her, how can anyone know if it is cruel or unusual? In January, the final words […]
cruel
Posted inArts & Culture
Amour
In other words, the guy is definitely not the lovey-dovey type. But that unblinking, cold-blooded aesthetic is largely what makes Amour, coming to home video after an Academy Award win for Best Foreign Language Film, so remarkable. In its depiction of an elderly Parisian couple coming to terms with illness and looming death, the film […]
Posted inMusic
St. Vincent — Strange Mercy
No longer girlish in her vocal performance, Annie Clark grips a “horsehair whip” brought to life by her sinister voice that’s simultaneously desperate for intimacy and confident expressing it. The line “no kisses, no real names” makes it pretty clear that she’s playing the dominatrix here. All that’s missing is a black mask on the […]