For years, I’ve been curious about the Doctor Who universe. What is it about this series – the most successful sci-fi series ever to appear on television – that has warranted such a rabid and loyal following? With the DVD releases for 1964’s Doctor Who: The Sensorites and 1984’s Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani Special Edition, it was the perfect opportunity to jump into Doctor. Who bandwagon.
In 2001, the Icelandic government allowed for dramatic deregulation of their banking community. The result was a considerable economic boom the likes the country had never experienced with the unemployment rate dropping to a meager 2.3%. The same policies that allowed such an enormous upturn, however, resulted in the bubble burst of 2008. One of the biggest economic downturns in global history ensued, with the three largest Icelandic banks combining for a $62 billion foreign-currency debt. Iceland was first, the world followed. If you’ve seen the excellent Charles Ferguson documentary, Inside Job, you are familiar with the troubles that resulted in the more morbid post-2008 Icelandic economy.
In 1987, two young men from Wisconsin left home in search of the American Dream. They took the obligatory trek westward to California, hoping to strike it rich in gold mining, show-biz, privacy invasion, or whatever it was that drew people west; as though the only benchmark for individual progress was how far west one went or how far away from home one got. They eventually made it to San Francisco and took up residence in a pre-gentrified apartment building that they lovingly referred to as the “Pepto Bismol Palace” on account of some questionable taste in exterior paint colors.
Eames: The Architect & The Painter is a case of a really interesting subject matter told in a rather by-the-numbers fashion. It’s a well-organized look at husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames, whose influences in architecture and design you are no doubt familiar with, though you may not realize it. Their chair designs became a staple of modern furniture in the 1950s and beyond. They made scores of them. Today you can hardly walk through any airport and not see their influence if not their exact models.