Book: "The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank" by David Plotz
David Plotz uses his case study of The Repository for Germinal Choice (also known as The Nobel Prize Sperm Bank) to answer the question of how American society today has negotiated with the idea of selective breeding. Plotz's investigation is expressly intimate, both in the manner he addresses the reader, and in the manner he addresses his subjects. - Latif Nasser
Music: "Birthday Party," The Winks
The Winks hit me in a spot that no other band today can reach. Until now this Montreal duo's formula has been: one mandolin plus one cello equals the quirkiest, most experimental pop around. This album, their eighth, may be less quirky, less experimental and less pop than the rest, but it sounds grander, more severe and more like jazzy rock music. To use a line from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," this album has a "certain noisy relaxed quality" to it -- just like the best birthday party you've ever had. - Latif Nasser
Movie: "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," directed by Jacques Demys (1964)
Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is the original Moulin Rouge; both share sappy yet catchy tunes, a dizzying color palette, and of course a sob-worthy love story. What makes The Umbrellas of Cherbourg so incredible though -- besides the well-known fact that everything is more tragic in French -- is Catherine Deneuve's glowing on-screen presence that is the perfect mix of innocence and natural charm. The entire film smacks of the '60s, but the result is trippily pleasing rather than cheesy. And the result is so visually stimulating it's doubtful you'll even notice that the male lead, Nino Castelnuovo, can't really sing. - Amy Davis
TV: "I'm from Rolling Stone," MTV Sundays at 10 p.m.
This MTV reality show follows six interns at Rolling Stone Magazine vying for a permanent job contract and screwing up with pathetic interviews, tardiness and poor writing in the process. These kids came to work for the legendary magazine expecting a rock-and-roll lifestyle with the stars, but every time they party out late, or hang out with musicians, something goes wrong and they are scolded like children by the Rolling Stones editor. Watching their disappointment over "real work" like rewrites and research is quite amusing. Hopefully Rolling Stone has better talents actually working for them. - Erin Choo
