review of House of Cards season 4 

House of Cards has always been about our political reality writ large and therein in effect criticized and caricatured, and in Season 4 that dissonant consonance moved much closer - this time, because of what\'s happened in our off-Netflix reality and screens with Donald Trump.  Just last night, violence at his cancelled rally in Chicago - cancelled as a cynical political move by Trump, to make him and his racist views and followers look sympathetic - played out on cable news, just as my wife and I were watching the conclusion of House of Cards season 4.

Frank Underwood and his story in House of Cards was always over the top. As corrupt and ruthless as our political system is, a House of Representative hotshot has never risen to Vice President and then President the way Frank did, a way that included not only exquisite political maneuvering, but two murders thrown into the mix to add a little spice.

The over-the-top kicker in Season 4 - Claire getting on the ticket as Franks\'s VP - should not be that shocking or hard to believe, if we\'ve gone this far in the incredible story and willingly suspended our disbelief as per Coleridge.  But it was with typical flair and disconcerting zest in House of Cards.

And though Trump hasn\'t picked his VP as yet (thankfully, he\'s not yet even been nominated) and hasn\'t murdered anyone (as far as we know), he\'s veering close to murdering the primary process, at least in the GOP, and we\'ve still got some months to go before the Republican National Convention this summer.

Whether that will be a rerun of Frank\'s nomination on House of Cards remains to be seen.  What is clear right now is Frank and Claire are the most frightening people ever to be in the White House - check out that chilling last scene and what Frank says about terror - and Trump is giving them a run for his money in the world outside your window.

See also House of Cards Season 1: A Review ... House of Cards Season 2: Even Better than the First, and Why ... House of Cards Season 3: Frank, Claire, "Putin," and Superb

Labels: Donald Trump, House of Cards, television

w/stories about Orson Welles, John Lennon, David Bowie

The Chronology Protection Case movie, with new extended ending

With The Closer now ending its Winter 2011 season, and only six episodes left to go this coming Summer of 2012, it seems a good time to as...

=What's Newer than New New Media= October 24, 2015: 2 and 1/2 minutes about Uber Which new social media are gaining traction aft...

With The Closer ending its Summer 2011 run, and only a few episodes left for Brenda Leigh Johnson in the Winter finale, the question looms...

Who is Ben Hargrove?  He's the nom de plume - fictitious name - which Ken Cosgrove uses when his science fiction and fantasy stories ar...

Having delved into the meta-realms of unreal science fiction with Ben Hargove some five episodes ago, Mad Men 5.10 continues the enjoyabl...

Well, we got the apparent shock of the series on Game of Thrones 1.9 last night - after following the advice of the eunuch and others to c...

A Postcard from Isaac Asimov to Me - From 1979

I posted my blog about Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman and Isaac Asimov in several other venues last night, including the Daily Kos , where a ...

An excellent, nerve-wracking, powerhouse Season 2 finale of The Following tonight, in which, against all odds - almost no one significant ...

Hey, you've all seen that Citibank commercial, with the woman climbing to the top of an awesome rock formation, and another woman belti...

I caught the first three episodes of the new season of Dexter last night - Season 7, set to premiere on Showtime September 30 - courtesy o...

The Plot to Save Socrates on 10 Perfect Summer Reads Authored by NYU Alums

my Internet Science Fiction Data Base bibliography

This blog quoted in New York Times & Los Angeles Times & Boston Globe & The Atlantic!

TWICE UPON A RHYME on iTunes and Amazon ... SPUN DREAMS on iTunes and Amazon ...

ICYMI: recent interviews with Paul Levinson in Barren Island Books ... The Morton Report ... SpecMuse ... The Cult of Me ... Patrick Satters blog ... Hungry Writer ... Kathleen Valentine\'s blog ... Take the Plunge ... Writer\'s Bloc ... Noahkmullette-gillman blog ... Book Goodies ... johnmac Radio Show ... It\'s Psychedelic Baby!"

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Cellphone: The Story of the World\'s Most Mobile Medium and How... by Paul Levinson

Digital McLuhan #16 on Robert Anton Wilson\'s recommended book list ...

Sopranos Conference at Fordham Universty, May 22-25, 2008

Enjoy Levinson\'s Field Guide to Republican Tics

EllisLanding ... wide variety of books in excellent condition at low prices

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.  His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003),  Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).  His short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.  Paul Levinson appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"  “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),  “Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

Chronicle of Higher Education puts Paul Levinson in Top 10 (#7) of Academic "High Flyers" on Twitter ... Online University Data puts PL in "Top 50 Online University Professors on Twitter Worth Following"...

Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren\'s fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom

President, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, 1998-2001

I’m proud to be on the May 8 page of this calendar, with the following quote:

"What begins as a seemingly innocent campaign against indecency … always segues in short order into political censorship."

YouTube one-on-one with Bill O\'Reilly, Patrick Buchanan, Jesse Ventura, James Cameron, more

Educated Tastes food, drink, restaurants, recipes, groceries

Reverbnation Twice Upon a Rhyme and Spun Dreams albums

Black Sails 3.7: The Blackening of John Silver

Colony 1.8: Moon Base and Transit Zones

The New Knife in the O.J. Simpson Case: Reality a...

"the only people who have proof of their sanity are those who have been discharged from mental institutions"— Marshall McLuhan

The Factor about the private lives of news anchors

winner Locus Award for Best 1st Science Fiction Novel, 2000

"Forensic detective Phil D’Amato one of my favorite characters" -Connie Willis

"superb & often amusing account of one of greatest revolutions in human history" -Arthur C. Clarke

James Harris covers my "Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning)"

100 rare + unreleased tracks were on sale April 18-21, 2011. All proceeds went to help Japan! Thanks for your generosity! Tracks included Tori Amos, Sara Bareilles, Josh Ritter ... and Paul Levinson singing "Sunshine\'s Mine"!

Twice Upon a Rhyme reviewed in Jan-Feb 2011 Shindig Magazine

radio stations that have played tracks from

Twice Upon a Rhyme ... JackMix.FM ... RockOn365 ... Garage Lombus ... Way Off the Grid Radio ... BeautyRadio.com ... mjc Radio ... Progulus Radio ... fatBuzz ... The Rock Doctor ... Radio BGC ... Swan Fungus ... Gratitude Radio ... Travelling Underground ... Real Hit Radio ... More than Music and Memories ... Boston Internet Radio ... Memory Lane Radio with BIG BOB ... Outside the Dial ... Family Dog Radio ... Golden String Radio ... Positively Charged ... R@dio Dimension ... My Retro Radio ... Plastic Tales from the Marshmallow Dimension, WNYU, 89.1 FM, New York City ... Pete Fornatale\'s Mixed Bag, WFUV, 90.7 FM, New York City ...Click and get lucky!

science fiction magazines for sale: Analog, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Locus

Paul Levinson appears on "The O\'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News," "Nightline" (ABC), the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS), "The Dylan Ratigan Show" (MSNBC) and frequently on NPR and all-news radio...