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Revisiting Cthulhu (with videos!)
There’s been an avalanche of inquiries and more than a few requests that we look back in on Cthulhu and the rest of the pantheon of Lovecraft‘s Very Creepy Ones. But lest we speak too much of them, and stir … Continue reading
Rebuttal to libertarianism
Found myself in a verbal disagreement with a libertarian today. Which was disconcerting, because just based on etymology, I’d assume I’d be in agreement with anyone self-identifying with a variant of the root word ‘liberty.’ Indeed, I’d even self-identify as … Continue reading
Nevermore
Today, January 19th 2012, was Edgar Allan Poe‘s two hundred and third birthday. It was the third consecutive year that the Poe Toaster failed to materialize. The Toaster, for all my life and much longer, offered an elegant annual salute … Continue reading
Turn off your damn phone
In the great scheme of things and compared to the larger woes of the world, it’s not that big a deal. On this we can probably all agree. But those woes, those great schemes, are precisely what we seek to … Continue reading
Cultural destruction
Art inspires emotion. That is its reason for being. But what if those emotions are incomprehensibly negative? What if the inspiration is to destroy? No idle speculation, this. A brazen (not to mention expensive) bit of art vandalism occurred just last … Continue reading
100 Years in 10 Minutes
What were the most consequential events of the last century? A more subjective question can’t be asked. This video takes a crack at it though, with one hundred years worth of highlights; from Roald Amundsen’s South Pole expedition in December … Continue reading
Spineless Classics
Media mashups are often iffy propositions. “Artistic segregation” might sound like a bad thing, but there’s usually a good reason why artistic genres, types and mediums are remorselessly assigned to their narrow cubbies. Andy Warhol never should have tried making movies, … Continue reading
Back with Bourdain, bringing a dark Christmas
Anthony Bourdain has a dark side; that’s at least half of what makes him so entertaining. But Bourdain can’t be blamed for the dismembering of Christmas-cheer that is the legend of Krampus. Krampus is St. Nick’s demonic sidekick, according to … Continue reading
The Panel of Lions
What can we tell from the most cursory examination of this painting? Well, it’s plain to see that a pride of lions is stalking something. The object of their fascination isn’t visible to us, but all of them are clearly … Continue reading
Guernica 3D
Is great art static? Does it capture a moment in time, then remain unchanged for posterity? Or is it permissible to reinterpret historical masterpieces with modern technology for the sake of new appreciation? These aren’t hypothetical questions. Artist Lena Gieseke … Continue reading
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Tagged Guernica, history, Lena Gieseke, Michele Smarty, Picasso, Words I Seek
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How TV chefs saved Thanksgiving
Pop culture critics are sometimes hard pressed to find anything redeeming in pop culture. I confess to finding myself afflicted in just that way, very often indeed. But there’s one pop-culture phenomenon that, although it’s been pilloried by many, I … Continue reading
Just another plagiarist
If working writers were designers of the afterlife, then a particularly brutal hell would be waiting for plagiarists. plagiarize 1716, from plagiary (c.1600), from plagiarius “one who kidnaps the child or slave of another,” also “a literary thief,” from plagiare “to kidnap” (see plagiarism). Related:Plagiarized; plagiarizing … Continue reading
Shakespeareans Anonymous
The old, raging debate about the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays (and presumably, of his other work) has reignited, thanks to the new John Orloff/Roland Emmerich release, Anonymous. I haven’t seen the film, but I understand it posits that the Earl … Continue reading
Of saints, sinners and relics
John Lennon’s tooth is for sale. That was one of the weirdest sentences I’ve ever written. Omega Auctions of Cheshire, UK is handling the sale (Cheshire Cat joke, anyone?). The molar/memorabilia has been projected to fetch £10,000, although as Omega’s … Continue reading
