An Existential Nightmare

David Foster Wallace Postsecret

2011-02-20T21:50:00.002-05:00

Chicken In A Bucket

2010-06-24T20:09:00.001-04:00

Mother Fuck it.

Lost WTF?

2010-06-09T06:14:00.005-04:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.This video more or less sums up the questions I have as a fan of Lost. This is especially true of anything Christian Shepard, DHARMA Initiative, and Walt related. However, it doesn't go nearly far enough. If I ever meet anyone from the show I am going to be the most annoying fan boy ever. What was the sickness on the freighter? How

Got Lost

2010-06-04T04:10:00.007-04:00

Lost is over. What am I to do? Turns out my meta-theory was sort of right, at times, maybe, I don't know. I guess the point is that none of it really mattered anyway because they all die in the end, sometime. Don't exactly know when it turned into Six Feet Under. Ok, a lot of (hardly any) stuff got explained in the end. Don't rightly know what the deal was with the numbers, for instance.

Batman: The Complete Outdated History

2009-10-14T09:39:00.003-04:00

Batman is ridiculously old. Created in 1938 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, he is almost as old as comic books themselves—what we think of as a serialized comic book today began sometime around 1935 and Detective Comics (DC) #1 was published March 1937—but he is still just as popular as he’s ever been. In his comprehensively researched book, Batman: The Complete History, Les Daniels details every

Is Aaron Karo Having More Fun Than You?

2009-09-26T14:57:00.003-04:00

A better question to ask would be, who is this guy? This leads to other questions that must first be asked like what authority does this Aaron Karo have? Why would I care what this guy’s day-to-day life is like at all? Or to use his phrase, “Who the fuck are you?” Well, Aaron Karo is a stand-up comedian—his routine for the most part appears in the book and isn’t too bad

Poor Grendel Had an Accident

2009-09-22T17:29:00.005-04:00

Up until reading Grendel, I only knew its writer, John Gardner, through his career suicidal book length essay On Moral Fiction so I thought of him as a pompous ass-hat whose attitude made him seem like a sanctimonious, elitist prick. After reading the essay, I was pretty much over Gardner and his accusatory ways. So for years I ended up putting off reading this book told from the perspective of

DeLillo's Falling Man may disappoint but it is still the best 9/11 novel to date

2009-09-16T18:20:00.007-04:00

There isn’t a writer alive who is more talented or more prophetic than Don DeLillo. Even though his most recent novel, Falling Man, published in 2007, (which I completely by coincidence finished reading on September 11th which marks the eight year anniversary of the Horror) falls short of the work he has done in the past, it is still the best work of fiction dealing with the events of 9/11.

The Joker Kills It

2009-09-15T22:13:00.006-04:00

Watchmen author Alan Moore’s retelling of the Joker origin in his one shot, Batman: The Killing Joke, focuses on the psychological warfare Batman and the Joker have long been engaged in. While the short graphic novel proves in some ways groundbreaking and has enjoyed much influence in the Batman universe and continues to hold an incredible amount of pull with the various

Spawn is certainly at the end of something

2009-09-05T16:27:00.005-04:00

The June publication, Spawn: Endgame (Volume 1), which collects Spawn Issues 185-190 and marks the return of creator Todd McFarlane as writer, accomplishes the much hyped “New Players, New Game” slogan ripped from the ads proclaiming the new direction the comic will be taking by obliterating everything readers know about the first 17 or so years of its run. Unfortunately,

This here is My Boomstick, Mr. President

2009-08-21T21:57:00.003-04:00

Ash is back and he’s a liberal. Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama, the first in a four part mini-series, will surprise many as a quality comic. Set at a Detroit comic book convention, the character that made Bruce “Jack of all Roles” Campbell famous once again finds himself face-to-face with the Deadites. Think of it as Dawn of the Dorks. Anyone who has seen Evil Dead,

Googling Yourself Can Be Interesting

2009-08-16T03:35:00.003-04:00

Quitters never say die. If any potential employers were to Google my name, Aaron Brewington, there is practically no chance of me ever getting a job in the future. For the longest time the number one thing to pop up was a list of registered homeless persons living in New York, it was funny to everyone in college, not so much now though. I wish I could

The Creation Myth- Batman: Year One

2009-08-15T02:41:00.014-04:00

We all know how Bruce Wayne became the Batman. If you’ve read a single Batman comic, watched any Batman movie or television program, perused any of my Batman related blog entries, or have heard anyone say practically anything about this strange hero—then you already know about how little Brucey’s parents were murdered in a stick up gone bad on Crime Alley from which he

9/11 Comics

2009-08-10T00:47:00.009-04:00

Approaching the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, reading the first volume of 9-11: Artists Respond feels a little weird. This comic was published in January 2002 but most of the work there in came just after the Horror and as such is for the most part a lot of shock and holy shit type reactions mixed with all that gushy American patriotism that pretty much

Watchmen: Mother Forgive Me

2009-08-02T02:38:00.005-04:00

Reading Alan Moore’s Watchmen for the second time in the last couple of months, I have to say it got better with the second reading—and I still think that I can become Rorschach if I wanted to—but even more than that, I have grown to love the movie—dare I say—at least as much as I do the graphic novel. My initial reaction was annoyance that they

Frank Miller's Ronin: Your Everyday Dystopic, Post-Apocalyptic, Time-Traveling, Masterless-Wondering-Samurai-Turned-Ronin Tale

2009-07-15T04:31:00.020-04:00

Ronin, Frank Miller’s graphic novel, published in six installments from 1983-1984, is one of Miller’s most unknown projects, and probably one of his best. Of his three comic books I have read in the last month, Ronin, published first, falls between Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, but is lies closer to DKR than to that other piece of crap. This

Holy Horseshit Batman: Miller Tarnishes Legacy with DK2 (Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again)

2009-07-13T06:29:00.008-04:00

After reading Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns a couple of weeks ago, I could hardly wait to tear into Miller’s long awaited sequel The Dark Knight Strikes Again. All I can say is what happened. This work, which was pretty much universally panned, rightly so, featured a storyline that was confusing and boring and just kind of weird and still manages to be

Michael Jackson 'Beat It' To Death

2009-06-26T05:52:00.012-04:00

Just when you were getting over the death of Ed McMahan or hearing about Farrah Fawcett, everyone went wacko for Jacko’s departure. Not that there needs to be another “Michael Jackson Dead at 50” blog article—considering everyone and their siblings (Jermaine) are throwing in their two cents—but can’t people just chill out. Maybe I have no room to speak here since I did gain some notoriety when

David Sedaris Signed My (And Friends) Shit

2009-06-24T05:00:00.008-04:00

Winston Salem—Just got back from a book signing with David Sedaris at the W-S Barnes & Nobles at about 2:15 am and wow. First of all, really nice guy, he is probably still there signing books—its about 4 in the morning now—which he started an hour before his scheduled reading, which lasted an hour, that began at 7 pm. And this all takes place in the middle of week where he does this same thing

Eggers Shows How We Are Hungry

2009-06-20T04:26:00.008-04:00

How We Are Hungry (HWAH), Dave Eggers’s third book, his only of short stories, published in 2004, after A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius, a title that the book may have lived up to, and You Shall Know Out Velocity! (YSKOV!) and before What is the What, was also, coincidentally, the third book of his I have read. I admit that the one I have not read is the “work of genius,” but after

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

2009-06-18T21:51:00.011-04:00

After reviewing Warren Ellis and John Cassidy’s standalone crossover comic Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth, I figured it was high time I checked out Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. To say this graphic novel is a masterpiece of the genre is understating it—it is of the best the genre has to offer and one of the best works of fiction of the last quarter of a century.

Crossing Worlds With Team Planetary Ends Up Going One-For-Three

2009-06-03T04:48:00.022-04:00

Planetary: Crossing WorldsWarren Ellis and his DC Comics subsidiary WildStorm team have put together Planetary: Crossing Worldswhich collects the three one-shot crossover tales—when characters from one comic interact with characters from another comic—of the series into this one edition; however, while the three separate works are grouped together in this volume for convenience, that doesn’t mean

Thoughts From My Tortured Brain While Reading C.S. Lewis Classic, The Great Divorce

2009-05-24T04:26:00.004-04:00

Years ago, when I was teaching at Tilton, a guy working there told me I would like C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce, seeing how I love Dante, Milton, and William Blake. Now that I will never talk to the guy again, I finally got around to reading it and more than anything else, it sort of made me freak out. In undergrad, when I read Dante, I was at a totally different place

Reasons Why I Hate Kate Austin of Lost

2009-05-22T08:49:00.009-04:00

Last week’s season finale of Lost, The Incident, pissed me off through the one medium of the show that always pisses me off—Kate. After getting past all the mystical shits and unpredictable events that always make up a Lost season ending episode, what you’ve got to notice is the predictable reactions from the show’s weakest character, Kate Austen. In it I saw Kate fucking Austen being

Lost's Season Finale Was An Incident

2009-05-16T15:39:00.002-04:00

Holy shit. If you haven’t watched the season finale of ABC’s Lost yet then stop reading now for God’s sake and watch it! Its on ABC’s website and surfthechannel. Here be Spoilers. This episode, The Incident, Parts 1 & 2, changes everything. Or does it? (FYI- Theories for the most part will be below my review in footnotes.) The episode begins with some Mennonite

Yep, Al Davis, Still Insane

2009-04-28T04:11:00.008-04:00

Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis, or Sith Lord Darth Sidious as he is also known, managed to further tarnish his legacy this past week with his ludicrous picks at this year’s NFL Draft. What I will remember most from the 2009 NFL Draft will be the out-of-touch-meddler’s decision to take Maryland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who most did not project as a first rounder, with

Ten Movies That Could Kick Your Ass

2009-04-26T02:22:00.025-04:00

Earlier this week, Sara, the female companion, let it be knownst that she had gone 26 empty years without seeing Die Hard. "What's that?" she said. "You have got to be shitting me!" I replied. "It is literally the best action movie of all time.""Nf-kay, literally the best action movie of all time, whatevs."So she Googled the phrase "best action movie ever" and a bunch of lists came up. #1 on

After Reading Maddox's The Alphabet of Manliness I Am All That Is Man

2009-04-24T03:27:00.023-04:00

Not too long ago, I was perusing the "Humor" section of Barnes & Noble and came across a book with a guy dressed like a gladiator punching King Kong in the face on its cover. The book was The Alphabet of Manliness, written by 30-year-old internet personality Maddox, whom I had never heard of, and yeah, I couldn't imagine an image more manly than a guy picking a fight with the Great Ape (see

Lost in the Junkhouse: Our Excursion to Cook's Flea Market

2009-04-23T02:11:00.008-04:00

For whom is this flea market fun? Not for lovers, as my female companion and I discovered. For us it is a place of fear and confusion... Having only spent about 45-minutes at Cook's Flea Market (CFM), I couldn't imagine a more depression inducing place and I will never go back.Last Saturday, before entering the 155,000 square foot building that houses some 500 booths, I couldn't help but

I'm a Dick-Head: A Review of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle

2009-04-16T01:59:00.011-04:00

Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award winning masterpiece, The Man in the High Castle, was recommended to me by a new friend who reads more than pretty much anyone I have ever known and whose intellect would be intimidating if he weren't so Goddamn humble and easy to talk to. This was the first bit of literary reading advice I took him up on and post-read, I am now a "Dick-head."

If It's a Happy Death You Want, Assisted Suicide Probably Not the Way To Go

2009-04-14T02:10:00.004-04:00

So, Albert Camus's A Happy Death isn't all that happy of a book. Go figure. With the word "Death" right there in the title, capitalized and everything, and a work of Camus, the third of his five novels I have read (The Stranger and The Plague before it), I wasn't exactly shocked when things don't exactly go/end well. Basically a preview of The Stranger, the novel features a guy named Marsault

Can You Believe What an Asshole Zach Randolph is?

2009-04-08T02:31:00.019-04:00

Zach Randolph. Forward for the Los Angles Clippers. Former "Jail Blazer" and New York Knick. Convicted felon. Alleged rapist. Asshole. Earlier this week Randolph managed to add to this list of accomplishments by getting himself arrested for a DUI. What a guy. I sort of have history with this douche from playing AAU against him and his brother--the one that fired a gun at a night club and

Did I Mention I Was Captain of the Dipp Team in College?

2009-04-07T00:52:00.006-04:00

I have been what you would call a "sultan of Skoal" since my first year of college. Since 2001-ish, you would be hard pressed to find me without a pinch of tobackie in my mouth, the only exceptions being work, class, and when making out with a woman (usually). Chewing tobacco, also known as woman repellent, combines some of my favorites things in life--i.e. the taste/smell of dirt, spitting,

That 80's Movie: How Hollywood Ruined the Ending to Watchmen

2009-03-13T15:08:00.017-04:00

I read Watchmen the other day, preparing to go into the film with the graphic novel fresh in my mind. I was pretty excited seeing how ridiculously awesome the trailers were and how great the book was--on Time's 100 Greatest Novels of the Twentieth Century--and I did think most of it was pretty great; however, the things that did not make it to the big screen from Alan Moore's book severely

In Petrol Speramus: The Impending “Crude Awakening”

2009-01-15T02:29:00.004-05:00

The excrement of the devil, black blood, the blood stream of the new economy, the blood of the dinosaurs, the blood of the earth, black gold, Texas tea—oil—the subject of Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack’s documentary A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash is one of the most terrifying films I have ever seen; however, after doing some research and talking to some environmentalist acquaintances, it seems

Hmm. A lot of Mumbo Jumbo You Say

2008-12-23T06:34:00.003-05:00

What to think about Ishmael Reed’s postmodern novel Mumbo Jumbo? Well, I don’t rightly know, so after an overview of the novel’s themes and storylines, I will try to explain how this book could be genius or possibly drivel, I am unsure which, but in the end its message is one that is extremely powerful and relevant to everyone who has ever lived.To begin, here is my summary: The book’s plot

The Areas of His Expertise

2008-12-23T06:03:00.003-05:00

John Hodgman’s book The Areas of My Expertise was hilarious. Yes, I actually found myself laughing out loud and what not; but that was not what was most fascinating a bout the book. Actually, the whole thing was pretty fascinating, even if it was completely made up.I was turned on to John Hodgman’s work, funny only if you know that JH is the PC guy in the Mac commercials, by my girlfriend. If

I am Rejestered to Vote!!!

2008-11-20T02:19:00.002-05:00

I just got my voter registration card in the mail yesterday, several months after I registered and two-and-a-half weeks after the election. Well, I guess I could still be outraged or whatever but I still got to vote and the election turned out in my party’s favor so I am not, for once. However, Rock the Vote is now on the “Dead to Me” list that I have resurrected from like junior high after

This week picks for the NFL: Week 12

2008-11-18T23:32:00.000-05:00

I have mentioned before that I used to gamble a lot and I ended up getting pretty good at the NFL picks game that I used to play at a bar run by my old man’s bookie. I liked this because the entry fee was only like $10 and the payout, depending on the week, was about $800 for first and a few hundred for second and third. I got first once and second a couple of other times so I would say that I

Date Night With the Female Companion: Movie Night

2008-11-14T04:51:00.002-05:00

My female companion and I went and saw two movies the other day, sneaking in Chipotle burritos, Izzies, and chewing tobacco (no booze this time) and they were both quirky and funny. The first of the two was the movie Role Models which despite its apparent plot holes was pretty funny. The cynical viewer will note the poor judgment in our judicial system for sending two young assholes to work with

Throw an Old Dog a Bone: Paul Auster’s Timbuktu

2008-11-13T03:43:00.004-05:00

Timbuktu, Paul Auster’s heartbreaking novel, tells us more about the we live in and the way we treat “the least of these” than any other book I have read in recent memory and has moved me into action on more than one occasion. Paul Auster, with his literary genius, which has touched more so than any other author (excluding DFW of course), achieves these great feats through the eyes of the

Two Readings of Fahrenheit 451

2008-11-09T10:27:00.003-05:00

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, while not the most significant book that lead me to pursue literature as a career—comint at different stages of my life, as though preordained, those would be The Stranger (12th grade), The Divine Comedy (junior year of undergrad), and Infinite Jest (my 1st [and part of my 2nd] year out of college)[*]—this is the book that started process. “She was the first person

My Second Favorite Writer (Jonathan Franzen) on My Favorite Writer’s (David Foster Wallace’s) Suicide

2008-11-09T09:57:00.003-05:00

In the middle of September, when my literary hero, David Foster Wallace, committed suicide, I was a wreck. I was a wreck before and I have been a wreck since. But I didn’t know the man. Previously, I knew that Franzen and Wallace were friends, but I didn’t know they were best buds. Since learning that, I was anxious to hear what Franzen would say about his amigo’s death by hanging and the

An Obama Nation

2008-11-09T03:50:00.010-05:00

These are notes that I put together in the days leading up to the election and some thoughts from the day of. I am adding to this and trying to get it published. As always, comminents are much appreciated.AB T-minus six days until our great and beautiful nation has a peaceful and wonderful regime change, or to be technical begins one, since the change of power doesn’t become official until the

Top Ten Horror/Halloween Related Movies

2008-10-30T02:50:00.005-04:00

Compiling this list, I tried to make it as accurate, yet original, as I could. Upon looking at several other lists, I discovered that most of these can be seen on most critics lists as well as the definitive 100 Scariest Movie Moments which aired on Bravo in 2005 and has been the regarded as the list to end all lists of the movie genre. Much like AFI’s list has its place in the back of minds as

Sources of Bushido: Inazo Nitobe's Book Bushido: Samurai Ethics and the Soul of Japan

2008-10-20T02:58:00.003-04:00

This work, written for a Western audience, was one of the first instances of any book on Japanese culture that found its way into the American literary world. Broken up into user-friendly sections with titles such as “Justice;” “The Duty of Loyalty;” “The Institutions of Suicide and Redress;” “Courage, The Spirit of Daring and Bearing;” and “Benevolence, The Feeling of Distress” it served as an

Blake’s Innocence: Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man through a Theological Perspective

2008-10-15T15:24:00.005-04:00

William Blake, protagonist of Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 Western Dead Man, died the moment he decided to go to Machine. Machine is his Hell, but not “the end of the line.” Up until he kills Gabriel Byrne’s character he is dying in the way in which we all are, moment after moment he comes closer to his day of judgment just as we all move closer to death as every second passes. After this bloody act,

The Medium is the Massage

2008-10-14T07:05:00.004-04:00

Visually stimulating, Marshall McLuhan’s study The Medium is the Massage is, in a word, cool. When I purchased this little cool book back in April, I was working on a research paper dealing with the “electronic church” and how televising religious phenomenon undermines the meaning and the message of that phenomenon which I titled “The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer,” which I thought was clever.[

An Amendment to “Black Friday”

2008-10-12T08:05:00.003-04:00

On a day that I posted about how in the service industry “there is no such a thing as being human,” I witnessed one of the most tender, least bull shitty acts human understanding I have seen in some time, and I must say, it actually moved me. The act, described below, was performed by a girl around 18-yearsold who is somewhat self-conscious and insecure and seemed to desperately want to make an

Black Friday

2008-10-11T15:22:00.002-04:00

The economy is something I cannot begin to understand. I read reports, ask knowledgeable friends questions, listen to debates, but most of all, I get my feel for the economy by how much money I have left over (or rather how much more I owe) after the necessary expenses are taken care of. According to this system, the only system I can pretend to comprehend, after the bare essentials and one

Coetzee on Robinson Crusoe's Foe Pas

2008-10-10T01:13:00.009-04:00

J.M. Coetzee’s 1986 book Foe deals with a story most of most of us are familiar enough with to pick up the names and the subtle critique of Daniel Defoe’s eighteenth-century island tale Robinson Crusoe. However, to fully appreciate the novel, you are going to have to put some work in by hunkering down and reread/read the book that Coetzee retells from a contemporary point of view giving voice, as

Yesterday's Crossword was One Worth Saving (Wink, Wink)

2008-10-07T18:21:00.003-04:00

I love a good crossword puzzle. I get this from my parents, their one intellectual activity aside from discussing politics and listening to NPR. The New York Times, of course, is my hands down favorite but it is rare that I get to work those because I typically read the it online and don’t have a credit card or the money to purchase the crossword portion of that paper. So when I get to do the

Original and Translated Freestyle Battle

2008-10-04T15:34:00.005-04:00

I usually the last person to see stuff like this so this video has probably been around for a year and thus not new to anyone, but if you haven’t seen it, oh my lord are you in for something amazing. At the dinner party my female companion and I hosted last Wednesday, a dinner guest showed us this video which made my mouth and eyes hurt I laughed for so hard and long. I haven’t laughed like

New Seeds of Devotion

2008-10-03T04:34:00.003-04:00

Personally, I do not watch television, nor do I regularly surf the web, so I end up having a lot of time to read and think about what I read—yet it is never enough. With the schedule I keep, which feels insane, there is rarely a moment when I do not feel the existential dread of constantly being in a hurry. Always on the offensive, in a state of perpetual motion, forever moving from one place to

The Dan Brown Shadow

2008-10-02T09:00:00.003-04:00

Matthew Pearl, whose debut novel The Dante Club, seen in many an airport travel station book section, surprised me as an enjoyable and creative read. When writing a book of historical fiction like this one, it is hard to stay clear of comparison to Dan Brown’s The Davinci Code which is, let’s say, umm, misleading and not taken seriously at all as a source of history or as a work of literature.

Grieving teams learn hard lessons after tragedy

2008-09-25T19:34:00.018-04:00

The piece below was published last Sunday as my follow article to the game I covered on Friday at Glenn. I didn't want to go the “Debbie Downer” rout being mindful that it had been a month and being sure the kids were probably tired of talking about it considering the tragedy of it and all. But I did ask everyone I interviewed how they were holding up and such and what teams were doing and things

My Limited and Biased Top 50

2008-09-20T09:53:00.001-04:00

I will say that list is more like the 50 books that had the most profound and lasting effect on my rather than a favorites list per se. The common denominator here with these books is that I read each and everyone of them at a time that I felt they were needed. Some of these books have become less and less significant as a piece of my world but nevertheless are still in some ways near and dear

Dead At 46: David Foster Wallace Hanged Himself and It Will Never Make Sense

2008-09-14T04:53:00.007-04:00

DFW, who is my favorite writer of all time and the inspiration for the name of this blog (from his novel Infinite Jest) and the first contemporary writer who has a substantial amount of work out there that I have read in its entirety, who I witnessed give the commencement address to end all commencement addresses—Kenyon College Class of 2005—which I turn to whenever I think

A Pit Bull in Lipstick is the Same as a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing; Isn't it?

2008-09-04T16:39:00.003-04:00

Gov. Palin, as it turns out, is a pit-bull. Not only did she herself allude to this, but often times I will employ this term for a person who at first seems passive and reserved to only surprise you with ferociousness when push comes to shove. My mother for example, standing at all of 5’2, has been called a pit bull before. Even though I agree with her—Palin that

Family Politics

2008-09-02T15:58:00.004-04:00

After yesterday’s announcement that Vice Presidential Candidate, Gov. Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old unwed daughter, Bristol, is pregnant, much attention has been placed back on the ever-present campaign issues of family values and abortion. This is, of course, something that happens to people all the time and is rarely even news worthy; however, with the

No Nation, No Beast

2008-08-25T02:16:00.004-04:00

Having read much in the genre of African Literature, I knew what to expect from Uzodinma Iweala's book Beasts of No Nation—things we Americans know absolutely nothing about in our, even those of us in the toughest of neighborhoods, in terms of capital S suffering. So the whole thing wasn’t really all that shocking, especially to anyone who has read a JM Coetzee novel (which are, in this

A Semi Blow

2008-07-14T04:53:00.002-04:00

Semi-Pro, the Will Farrell box office flop, proves a total waste of film and not even worth your time as one of the worst sports movies ever made with no redeeming qualities. There were maybe two points in the film that I smirked but never once did I laugh during its duration. The film seems to have been made with the sheer intention of marketing Budweiser. You will no

Men and Their Toys

2008-07-08T04:18:00.002-04:00

The documentary Guys and Dolls, which deals with the recent phenomenon of men purchasing Real Dolls that are the equivalent to a very realistic and very expensive blowup doll—something like a plastic woman—takes you into the lives of five men who own these inanimate people. The film itself, fine as far as it goes[1] in depicting this particular subculture, ends up showing you basically what you

Of Course the Candidate Caught Doing Prostitutes Thinks America’s a Theocracy

2008-07-03T03:36:00.007-04:00

Gary Hart, former U.S. Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate, offers some of the most insightful critiques of American democracy and the current state of affairs. As one who has studied Law and had a life long history in politics as well as a degree in divinity from Yale, Hart is one of the most qualified individuals on the planet to deliver such an outstanding blow for American politics.

Living in Sin

2008-07-01T13:17:00.007-04:00

Robert Lanham (The Hipster Handbook), with his 2006 publication The Sinner’s Guide to the Evangelical Right, has created a humorous and pretty smart beacon to shepherd those outside the know into some comprehension of what the “The Base” of the Republican Party is all about. And what the Religious Right is all about, more than anything else, seems to be free market capitalism with a second and

You Might Wanna Just Stay Away from the Zohan

2008-06-23T07:52:00.006-04:00

Oh this movie is RIDICULOUS. The worst movie I’ve seen in years, this “film” is an affront to all that is descent and holy (literally) in a way that is an achievement in its ability to embarrass its audience and make Adam Sadler look desperate for our laughs and our money. Having paid $9.50 for this waste of film, there is no way to explain the actual shitiness that is You Don’t Mess with the

McShakespeare: Something’s Rotten in the State of Pennsylvania

2008-06-04T20:04:00.002-04:00

Billy Morrissette’s Scotland, PA transforms Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, into a dark comedy set in the 1970s yet maintains many important Shakespearean themes at the film’s core. Unlike film versions which convert social structures from the original Shakespearian settings into more recent times, Scotland, PA is set in a working class town in Pennsylvania. As the film makes clear, greed and

Sor Juana's Poetry and Prose

2008-05-29T17:27:00.004-04:00

When studying Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz—her poems, letters, autobiographical stuff, biographies written about her, the Penguin edition’s introduction to her body of work, etc.—it becomes pretty clear that while spiritual in nature, her real identity is that of a scholar.Sor Juana’s “Response to the Most Illustrious Poetess Sor Filotea de la Cruz,” which appears in letter form, is apparently

One Can Certainly Smell Something: Concha Romero's "A Saintly Scent of Amber"

2008-05-28T13:48:00.003-04:00

Concha Romero’s allegorical “A Saintly Scent of Amber” (ASSA) presents a, to some extent, well known archetype and not only chronicles a period of church history rife with political/religious turmoil, she also modernizes the account serving to illustrate issues of relevance in the present day. Romero’s play, which at times borders on laugh-at-loud-hilarity, is arguably genius in the way it

Yeah We Can Interprt the Bible Our Own Damned Selves

2008-05-24T02:20:00.002-04:00

Martin Luther, German monk/theologian, effectively argues for church reform and against the supremacy of the pope which he bases on the Scripture. Constantly using the Scriptures to support his claims, Luther systematically shatters everything he considers unjust and argues with such zeal that his works present themselves in a way that is most impressive. In his Three Treatises Luther writes for

The Next Christendom

2008-05-17T04:26:00.000-04:00

In his book The Next Christendom, Philip Jenkins asserts that Christianity is going through “one of the transforming moments in the history of religion worldwide” (1) which (for the most part) has gone unnoticed in the West. The transition that is taking place Jenkins explains is the shift from a Western dominated Christianity to a Christianity of the Southern hemisphere. Even though this trend

Community Spirits: Living Buddha, Living Christ Review

2008-05-15T15:29:00.001-04:00

Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, in his work Living Buddha, Living Christ bridges the teachings of two of the worlds most popular and peaceful religions. With the Buddha and Christ as his spiritual guides, Hanh illustrates how Christians and Buddhists can learn from their founders that will improve and inspiring human lives the world over. In this powerful work, Hahn brings the reader to the

Copernicus Called and You are Not the Center of the Universe: The Gen Y Problem

2008-03-28T03:50:00.001-04:00

Until recently I always believed that it was possible to succeed in America with out making a lot of money. This seemed especially true in this day and age when all the people I associate with have at least a B.A. and can compete at about a AAA level when it comes to mental acrobatics. I was taught that money is easily found and there will always be sales jobs or whatever out there where the