In Good Form

I once attended a Dethlok/…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead show at Ryan Family Auditorium in Tech. I will comment no further on this poor choice, except that I thought it would be in good form. Actually, it is also relevant to mention I had never listened to (or quite frankly [...]

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Looking at the Family Tree

 
When Rock N’ Roll first began gaining popularity, no one could have predicted the various branches and perversions of its childhood form.  Naturally, genres in music evolve throughout time, but over the course of the last decade we’ve seen the fostering of metal, death metal, deathcore, grindcore, hardcore, tough guy hardcore, progressive rock, indie rock, [...]

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Tom Cruise

I think I speak for many Americans when I say that I despise Tom Cruise. We all have our reasons, whether it be his obnoxious behavior on Oprah or his weird Scientology beliefs. Some will never forgive him for what he did to Katie Holmes (what did he do to Katie Holmes?), others, for the [...]

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Reality?

Reality television has taken over our televisions. Its nearly impossible to find a channel that does not have reality tv in their lineup. From the original shows like MTV’s “The Real World,” there have spawned a ridiculous amount of contest that put people against each other for some strange prize. VH1 has recently began a [...]

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The Modern Pet Owner

Today’s pet owner has been blessed with a myriad of consumable conveniences that his or her pitiable forbears lived without. Virtually every aspect of pet ownership has been changed by modern technologies. In 2008, caring for a dog or a cat is about as easy as caring for a goldfish or having an ant farm. [...]

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Hearts of POM

The war is fast approaching friends.  On all sides the enemy grows stronger and stronger, producing chemicals and unspeakable molecules, striking eternally and unceasingly at the hearts and bodies of American consumers.  Our worst fears are realized for biological war is at our door.  And what’s worse, we didn’t even know it.  Long gone are [...]

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Live from New York

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Any of you happen to see SNL this weekend? Or Sarah Palin’s interview with Couric?
I saw both, and what I couldn’t help noticing, while watching Tina Fey’s version of Palin, was that Fey hewed closely (verbatim?) to Palin’s actual replies. Palin’s befuddled, eliptical responses about Russia invading Alaska, or about getting the economy “back on [...]

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The Art of Text Messaging

Merriam-Webster defines the verb “text” as either one of two things.  Either it is to send a text message from one person to another via cell phone or it is to communicate through such a process.  The discrimination between the verb’s transitive and intransitive forms is illuminating.  Texting does not always entail communication.  That takes [...]

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Stop Fake Smiles

Fake smiles frighten me.  More than clowns, or bedbugs, or fear of failure.   Fake smiles are behind the economic crisis and the presidential hullabaloo.  If we could somehow eradicate fake smiles, I would be confident that my children could live peaceful lives – they would be loved, and never doubt the love surrounding them.  They [...]

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Fundamental

How many viewers came to the first presidential debate without preconceptions, expectations, or preference – in short, with enough objectivity intact to judge it as a debate rather than a publicity stunt?  Maybe Tim Lehrer, since he struggled long and hard to have the candidates face one another and directly address their arguments  – he [...]

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Test

Well this is very odd.

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Orwell, McPhee & the Litany

Didn’t someone in class today suggest the religious world as one worthy of mining for litanies? And how. Had I been quicker on the draw, I’d have noted what others in the room surely knew: the word “litany” comes from the Greek litê — a prayer, of sorts. A repetitive chant. Turns out the litany [...]

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