The new CD from The Lost Patrol, Driven, was released on May 1, and I’ve just about played it to death ever since. This is their ninth album (I think – if there’s more I missed them and need copies asap) and there’s something a little uncanny about their ability to continue mining such a distinct […]
Author Archives | Samuel Smith
Happy Father’s Day: "The Day Daddy Died"
Today is Father’s Day, and S&R would like to wish a happy one to America’s dads. At the same time, and in the contrary spirit that often typifies what we do around here, I’d like to be the one who acknowledges that our relationships with our fathers are often less than we’d hope for. Frankly, […]
TunesDay: HOT NUN!
TunesDay usually happens on Tuesday, not Thursday. But the first video from the new self-titled Hot Nun CD was just released, so fuck the rules and roll the tape. Hot Nun is the latest project from Jeff Shelton, whom you may know from The Spinning Jennies and The Well Wishers (they’ve featured here at S&R […]
Legal, but not constitutional: how the government is weasel wording the public about Edward Snowden and the NSA
The Edward Snowden/NSA/PRISM uproar continues, and in the argument over whether or not he’s a Real American Patriot or your basic criminal vigilante the whole fucking point is getting lost. In fact, that argument is precisely the one that the Obama administration and the GOP’s security-state architects want us waging because it distracts us from […]
Prediction: Snowden/NSA case guarantees that the 2016 campaign is going to be weird, infested with irony
Edward Snowden’s status has rapidly transformed from “anonymous consultant drone” to “popular hero,” hasn’t it? In an age of cheap convenience, bread and circuses, the complete cooption of government by the corporate elite and an unprecedented culture of political Newspeak, we’re used to people talking the talk. But a zombie apocalypse seems more likely than […]
Komen Foundation circling the drain? Good riddance, and good news for cancer research
The Susan Komen Foundation announced this past week that it’s slashing the number of cancer walks it stages in half. In a decision “not made lightly,” the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure announced Wednesday that it was canceling seven of its signature three-day fundraising walks next year. The decision comes about 18 months […]
Mr. Obama, meet Benjamin Franklin
President Obama: President Barack Obama on Friday staunchly defended the sweeping U.S. government surveillance of Americans’ phone and internet activity, calling it a modest encroachment on privacy that was necessary to defend the United States from attack. Obama said the programs were “trade-offs” designed to strike a balance between privacy concerns and keeping Americans safe […]
Parenting in the age of (runaway) digital media
A newly released report from the Center on Media and Human Development at Northwestern University tells us some things we probably already know and some other things that ought to disturb us a little. Our good friend Dr. Lynn Schofield Clark, author of The Parent App, walks us through the main findings and offers some analysis in a […]
Tuesday Morning RAW: which five WWE superstars would you select to build a new promotion around?
WWE currently has around 75-80 “superstars” on the roster, and the list ranges from top-tier main eventers to new names most fans haven’t heard of yet and performers they probably thought were gone. Some of these people are tremendously talented, while some have the in-ring ability and charisma of a cinder block. Every industry watcher […]
The boomerang-shaped learning curve: my first year as a photographer
This weekend last year I bought my first camera and took the first tentative steps down the road to becoming a photographer. Yesterday I hung my first show, at DJ’s on Broadway in Denver.
Those were the days: RIP Jean Stapleton
Jean Stapleton is dead at 90. She was most famous for her portrayal of the longsuffering Edith Bunker in All in the Family, one of the most important shows in television history. As the tragically underappreciated wife of arch-conservative, verbally abusive, racist blowhard Archie Bunker, Edith may well have been be the most patient woman in the history of […]
Saturday Video Roundup: the Spanish Inquisition Mashup Edition
I’m a sucker for wack-ass mashups that no normal human being could possibly have seen coming. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition Mashup, bitches. Make sure you stick around for the whole show – I saved something special for last. You didn’t expect a Nirvana/Europe mashup, I’ll bet. Nobody expects Metallica meets Herbie Hancock. Adele vs. […]
Graduation Day 2013: remember when graduating meant something?
Back when I was growing up “graduation” meant one thing: high school. Well, it could mean college, in theory, but in my old neighborhood college was generally something that happened to other people. Mainly, though, it meant that a kid had somehow stuck it out, avoiding pregnancy and resisting the intoxicating allure of a lucrative […]
The NBA and the Miami Heat double-standard: the Stern Crime Family strikes again
Let’s review. This was an automatic, on the spot flagrant 2 and ejection. But this – a blindside cheap shot, a two-handed shove and some subsequent manhandling of the ref – earned only a flagrant 1. Note that LeBron flopped like a Portuguese midfielder while Hansbrough remained upright. And this flying WWE-style flying elbow from Dwyane […]
Racism in football: FIFA adopts the Dr. Sammy Plan
A couple of weeks ago I went off on FIFA and its president, Sepp Blatter, over the issue of racism in world football. The impetus for that post was the racist abuse of AC Milan’s Mario Balotelli by AS Roma fans in a Serie A match. If you recall, Blatter was appalled! I noted that racism […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- S&R Nonfiction: “The Nobodies,” by Jennifer Pocock
- “See You in Hell” and the dominatrix garage: The Lost Patrol drops a new video, and btw, the CD is fantastic
- Iran’s election nuclear, but not nuked
- More light! More light! Reviewing Fred Chappell’s Brighten the Corner Where You Are
- Happy Father’s Day: "The Day Daddy Died"
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Frank Dilatush: And while decent men argue morality and honor, war…
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A Walkaway: Then Satan must care more about justice and truth …
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RetroHound: See, I don't think it's God's judgement, it's Sata…
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Ben Leib: Beautifully penned. The desperation of the situat…
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Russ Wellen: Fundamentally, I agree with both of you. It's just…
