I was nine the first time Tommy gave me butterflies. Mother had just made welts so big on my sister Jackie’s and my behinds that I thought neither of us would be able to wear a bathing suit the whole rest of summer. Her face turned pink as a pomegranate when she saw our soggy, […]
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Republicans perpetuate myths to keep Cold War alive
Republicans oppose U.S. cooperation with Russia on NATO missile defense. In a Reuters blog post titled Why Russia won’t deal on NATO missile defense, Yousaf Butt of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies writes that, to “allay Moscow’s concerns, Washington has invited Russia to participate in [a […]
“See You in Hell” and the dominatrix garage: The Lost Patrol drops a new video, and btw, the CD is fantastic
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 […]
Iran’s election nuclear, but not nuked
Iran has to be the only country where one nuclear negotiator defeated another for the presidency. Iran’s new President Hassan Rohani/Rowhani/Rouhani* was Iran’s nuclear negotiator with Britain, France, and Germany between 2003 and 2005. One of his opponents and Supreme Leader Khameini’s candidate of choice, was Saeed Jalili, the current chief nuclear negotiator. In what other state, […]
More light! More light! Reviewing Fred Chappell’s Brighten the Corner Where You Are
In an earlier review of books from my 2013 reading list, I looked at poetry by one of North Carolina’s best writers, Fred Chappell. This next installment looks at one of his finest novels, the poetic and (one guesses) semi-autobiographical Brighten the Corner Where You Are. In a way, to call this work a novel is to debase it. Chappell is […]
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, […]
When it comes to judging America for its sins, God is an absolute doofus
Lately I’ve been trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with God. And having no luck at all. If you’ve been paying attention, by now you’ve figured out that natural calamities are God’s judgment on America. Preachers preach it and Christians believe it. When a hurricane hits, for example, it’s usually because we’re […]
Has military intervention by the US become, by definition, a mistake?
Is reflexive resistance to intervention in Syria the right reaction by progressives? As you’ve no doubt heard by now, using as a justification its conclusion that the Assad regime had killed 150 or more people with sarin gas – technically a weapon of mass destruction – the Obama administration has made decision to supply Syrian […]
The incomplete transsexual: a small tale from the Seoul Bar
by Dan Ryan It was a little like the scenario in that Kinks song “Lola,” but only in passing. I met her in a little place called Seoul Bar, which is in a rundown section of northeast Tokyo called Sanya. At first I thought her was a him, and she sounded like a man but… […]
America has too many geniuses
Today, I was sent this link. It’s an article by Dave Logan about why geniuses don’t have jobs, specifically jobs in large corporations. His argument is basically that it’s either because geniuses can’t keep their mouths shut when they see the stupidity around them or else they are socially impaired geeks who can’t get through the […]
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 […]
You’re not geeky enough for our con
I really should enjoy cons. But cliquishness and pettiness by my fellow geeks drove me away, and recent reports suggest not much has changed in the decade since I last attended a con.
ArtSunday: What to see, where it is, how to get there…
The review for my most recent completed book from the 2013 reading list has been giving me fits. I finished this book several days ago – but it’s not, as my wife Lea commented, the sort of book one generally reads straight through. But I did, so here I am. In a typically whimsical moment, I put a guidebook on my […]
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 […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- S&R Fiction: “The Treehouse,” by Aimee Stahlberg
- Republicans perpetuate myths to keep Cold War alive
- 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
- 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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wilywascal: Overcoming the knee-jerk reaction using logic may …
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Frank Dilatush: The Israelis might dispute your foundation argumen…
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My final word on Oakwood? | Lack of Environment: […] theScholars and Rogues website, Brian A…
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