It might be easy to categorize Lauren Groff’s debut novel The Monsters of Templeton as chick-lit with literary pretensions. After all, the main character, Willie Upton, returns to her hometown in self-imposed […]
I am better off not knowing
By Patrick Vecchio (CAUTION: Contains naughty words) The cleavage of men into actors and spectators is the central fact of our time. We are obsessed with heroes who live for us and […]
WordsDay: A children's story, complete with moral
The Old Man and The Hawk for Carrie A. If he hadn’t been thirsty, the boy might have missed it. He saw it when he raised his canteen. It didn’t seem like […]
TunesDay: What once was old shall be new again
There is nothing new under the sun, or so they say. I’m not a big fan of groups that slavishly imitate their influences, but I do love bands with a sense of […]
ArtSunday: open thread
Art? Discuss.
WordsDay: SMS and "The Emerald Espadrille"
It’s a totally new literary genre! Well, sorta. You may have noticed that mobile is getting to be a really big deal, and you may have noticed that Them Danged Kids® are […]
TunesDay: NIN, Lefsetz and the realities of Net success
In case you missed it, Trent Reznor yesterday released the new Nine Inch Nails CD, The Slip, as a free download. I’ve only had time to listen to it once, and that […]
Barackula – the musical
Oh, my. This is … uhhmmm … I guess this what happens when a crew of Obama’s kids gets a little punchy after watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode #107 ten times […]
ArtSunday: Neo-Poop for one and all
By Ann Ivins Ahhhh. An unseasonably balmy day here in the flyover zone. Upstairs, my riotous infant had subsided into what passes for a nap these hellish days. Downstairs, the dogs and […]
WordsDay: The Bloody Shirt and America's history of terrorism
The Bloody Shirt by Stephen Budiansky Most Americans don’t realize that a large portion of our country was, once upon a time, overrun by barbarians. That age of barbarians isn’t covered in […]
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 