The other day I watched The Social Network as part of research for a script I was working on. I thought the film was pretty good overall, and that it presents a depressingly perceptive image of the world we live in. The film purports to tell the story of how Facebook got started, with Harvard … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘The Social Network’
Thoughts
Why I Remain Catholic
New Post on the Federalist. But now I will answer his question directly. The Protestant asks: “Do you believe Protestants have Christ?” The Roman answers: “Not as we do.” You Protestants have him as a distant voice; we Romans have him body and soul and majesty and divinity. We feed upon his body and drink his blood. … Continue reading Why I Remain Catholic
Thoughts on ‘Justice League’
So, the other day I decided to finally check out Justice League. And…yeah, it’s really bad. Don’t get me wrong; it’s nothing like as bad as Batman v Superman (which is one of the very few films I hate as much as The Last Jedi). That film was painful; this one is entertainingly bad, and … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Justice League’
Thoughts on the Captain Marvel Trailer
Last week the trailer for Captain Marvel, the next entry in the venerable Marvel Cinematic Universe, arrived. For those who don’t know, Captain Marvel is a female superhero with tremendous energy manipulation powers, whose presence was teased in the last scene of Avengers: Infinity War (I will refrain from discussing any details for those who … Continue reading Thoughts on the Captain Marvel Trailer
Appealing to the Past: A Clarification
In my thoughts I usually end up appealing to the superiority of the past in some ways. I want to be clear that this isn't because I think that any age of the past was in any way perfect or didn't have its own problems or even that there were times and places where people … Continue reading Appealing to the Past: A Clarification
Thought
The modern age has largely been the story of replacing what works in fact with what works in theory.
A Thought on Aretha Franklin
More specifically, on some of the responses to her death. I'm a Detroit native, and for that city the death of Aretha Franklin is as the death of a home-grown President or war hero. She was a major and beloved figure in the city's history and culture, all the more so because, unlike many of … Continue reading A Thought on Aretha Franklin
An Observation
Human excellence is essentially individual. Ten thousand men of ordinary skill, by pulling their resources, could never have produced Aristotle's Ethics, Shakespeare's Hamlet, or Bougeureau's Abduction of Psyche. Even in the cases where crowds do great things, there tends to be a single genius guiding their efforts: the American Revolutionaries never would have succeeded without George Washington, and Standard … Continue reading An Observation
On the Oscars
Accelerating its journey to complete irrelevance, the Academy Awards announced that it plans to add a category for 'Best Popular Film' (there's a fairly credible suspicion that this is mostly a way to give an award to Black Panther, which...let's not get into that). I've long since stopped caring about the Oscars, but I wanted to … Continue reading On the Oscars
Star Wars Conclusion
My ranking of the films: Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Return of the Jedi Revenge of the Sith Rogue One Attack of the Clones The Phantom Menace Solo The Force Awakens The Holiday Special The Last Jedi So, we’ve at last reached the end of my retread through the entire ‘Star Wars’ film series. It’s … Continue reading Star Wars Conclusion
Serpent's Den 