On Sunday I went on Superversive livestream again to continue talking Disney with Ben Wheeler, Anthony Marchetta, and Caroline Furlong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E56uDVZT3_Y&ab_channel=SuperversiveSF This one got a little heavier and heated in places, though still a good time overall. A good chunk of the first hour is spent discussing whether Mulan is better interpreted as a feminist … Continue reading Superversive Again, and Other Thoughts
Thoughts
Thoughts on “Twelve Angry Men”
One of the great American films is Twelve Angry Men, Sydney Lumet’s 1957 drama based on stage play about the deliberations of a jury in a murder trial. The facts of the case are presented entirely through dialogue as the jurors discuss the case. An eighteen-year-old boy from a rough neighborhood is accused of stabbing … Continue reading Thoughts on “Twelve Angry Men”
RE-POST: Why I Love ‘Independence Day’
For newcomers, I watch 'Independence Day' every year on the Fourth of July: the following is an old post on my great fondness for the film. When Independence Day came out, it was a huge hit, but ever since then it’s kind of become the poster-child for the big, dumb, CGI-fueled blockbusters of the … Continue reading RE-POST: Why I Love ‘Independence Day’
Friday Flotsam: Mostly Thoughts About America
1. Once again sick for much of this week. My cold went down, but a painful sinus headache remained, finally obliging me to go into urgent care to get an antibiotic prescription. So far it seems to be helping, so hopefully it’ll be gone before much longer. 2. Every Fourth of July finds me more … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly Thoughts About America
Kaiju Appreciations: Hedorah (Update)
Another Kaiju Appreciation is up, this time an updated version of my video for Hedorah the Smog Monster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T305CEptpks Godzilla vs. Hedorah, AKA Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster is a very strange film. It marks the transition of Godzilla into straight-up hero mode and its environmentalist message is as nuanced as an anvil. There's a … Continue reading Kaiju Appreciations: Hedorah (Update)
Thought of the Day: Subsidiarity and Democracy
A representative government, however it starts, naturally expands. This is because the elected official's position is dependent on the majority of people voting for him. Therefore, he (or more often his party) is incentivized to offer them anything he can. If they have problems, he'll offer to solve them and try to make them as … Continue reading Thought of the Day: Subsidiarity and Democracy
Sunday Thoughts
J.R.R. Tolkien, in (I think) On Fairy Stories made the point that children are not a special class of people (akin to women, men, Englishmen, Americans, etc.), but just people at a particular stage of development. Which is to say, it's misleading to say "children like this" or "children do that" just as it's misleading … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts
The End of the Beginning
So...this happened today. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart. And the Feast of St. John the Baptist (who, you may recall, testified to Christ from his mother's womb), since we have a rare situation where the two fall on the same day. Interesting that. Anyway, current events aren't really my forte, but this is … Continue reading The End of the Beginning
Jurassic World: A Losing Premise
Sometimes a film or book will come along where the premise itself strikes me as simply so stupid and unbelievable that it loses me completely without my having to even see it. Jurassic World: Dominion is one such film. I haven't seen it and don't plan to, but I understand that part of the premise … Continue reading Jurassic World: A Losing Premise
Detective Philosophy at ‘The Everyman’
My latest essay (first in a little while) is now up at The Everyman, this one critiquing our tendency to insist that this, that, or the other fact 'doesn't matter' by applying the analogy of detective literature. I read a lot of detective fiction (I also write it, though I’ve written much less than I’ve … Continue reading Detective Philosophy at ‘The Everyman’
Serpent's Den 