Confessions of a Conservative Atheist
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In January, our family welcomed a new arrival, a whippet named Carlitos rescued from China, but less than three months later, our beloved greyhound Rosie suffered the tragic loss of her leg, leading me to conclude that many times dogs fare better than humans. Neither my wife or I are morning people, but our new… Continue reading Life lessons from a Chinese whippet and a three-legged greyhound
For nineteen of thirty songs, Mr. Anastasio was alone on stage, a man with several guitars, a songbook that would be the envy of many other artists, a spotlight, a screen behind him that projected supporting imagery at times, and a voice that has only gotten better with age, becoming richer and more soulful. I… Continue reading Trey Anastasio is a one man jam band
There’s a lesson here for modern filmmakers, who seem positively obsessed with developing backstories, explanatory and obligatory rules, and more in the service of some kind of world building, as though every film must exist in some kind of broader universe with a meaningful beginning, middle, and end. The Wraith, starring Charlie Sheen and Sherilynn… Continue reading Charlie Sheen’s The Wraith and the simple genius of 1980s filmmaking
For better or worse, one of the most significant cultural shifts since the counterculture revolution has been our collective tolerance of risk, and we should not tolerate any activity that violates the current societal norms around safety and public behavior. At the risk of stating the obvious typing away at a keyboard in front of… Continue reading The fine line between protests and terrorism in the era of safety and security
Henry V was literally and figuratively born in blood, especially as his father became king after starving the former ruler, Richard II. We should probably not spare Richard too much sympathy, however. He was the last of the Plantagenet kings, who rose to power on a tide of violence in the 12th century, violence that… Continue reading The real Henry V, the Magna Carta, and the glorious depravity we are heir to
How much should we care about the plight of a man too afraid to change his life, one who knows it, and yet can’t stop bitching about it, whether they are dancing alone or jerking off? Read literally, “Dancing in the Dark,” one of Bruce Springsteen’s biggest hits and the source for perhaps his most… Continue reading “Dancing in the Dark” and the art of self-help, Springsteen style
Can a song can be a stirring patriotic anthem and a condemnation of certain aspects of the American experience at the same time, a paradox of a piece of music if you will? On the surface, “Born in the USA” isn’t a patriotic song, far from it. Originally conceived and recorded as a mournful yet… Continue reading Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” and the paradox of a song
In an era where TV rarely ventured beyond the dreaded “To be be continued…” ending, Mr. Lynch and Mr. Frost placed a bet that people wanted more, that the mystery was important for the sake of the mystery, that not everything needed to be explained, and that sometimes things are better without an ending. In… Continue reading David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and the birth of two genres, at least
Cars are, in a sense, milestones in our lives. When I “finally” got my first roadster in 2002 it seemed a lifetime of driving had passed already, though it hadn’t even been ten years since I got my license and I couldn’t have predicted I’d have five more, spanning more than twenty. Technically, the headline… Continue reading My sixth six-speed roadster and a few reflections on aging after a half lifetime of cars
Mr. Lynch was a director’s director, an artist who operated well outside the mainstream, sometimes far outside of it, but whose appeal occasionally crossed over in both classic films such as The Elephant Man and the birth of prestige TV with Twin Peaks. David Lynch as had a career perhaps as strange as the film’s… Continue reading David Lynch and a life lived outside the frame
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 