Recent Posts Tagged With 'popular culture'

• What Says Christmas More Than This?

  Posted on Thursday December 24th, 2009 at 13:36 in commentary, popular culture, hollidays

  This time of year always makes me think of one thing: "Tom Brown's School Days". As a non-believing Jew, I would spend Christmas Eve wading through the channels in search of diversion, flipping quickly through Midnight Mass and various Christmas...

• Why Do Children Fear Me?

  Posted on Friday December 18th, 2009 at 08:26 in Personal, reflection, commentary, evil, popular culture, social commentary, terror, sneering at puppies

  Why do children fear me?Maybe it's an over-reaction on my part, but I always notice that small children stare at me in restaurants or at the mall. I look over my shoulder and some little drooling mass of tissue is eyeing me as though I were...

• Late Night Conversation

  Posted on Tuesday December 1st, 2009 at 18:43 in Dogs, commentary, popular culture

  The following conversation was overheard late in the evening as I drowsed in a chair. I recall three distinct voices."Dad, the cat is crying for food. You should feed her.""You don't give a damn about the cat. You only want to steal her food.""That's...

• Paranormal

  Posted on Monday November 9th, 2009 at 10:45 in Film, reflection, writing, creativity, horror, commentary, death, popular culture, social commentary, terror, cannabilism

  It was an independent film made for a reputed $10,000 and it has so far raked in around 90 million dollars. Of course, it helps when you are receiving a boost from Steven Spielberg and the Dreamworks group. I saw the film, often compared to "The Blai...

• Dressing Up

  Posted on Wednesday October 21st, 2009 at 10:21 in popular culture, social commentary, halloween, terror, sneering at puppies

  There are certain costumes we just don't want to see around Halloween. First and foremost, anything racist or misogynist. How many times have I seen people attend a party and look at the event as an excuse to exercise bad taste? It's one thing when ...

• Just Say Goodbye

  Posted on Sunday October 18th, 2009 at 14:31 in Personal, reflection, popular culture, social commentary, snake oil, sneering at puppies

  Many years ago I created a calendar for a friend. The cover was an old German woodcut of the Reaper. The calendar? It noted the deaths of numerous people and included many last words for consideration. I put a good deal of work into that, cutting and...

• Back From The Dead

  Posted on Friday October 16th, 2009 at 12:55 in fiction, reflection, popular culture, conclave

  I have been incredibly sick for the last week. Maybe H1N1? I think. I'm just starting to feel human now and thought I would return to update folks about last weeks' Conclave.First, congratulations to Jason Lindsey, who was there with his lovely wife,...

• Scaring the Kids

  Posted on Tuesday October 6th, 2009 at 13:32 in teaching, Dracula, supernatural, popular culture, seduction, social commentary, werewolf, halloween, snake oil

  Halloween began as a religious holiday. I won't discuss the whole Samhain thing here, let's just say it came from an agricultural based philosophy and signified beliefs dealing with the change of seasons and the concepts of life and death. But someho...

• E-e-e-w-w-w-w!!!!

  Posted on Friday October 2nd, 2009 at 13:07 in Film, fiction, literature, television, popular culture, halloween

  As promised, we're striving for daily posts through October, all with a Halloween motif. Today, I think it is time we explored the critters that we associate with dread. I've noticed, for instance, that there are those folk who shudder at the image o...

• Conclave 34

  Posted on Friday September 25th, 2009 at 20:02 in fiction, literature, media, creativity, horror, supernatural, writers, popular culture, conclave

  Conclave has been around since 1976. Among its past guests of honor, one can find such luminaries in the realm of science fiction and fantasy as James Gunn, Theodore Sturgeon, Ben Bova, Robert Heinlein, Clifford D. Simak, David Brin, Algis Burgiss, G...

• Paranormal Fascination--A Social Reaction

  Posted on Wednesday September 23rd, 2009 at 10:12 in Personal, Film, fiction, reflection, literature, media, writing, horror, writers, popular culture, halloween

  People are fascinated by the paranormal. Around the turn of the last century, as the industrial age churned through society, people turned inward and the metaphysical became the rage. Through the 1890's and the 1920's, people responded to these sweep...

• True Blood....Maybe Next Time

  Posted on Tuesday September 22nd, 2009 at 13:50 in fiction, horror, television, supernatural, popular culture

  Allow me to step back from all things intellectual for a moment (whew) and instead discuss the second season of TRUE BLOOD, which ended a week ago. Or if you insist on a more intellectual discussion, visit my educational blog...Sternberg's Mind Matte...

• It's A Living

  Posted on Friday May 15th, 2009 at 22:30 in popular culture

  My mother was a patient woman. At one party she brought me in to meet friends and acquaintances. I remember leaning forward and confiding to one group of people: "After college? I'm planning on joining the Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, ...

• The High Def Frontier

  Posted on Tuesday May 12th, 2009 at 11:26 in media, television, popular culture

  I have just purchased the first three Star Trek films for blue ray, and to be honest, I'm not sure why. It's not that I don't love them, I do. Instead, it's that I'm not convinced I need them in blue ray. I already own them on dvd."Is it really that ...

• Dammit, Dammit To Hell

  Posted on Tuesday August 12th, 2008 at 14:10 in beauty, popular culture

  Beauty is a curse. But enough about me...I recently read that the delightful young girl who performed in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics was not the same one who sang. Apparently, the singer was considered not attractive enough. Now, we're tal...