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House Of Sternberg
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Occasionally insightful postings by writer/teacher/popular culture junkie.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'popular culture'
What Says Christmas More Than This?
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?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!!!!
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
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
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
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
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
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
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...
