Robert Conquest was a historian of note in the middle of the last century. He is best known for his books about the Soviet Union and the purges thereunto pertaining. He is routinely quoted by those on the right (of which he was one) for his Three Laws of Politics: Everyone is a conservative about… Read More The Three Laws of Politics
Bret Easton Ellis, writing in his essay collection White, on the social-corporate demand of inclusivity: Most people of a certain age probably noticed this when they joined their very first corporation. Facebook encouraged its users to “like” things, and because this platform is where they branded themselves on the social Web for the first time, their… Read More We Have to Be Liked
Per historian A.J.P. Taylor’s The Origins of the Second World War, which was something of a classic when it came out, but has since passed on, due to its somewhat nuanced take. The first thing that Taylor argues, rather effectively, is that no one was more surprised than Hitler to find himself at war with Britain… Read More The Surprising Cause of the Second World War
Here’s what’s playing at My local Regal tonight: Charlie’s Angels 2019. Because if you keep scraping, the barrell has no bottom, right? Ford vs. Ferrari. Days of Thunder made palatable to critics by historical place-setting. The Good Liar. Old people intrigue, prompting a new generation to ask “Hey did you know Helen Mirren had her boobs out in… Read More Let’s Not Go To the Movies: A Continuing Series of Curmudeoning at the Debased Art of Cinema
Probably that’s not news. I haven’t felt at home in some time, really. Maybe that’s just getting old, but even when I was young I’ve found the pseudo-devotion off-putting. One thing I’ve said for years is that the reason I never became a Trekkie wasn’t because I didn’t like Star Trek, but because I didn’t… Read More I Don’t Feel At Home in Pop Culture Anymore
So suggests Variety. This explains what I’ve been wondering about, both here on the blog and on my podcast: Disney’s current strategy of “nothing but live-action reboots and Frozen 2.” It also jibes with the news that they’re done making Star Wars films for the time being (and with the rumors that the test screening for Episode 9… Read More It Appears Disney Is Going All-In on Streaming
Everything has moved on from my previous computing issue. As it turns out, putting 16gigs of RAM when you previously had 4 improves things nicely (Also, getting the dust out from inside of there… yeesh.) So I’ve upgraded my Scrivener and started on the short pieces for the next issue of UJ. Also, I’m planning… Read More Planned Obsolescence Update
The problem with Corporate Art, as Andy Warhol foresaw, is that quantity eventually smashes quality. They keep repeating the same gestures, catch-phrases, plotlines, until whatever narrative existed logically has been spread out into meaninglessness. If you keep making enough seasons of a show, you will make it boring and tired. If you keep making enough… Read More Stick a Time-Traveling Fork In the Terminator Franchise
Quintus Curtius has a fine article on his web site about Pompey’s most impressive victory: Every victory seems easy in retrospect, of course. But the campaign against the pirates was successful for very specific reasons. They are as follows: (1) deployment of sufficient forces to deal with the threat; (2) assignment of specific sectors of… Read More Pompey’s Counter-Insurgency
I bought my current home desktop computer, a Mac Mini, in 2012. I bought it on Father’s Day, and I sprung extra for the newly released version. It has reliably served my needs. I write, blog, pay my taxes, record podcasts and music, and play copious amounts of Crusader Kings 2 on this machine. It… Read More Escaping from Planned Obsolescence
