uncategorized
Biggers’ ‘Ebony Stick’: Excellent Story About a Confidence Scheme

I've just reread "The Ebony Stick," a novella by Earl Derr Biggers, who is best known for the Charlie Chan bo...

movies
Bronson’s Appealing ‘Cold Sweat’

I've been watching Charles Bronson movies lately. I have no explanation for this extraordinary activity, ...

culture-and-economics
Hey, Bill Nye, Fake Science Guy, There Are No “Extra Kids”

Who is this Bill Nye guy anyway? I only became aware of him recently, but it seems he's a popular "science...

hollywood
Curtain Is Falling on Gender-Specific Acting Awards

By Thomas Sipos In George Orwell's 1984, each edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was thinner than the one b...

civilsociety
No, Time, Truth is Not Dead

On this day in 1966, Time Magazine published its (in)famous cover story, "Is God Dead?"  It was about some ...

hollywood
Rickles, O’Neill, RIP

Two tragic losses today: the deaths of the great comedian Don Rickles and the music lyricist and producer Paul...

books
If You Want to Understand the Trump Phenomenon, Read “The Revolt Against The Masses”

As I was reading Fred Siegel's book I kept thinking how hopeless I felt (politically and culturally speaki...

politics
Democrats, Progressive Left Head Toward Third Stage of Grief

President Trump's speech before Congress last night was highly interesting from a rhetorical and str...

books
Darwinism: A Theory in Crisis?

Darwinists are fond of saying that evolution is a "fact." Maybe, but facts are not self-explanatory. Most ...

education
DeVos Confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Education

With the help of Vice-President Mike Pence, the U.S. Senate confirmed education choice advocate Betsy DeVos fo...

theater
“As You Like It” at the Folger Library

Rosalind, daughter of a deposed Duke Senior (Allen McCollough) is finally exiled by her uncle, Duke Frede...

original-fiction
THE WOMAN AT THE CHARDIN STILL LIFE A FABLE

    Though the paintings in our small town’s only art museum seldom rose above the level...

theater
Dramatized Version of “Sense and Sensibility” at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Jane Austen's first novel,"Sense and Sensibility,"  follows the romantic lives of two sisters of markedly...

movies
Robert Bresson’s Poem of Despair: “The Devil Probably.”

I have recently seen again  the late Robert Bresson's penultimate film "Le diable probablement" (The Devi...

books
Two Fine Books on Eric Rohmer

I cannot remember when I first saw an Eric Rohmer film nor which one it was.  Over time, though, I have s...

television
Marvel’s Daredevil on Netflix

I had Marvel's Daredevil on my Netflix watch list for a long time, but for some reason didn't pull the tri...

civilsociety
A Different Take on Evangelicals and Race: Marxism

Race and faith in America have a checkered past; specifically the Christian faith. Many conservative Chris...

music
Album Review: The Fringe

In case you haven't heard, a new power trio just released their eponymous first CD: The Fringe. The band c...

hollywood
Woody Allen’s “Cafe Society”

This latest Woody Allen flick is sort of an anthology of many of his themes and preoccupations:  a comica...

civilsociety
I Wonder How Many People Have Been Killed Because of This Image?

I woke up to this headline this morning: "Suspected Islamic extremist shoots dead at least 20 dead at Flo...

theater
“District Merchants” by Aaron Posner

Aaron Posner's new play--currently being performed at the Folger Shakespeare Library--takes a central plot...

books
“Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections” by Stephen Prothero

Boston University Professor Prothero's history of culture wars in the U.S. is both informative and tendent...

movies
Movie Machinations

The Great Game (Le grand jeu), directed by Nicolas Pariser, is a French thriller, that relates the politi...

manners-and-morals
A.C. Green: Iron Virgin

I was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, and also raised a passionate L.A. sports fan, which include...

theater
“Phaeton” by Michael Milligan

Phaeton  is unusual for a contemporary play for two reasons:  it is in verse and it welcomely draws upo...

education
Classical Education: Hope for America’s Future

About five or six years ago classical education meant as much to me as it probably means to many of you re...

philosophy
Journey to the West

The  Constellation Theatre Company has staged many tales of of mythology and fantasy:  The Arabian Night...

music
Rock Star Prince Dead at 57

If your musical decade was the 1980s this is likely a sad day for you. Prince, who exploded into popular m...

theater
The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord

In this play by Scott Carpenter and staged by the Washington Stage Guild, Jefferson, Dickens, and Tolstoy,...

music
Where Did All The Rock ‘n’ Roll Go?

If you grew up in the 60s and 70s like I did, you were fortunate to have grown up in the heyday of rock 'n...

politics
Obama in Che Guevara’s Shadow

President Obama "palled around with terrorists" back the day, as Sarah Palin memorably put it back during ...

education
Modern Education Succeeding in Educating Our Youth Out of Their Inheritance

The lament about American education, both its K-12 and higher variety, comes in for its fair share of crit...

philosophy
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Philosophical Idiot

Before you think I call people names, this comes from the title of a piece about smart people who just don...

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Trump The Party Pooper Should Triangulate

Working people warm to Donald Trump. He appeals to a good segment of real Americans. The circle jerk of po...