All Our Gods are Demigods

In American culture, ancient mythologies and folklore passed from generation to generation have been replaced by cults of celebrity. We rely on musicians, artists, athletes, actors and writers to show us the way. They stand above us and apart from us and demonstrate what we can achieve if we are truly great. They are inspiring … Continue reading All Our Gods are Demigods →

A Restful Walk

I took a walk through the Mount Auburn Cemetery today. That's not as weird as it sounds. It's a landscaped cemetery; as much a park or a garden as it is a place for the dead. In general, I've noticed a kind of casual acceptance of cemeteries in and around Boston. Within the city itself, … Continue reading A Restful Walk →

Historical Subjectivity

I think I mentioned a while ago that I signed up for a few courses on Coursera, an site that has a multitude of classes available cheap as free. My first class, which started about two weeks ago, is History of Rock (Part One) taught by the University of Rochester's Professor John Covach. So far, … Continue reading Historical Subjectivity →

Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

I've been a big fan of Star Trek for most of my life and I've tagged along with the franchise through good times (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek First Contact ) and troubled times (Voyager, Enterprise, Star Trek Insurrection). When I was kid, I loved the original series, but I … Continue reading Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness →

Boston Revisited

A friend of mine is visiting for a few days and it's reintroducing me to the city I live in. It's too easy to forget those places you see everyday or those places you used to go to; but once you show a newcomer those things that caused you to fall in love with your … Continue reading Boston Revisited →

Subcultures in the Mist

As I've mentioned before in posts that I don't feel like digging up, I've been getting involved in a new hobby. I'll spare you the details about what this hobby entails, as I have a whole other blog for that, but I've thrown myself completely into the subculture that surrounds this hobby and it's fascinating. … Continue reading Subcultures in the Mist →

Lock Down

Last night, around 1am, I heard a sound. It sounded like a loud bang and, given recent events, I paid attention to it. But then it was quiet and I started to fall back asleep. And then the second explosion. And then I noticed the sirens and more sirens and what sounded like gunfire. While … Continue reading Lock Down →

Resolutions? Uh-oh

So I think it's fair to say that I have done none of my resolutions for this year yet. That's fine. It is only April. April is...a third of the way through the year. Oh my God I have no more time to get anything that I wanted to get done and now I'm a … Continue reading Resolutions? Uh-oh →

Culture Defined by Pop

Alan Lomax was a folklorist who spent the majority of his life preserving small, local folklore traditions. He believed that globalization was encroaching on the traditions of countless subcultures and slowly but surely pushing them toward extinction. He was also, potentially, a manipulative, manifest destiny toting jack-ass, but that's not important here. The main crux … Continue reading Culture Defined by Pop →

Movie Review: Evil Dead (Remake)

Last night, I went to see the Evil Dead remake and I was less than impressed. For those that don't know, the original The Evil Dead is a horror cult classic that exists in its own realm of awesome. It is a frantic, kinetic, slapstick gore-tastic explosion of excess. The sequels that followed are less … Continue reading Movie Review: Evil Dead (Remake) →