In 2000, Barack Obama’s career was in jeopardy.
Is Barack Obama Responsible for Donald Trump?
15 Wednesday Mar 2017
Posted in Politics
Mitch McConnell Is Worthless
25 Wednesday Jan 2017
From the moment he made his way down the escalator at Trump Tower and thrust himself into the conversation, Donald Trump has dominated the media’s reporting on American politics. Reporting on the latest misdeeds of Donald Trump has proven to be a full-time job, and criticizing Trump has become de rigueur. And while Trump has certainly done and said plenty to justify the constant media coverage, one problem with the media focusing all of its efforts on investigating and breathlessly reporting Donald Trump and the Terrible, Awful, No-Good, Very Bad Cabinet Appointments is that it inevitably takes focus off of others to whom we really, really should be paying attention.
Like Mitch McConnell.
How Did We Get Here?
06 Thursday Oct 2016
Posted in Politics
Quite enough has been written about Donald Trump this election cycle. In fact, I would argue that too much time has been dedicated to his shambolic, unhinged and anti-political train wreck of a campaign. We’re all sick to death of hearing about Donald Trump, of reading the daily reminders that he doesn’t have the first goddamn clue how to run for President (much less actually be one, God forbid), and adding to the ever-growing ziggurat of evidence indicating that not only is he a bad politician, but a mediocre-at-best businessman and a lousy human being.
I know all this, just as I know another article isn’t going to change anyone’s mind or reveal new insight into the man who is unquestionably the worst Presidential candidate this country has ever seen. But at the same time, the fact that approximately 40% of American voters have proven themselves to be aware of (and unmoved by) his innumerable shortcomings as a politician/human being is, in my mind at least, a phenomenon that requires further exploration. So if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to take a little time to wade through this quagmire of an election cycle and the events that precipitated Donald Trump’s rise to power in the Republican Party. It might end up being a pointless endeavor, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least try to understand how we got to this point as a country.
“Classic” Movie Reviews: The Bridge on the River Kwai
17 Wednesday Aug 2016
Posted in classic movie reviews, movie reviews, Movies
It has recently come to my attention that, of all the movies I’ve seen in my lifetime, only nine are on AFI’s “100 Greatest Movies” list. In an effort to rectify that, I am making my way through the list one film at a time. As always, these reviews are purely subjective, and I reserve the right to retroactively change my rating whenever I want. (I don’t know why I’m telling you that.)
This week’s selection: The Bridge on the River Kwai.
“Classic” Movie Reviews: Amadeus
09 Tuesday Aug 2016
Posted in classic movie reviews, movie reviews, Movies
I was at a bar in Scranton, PA a few weeks ago with a friend of mine (he’s also my screenwriting partner in the rare moments when we’re both able to shake off our collective sloth and, you know, actually write something). On the TV behind the bar, Back to the Future was playing, and I mentioned that I’d never actually seen it before. I didn’t think there was anything particularly remarkable about that, but apparently it’s borderline treasonous not to have seen the comedic stylings of the impish Michael J. Fox and the (possibly pedophilic) madcap charm of Christopher Lloyd, because my friend was appalled.
The Oscars Have Always Been Bullshit
01 Tuesday Mar 2016
There’s been a fair amount of uproar (in fact, I’d go so far as to call it a hullabaloo) recently about the Academy Awards. Before the awards were given, many actors (rightfully so, mind you) decried the lack of diversity among the nominees, which led to thinkpieces about those actors, whether or not their assertions were valid, and what we can do about the astonishing whiteness of the Oscars. Continue reading
The Red Pill, MRAs, and My Diminishing Faith in Humanity
23 Tuesday Feb 2016
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
Until about 3 weeks ago, I didn’t know what The Red Pill was. I was vaguely aware that it was a Reddit forum, but that was the extent of my knowledge; based on the name, I assumed it was some sort of conspiracy-theorist subreddit. You know, the kind of place where amiable, like-minded folks can come together to talk rationally about the Illuminati, whether or not Obama is a secret lizard person, and the Bilderberg Group. Your standard Reddit fare, I suppose.
Falling Out of Love With Hip-Hop
16 Tuesday Feb 2016
Posted in Music
I suppose I could make a bunch of sounds vaguely resembling an apology for the massive, unendurable, and frankly unacceptable length of time between posts, but I think it’s clear by now that 1) I am not sorry, and 2) it is highly likely I’ll do it again. Probably between this post and the next one.
The Case Against The Beatles
26 Thursday Feb 2015
Tags
I was reading about the “SNL 40” special last week, and apparently Paul McCartney was on the show. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but I guess if you can’t have Chris Farley, you book the guy who just sat there during Farley’s most famous sketch. (You’ll do that, but you can’t get Eddie Murphy to participate in one sketch? Nice work, Lorne.) Continue reading
One Year Later
20 Friday Feb 2015
Posted in Uncategorized
I struggled for a while with how to write this- writing it in a “Dear Blake” style seemed overly dramatic, like there should be a voiceover and soft piano music playing as you read. But writing it to nobody in particular seemed too clinical and detached, like I’m just writing about a nonexistent entity. A noun.
So I opted for the former- I am not inclined to ask for your approval.
A Hopeless Cynic 