THE SHOOTING PARTY: I really didn’t want to dislike this movie. It seemed like that would be the result of cynicism–the thing where people try to get on top of a movie, to prevent it from hurting them. But this thing is so heavyhanded! I mean, it is just WORLD WAR I IS COMING GENTLEMEN MAKE YOUR TIME! the entire way through, from the opening voiceover to the final title cards. There are some affecting moments (and some embarrassing ones,... Read more

MY COLUMN in the current American Conservative is about Malcolm X Park/Meridian Hill Park. You may be able to get a PDF version by scrolling down here. I note that this issue of AmCon quotes not only the Cramps (in my piece) but also the Dead Kennedys (in Jesse Walker’s profile of Jerry Brown). More seriously, if even half the allegations in the cover story are true, it’s one of the more shocking things I’ve read in a while. Read more

I tapped her on the blogwatch and said, “Do you have a beau?”She looked at me and smiled and said she did not know… Camassia: A correction, re: sincerism! And a post about revenge and divergent views of authority. Sean Collins: “Is it too much to ask for horror art to inflict emotional damage?” (I think I’d also add a category for horror art which provokes teshuvah/repentance. Some horror I’ve seen and loved does neither for me–Suspiria is amazing, just... Read more

He always had a great deal of sympathy for the American past; he said that Americans had tried to do what had never before even been tried–perhaps they had failed because it could not be done. Constance understood this not at all; to her America was ordinary reality, what everyone is born into, and the rest of the world romance. She had fallen in love with it at second hand.–Randall Jarrell, Pictures from an Institution Read more

CHINESE BABIES STOLEN FOR FOREIGN ADOPTION. Read more

SEAN COLLINS IS ALL OVER THE SMALL PRESS EXPO! And so are other people! And so am I! BETHESDA, Y’ALL. 9/26 – 9/27. I can’t do stuff on the Saturday until maybe 1 pm or so, but after that, I will get Human Fly all over this thing. If you love indie comics and other stuff that is awesome, why not drop me a line so maybe we can do like a big lunch or something? I hear Bethesda has... Read more

HOLY CATS, THIS IS A CLASSIC HEADLINE: “GOP frets it’s too surly with the fringe on top.” Via Mark Shea. Read more

BOUGIE WOOGIE BABY: Additions and corrections to my most recent sincerism post. Addition #1) I forgot to mention that the Misery essay Camassia links to sounds terrific (haven’t had a chance to read it yet) and very much gets at what I’m trying to do when I say that genre fiction can be more realistic than realism if your perspective is not that of the majority. Addition #2) She’s also put up a really smart post exploring a) whether I’m... Read more

NOLI IRRITARE LEONES has been blogging about panels from the recent Depressive and Bipolar Support Association Conference. So far I’ve found the “Nature v Nurture Debate: Overcoming Guilt and Stigma” write-up most interesting, but if you want to read one post I expect you’ll want to read others. Read more

TEXAS: THE LONE STAR OF DR. MOREAU. Read more