I shot the blogwatch (But I did not shoot the deputy)… Discriminations: Denmark Vesey never planned a slave revolt??? Maybe. Whoa. Haven’t had time to read yet, but this looks fascinating. Ninomania: Why was the last election so mind-numbingly focused on the size of prescription drug benefit plans for the elderly? Because the courts haven’t yet “resolved” that issue for us. That was my personal take-home lesson from Prof. Wagner’s discussion of the Priscilla Owens nomination. He replies to reader... Read more

WAR AS RHETORIC AS SOCIALISM: Last week I posted on “war as rhetoric”–the idea that the US should conquer Iraq in order to send the message that Islamist/jihadist attacks or conspiracies against the US will provoke massive retaliation, thus leading Islamists to turn their ire against less superpower-level targets like various Middle Eastern governments. I don’t think this will work–click here for more. I’m still undecided about war with Iraq (leaning against, but there are a lot of excellent and... Read more

ELEPHANT POLO. Read more

SHORT TAKES ON ABORTION: So I’m really not up for writing the same stuff I’ve written in the past, or stuff that other people can say better than I can, but in the context of this post and its associated links I’d like to throw out some brief thoughts–things to keep in mind when trying to figure out whether legal abortion is okay. 1) Ampersand argues that the burden of proof falls on pro-lifers, since we’re trying to restrict freedom.... Read more

TEN-CENT TOUR OF WOMEN’S STUDIES: So in my misspent youth, I read more feminist books than you can shake a stick (or a yonic symbol) at. Some of them are worth reading in their own right; some may appeal to readers who would not run across these books in their ordinary course of life. So here are my capsule reviews, in case anyone is interested, of all the feminist books I can remember. Grain of salt provided free with purchases... Read more

REVIEW OF THE MONSTER SHOW: Over the weekend, I read David Skal’s Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror (quoted below). Some scattered thoughts follow. In general, if you want a cultural history of horror movies, Skal’s your man and you should check out TMS. It suffers from almost all of the expected flaws of the genre–most prominently, 1) tortured, heavy-breathing prose spiced with academic Freudianisms, and 2) lefty bias that affects the book more and more as we approach... Read more

There was more to the [Lon] Chaney mystique than morbid mutilation anxiety, however. In an America still very much in the thrall of Horatio Alger, with aspirations further energized by the booming, speculative 1920s, Lon Chaney was an almost inevitable development. Film historian David Thomson summed up Chaney’s appeal: “There is not a screen performer who so illustrates the fascination for audiences of the idea, promise and threat of metamorphosis…. Chaney’s fluctuating appearance seethed with the audience’s lust for vicariousness.”... Read more

“I never dreamed it would turn out to be the bees! They’ve always been our friends!” –Michael Caine, “The Swarm” Read more

Blogwatch and coffee, maple syrup and jam… OK, today and tomorrow are chock full o’ work (reading endless studies of prostitution, what fun), so although I have several things to say I have no time in which to say them. Monday will also be nutty, but by Monday evening I should have posts for you on: war, rhetoric, and socialism; ambition, Elvis, and the American Founding; Germans; monsters; and, as usual, random whatnot. For now, here are some other places... Read more

“This is the story of Jody… the kicks she digs… the swingers she runs with… and the special kind of hell she can make for a man!!!” –Ad for “Kitten with a Whip” Read more