a cultural forum in ever-shifting standing
Thomas Kuhn's classic text about paradigms and scientific revolution has been frequently paraphrased, but not properly understood by the latest round of grifters. This Modern Library essay tackles what "paradigm" actually means and applies Kuhn's criteria to AI.
Ford Madox Ford's introspective tetralogy has been held up as a major work of literature for decades, but Ford's leaden dialogue and one-note characters are embarrassingly regressive in the 21st century.
The great C. Vann Woodward not only offered a vital and far more sophisticated view of Jim Crow and the South than most of the historians who came before him, but he also demonstrated the dangers of how unjust laws and corrupt institutions can galvanize the most repugnant qualities within Americans when their natural instincts lean into the very reverse.
Edith Wharton's classic novel is a more somber and often breathtaking warning about the dangers of conforming with the upper crust. But the reading experience is not made easy by Newland Archer, the dudebro of his time, being Wharton's most insufferable protagonist.
William H. McNeill's classic work of history from 1963, a key volume arguing that civilizations influenced each other, was published during a time in which liberal Western democracies were believed to be the answer to nearly everything. But how does this optimistic book hit during the Second Age of the Evil Orange Monster?
For thirty years I was a slave to cigarettes, falsely believing that nicotine could disguise (and even cure) my anxieties and insecurities. But there was a real and better me beneath all that the entire time and I am now ready to tell my story.
Jonathan V. Last is a prominent grifter who, like all prominent grifters in media, should be kicked in the balls -- whether in real life or within your demented imagination.
Many leading figures on the left and the right are falsely claiming that the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk was some kind of hero. Kirk was anything but a hero. And his legacy of hate, racism, and white supremacy must be denounced with the same vigor as the political violence that ended his life.
This is the story of how a 1929 Stefan Zweig story became a vital inspiration for an epic audio drama depicting the cost of removing people from American life. (You can listen to the audio drama at the bottom of the post.)
Max Beerbohm's singular novel remains a lively satirical masterpiece, with its musings on romantic obsession probably just as relevant to our time as it was during its original 1911 publication.
An eagle-eyed TikTok user noticed that the prologue text from Ridley Scott's Robin Hood had been removed from the Amazon streaming version. I have confirmed that this is strictly an American Amazon issue and that the text is visible on other steaming platforms.
Jonathan Randall was a veteran comedian trying to help out a friend with his fledgling comedy club. He had no idea that his show would be canceled -- ostensibly for politics, but more out of a troubled man's instinctive mimicking of recent violence towards comedians-- and that he would be physically assaulted by the man he was trying to aid.
David Lynch meant more to me than any other artist in American culture. His art inspired me to embrace my inner weirdo. But when I met him, he planted a creative seed in me that I will be forever grateful for.
My friend described President Jimmy Carter as "the last selfless President." And there's certainly a lot of wisdom in that. Carter's Presidential legacy was deeply underappreciated, but he was often decades ahead of his time.
The new HUD report shows a remarkably unsettling rise in American homelessness. This is the worst homelessness crisis since the Reagan years. Wages and affordable housing have failed to rise in proportion with these new figures. And the hell of it is that it would not cost that much for Americans -- particularly, the richest ones -- to pay their fair share and ensure that nobody lives in poverty.
Jeff VanderMeer is the Donald Trump of speculative fiction. He is a toxic and narcissistic bully who will harass you if he doesn't get his way. And he will lie through his opportunistic teeth to get what he feels is entitled to him. This essay, which includes a toxic exchange that Jeff perpetuated near the end of 2010, documents the awful relationship I had with Jeff VanderMeeer. And I urge…
Kate Tuttle has called me a "noted asshole." That may or may not be true. But her reliance on generic corporate language for her "reviews" makes her a pathetic bore who is more than a little dead inside.
A motherfucking review
Every belief structure contains a line in which you do not cross. The MAGA Cult has now crossed a line and have become more vocal as they have been disinvited from holiday gatherings. As they learn that their actions have consequences, don't listen to their desperate cries of "another member of the tolerant left." The "tolerant left" is a conservative invention. Resist by holding these…
Chuck Woolery was a worthless infestation who plagued American television in the 1980s and the 1990s. His death is long overdue.
There is one guaranteed way to inflict a lot of damage to the MAGA Cult right now and it involves cutting the bastards off. Start doing it today. They don't deserve to break bread with you during the holidays.
In this journal entry, I contemplate a future nation without accountability and how this will radically alter everything we have known American life to be.
It has been two days since the election results and the early signs of conformity can be seen from every vantage point.
The United States of America, as we have known it, is now dead. Here is what we must do to survive.
Garth Greenwell's third novel is easily among the worst books of 2024. It is badly written, indulgent, and has nothing meaningful to say about the human condition. This longass essay is an attempt to reckon with the woefully mediocre novelist who continues to be falsely praised.
Some considerations of aging, mortality, and grief.
I was robbed in New Orleans on the occasion of my fiftieth birthday. And while the experience has unleashed horrors, it has also reaffirmed just how strong I am.
Flush with AIPAC money, the corrupt Representative of the poorest congressional district in the United States cares more about Israel than his own constituents, which he now regularly belittles and insults by twisting objective reality and blocking them on X.
Roger Corman was one of the most important people in the motion picture industry. Far more than a genre and exploitation filmmaker, he opened up American theatres to world cinema and gave many top-tier talents their first chance to sit in the directing chair. (This article also includes my audio interview with Corman back in 2011.)
Mastodon may seem like a cozy and thoughtful alternative to toxic wastelands like X and BlueSky, but some of the instance admins -- such as Universeodon's Ryan Wild -- are recruiting alt-right moderators and practicing covert censorship of progressive political viewpoints.