tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-361759432011-10-17T19:31:00.545-04:00Heaven is for the obedient. Hell is for the wrathful. What of the ones in between? We wind up in the Suburbs. Our sin is individuality. Our punishment is boredom. But at least we're in good company.Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.comBlogger571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-82758200780104760182011-10-17T19:31:00.000-04:002011-10-17T19:31:00.554-04:00

Well, it's been a crappy summer, hasn't it? I'm not talking weather-wise, for once. I'm talking politically. Socially. Economically. The last three or four months of American life has been one depressing prospect after another, and frankly I'm a little scared of what's to come. What it all means. If it means anything at all. The greatest problem is, of course, America's economic woes. We've

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-65981978845749847062011-06-14T21:29:00.000-04:002011-06-14T21:29:24.765-04:00

I finally retrieved my books from storage a few weeks ago. Following the massive renovation of my apartment building last year, which forced me to relocate for a few months, I had to put nearly all of my worldly possessions in storage. The books were the hardest things for me to go without. Call it a product of my misspent youth. I love books. I grew up in a house full of books, of every variety

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-28442152250520243542011-05-02T19:40:00.000-04:002011-05-02T19:40:11.256-04:00

Well, it's over. The War on Terror finally achieved it's main goal last night. Osama bin Laden, international terrorist, orchestrator of the most devastating terrorist attack on American soil, and international face of evil, is dead. Killed by US Special Forces in Pakistan last night. It's a strange feeling. He's dead. He's gone. The dragon is slain. The bogeyman banished. The mission is finally

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-32564232014789145752011-02-07T21:42:00.000-05:002011-02-07T21:42:28.954-05:00

Well, another year has begun. Another snowy, miserable winter, where I am housebound and introspective. My thoughts turn, disturbingly enough, toward my own mortality. It must be a sign of getting old; you wonder what's at the end of this road. And I begin to ponder just what it is I believe in. I was raised Catholic, but I don't really consider myself practicing anymore. There's a lot I don't

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-27521445827788582212010-11-13T13:25:00.000-05:002010-11-13T13:25:06.160-05:00

Being someone who's read a lot of history and philosophy, I always find it equal parts amusing and frustrating to look back at what someone wrote in a past age about something that's become much more important since then, and seeing just how wrong they could be about it. Nowhere is this phenomenon more obvious than in economics, and no one is perhaps more guilty of this than the great

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-77203307889669517372010-08-03T22:54:00.000-04:002010-08-03T22:54:40.813-04:00

Ah, the summer season. I realized something about my television viewing habits: I don't watch a lot of sitcoms, or network TV. I watch a lot of basic cable. And summer time is when the new season starts for cable programming. So some of my favorite shows have returned, and a few new shows I've discovered have started. So I thought I might share my thoughts on what I'm watching now: Adventure

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-71912763503332153962010-07-07T22:12:00.000-04:002010-07-07T22:12:22.474-04:00

I'm disappointed, Mister Jenkinson. Very disappointed. Your two most recent episodes of The Thomas Jefferson Hour have left me disheartened, and frankly unwilling to continue listening. Because you have shown your true colors, and they are not the colors I wish to paint my intellectual canvass with any longer. Your June 27th episode was particularly disheartening, in your criticism of President

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-28932027183952700042010-06-28T23:24:00.000-04:002010-06-28T23:24:01.845-04:00

The recent passing of Ronnie James Dio (\m/) has prompted me to revisit my Metal Years. Specifically, to revisit one of my favorite music collections, Black Box. Eight complete Black Sabbath albums, covering the entire Ozzy period. I will say up front that I'm an Ozzy man. I grant you that Ronnie James Dio was a better musician than Ozzy Osbourne, a more professional singer and a far more

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-22204269430157241882010-03-09T19:29:00.000-05:002010-03-09T19:29:01.216-05:00

Dante Alighieri began writing his great work, The Divine Comedy, when he was thirty-five years old. It's a Biblically-significant age, a significance that is largely lost on modern readers. According the Bible, the allotted human lifespan is "threescore and ten"- seventy years. So Dante was writing at the midpoint of his life, a time to reflect upon his history, his accomplishments, and his

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-9513805942309063502010-02-02T19:34:00.002-05:002010-02-02T22:21:05.664-05:00

Sorry I've been away so long. I've been distracted with real-world concerns. Job hunting, illness of friends and family, family drama...same old thing, really. Of course, taking some time away from things gets a person thinking. And as we know, thinking is a double-edged sword. Because when you really start to think about some things, you wonder what you're getting out of them. And that's what

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-60330418842264736832010-01-04T20:02:00.002-05:002010-01-04T20:51:13.488-05:00

I miss food.That's probably a weird thing to say, and it probably needs some explanation. You see, once upon a time, I was a pretty good cook. I'm not a gourmet by any stretch, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. Got my cookbooks, my spice rack, and my array of pots and pans, among them my beloved Wok of Doom (so named because I invariably destroy my kitchen whenever I use it). I make a

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-3611928473060493872009-08-12T20:06:00.004-04:002009-08-12T21:21:03.700-04:00

Well, well, well. I can't say I'm surprised. The health care debate has gotten ugly, and is only getting uglier, as detractors and critics disrupt town hall meetings, spread misinformation throughout the Internet, and in some cases launch personal attacks on the President and his family. All this, over a health care reform proposal, that hasn't even been passed yet. And is increasingly likely to

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-77849296820745313702009-07-21T20:44:00.003-04:002009-07-21T22:58:56.622-04:00

Over the weekend, the world became a little less bright. Walter Cronkite, journalist, newsman, elder statesman, and one of the greatest people ever to live, passed away at the age of 92. With so many celebrities and notables passing away this month, it's easy to get overwhelmed, and easy to miss his passing in the shuffle. Only Walter Cronkite was no mere celebrity. He was a national treasure. A

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-38286266102321508142009-07-15T20:10:00.003-04:002009-07-15T20:32:01.735-04:00

...or, a New Englander complains about the weather (and other meaningless pursuits).Finally, Summer has arrived. It's been a long time coming, but we at last have some decent weather. And not a moment too soon. I feared I would lose my mind...or at least, what there is left of it to lose.Any psychiatrist worth his degree can tell you how weather affects our mental health, and this summer has been

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-88196037881032848002009-06-30T21:22:00.005-04:002009-07-01T00:32:06.039-04:00

I think it's a safe bet to say that, if the United States has a mythic hero, it's Superman. He's got all the trappings of the mythic hero - the amazing powers, the amazing adventures, the amazing wardrobe - and, when you think about it, his origin story is the quintessential American story. Superman is the ultimate immigrant, coming to America from a stagnating home, availing himself of all the

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-82403401783827735682009-06-24T21:33:00.002-04:002009-06-24T21:50:41.312-04:00

Dang. How time flies when you're busy.Or unmotivated.Anyway...I just realized I haven't posted for a couple of months. This is a great pity and shame to me, as I have plenty to say. I've just been...well, I guess preoccupied is the word.So what's preoccupied me these last few months? Well, for starters, a new job. Got a new job at a big health insurance company downtown (not naming names), in

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-2719469091711735442009-04-21T18:55:00.004-04:002009-04-21T20:31:08.955-04:00

April, 2009. This month has a very dubious honor, of being the anniversary of two shocking acts of youth violence. Ten years ago yesterday, two teenagers named Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out one of the worst massacres in American history. They descended on their Colorado high school and went on a rampage, killing or wounding 37 students and teachers before turning the guns on

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-8417862524110087372009-03-24T19:39:00.003-04:002009-03-24T21:46:33.844-04:00

In my last entry, I vented my frustration at my Irish brethren, and charged them to remember our glorious past. We really DO have a glorious past, you know; we've just lost sight of it after a few centuries of famine and exile. So this week, I give a concrete example of it. There are many reasons to be proud to be of Irish descent, but Thomas Cahill's book, "How The Irish Saved Civilization," is

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-58269870366746676512009-03-17T21:00:00.003-04:002009-03-17T22:51:47.502-04:00

CAUTION: This post contains strong and possibly offensive language. Parental discretion is advised.Back in his standup comedy days, Chris Rock had a great routine, where he talked about there being a difference between "black folks" and "niggers." It was a great bit, mainly because there was truth in it. When Rock talked about "niggers," he meant the living incarnations of every negative black

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-71336063142812088892009-01-12T19:31:00.002-05:002009-01-12T20:17:43.876-05:00

Well, a new year has rolled around. It's 2009. Yay. A new year will bring new opportunities. Or at least the hope of them. And frankly, I'm hoping that's true.Because 2008 was not a good year for me. 2008 was the Year of Falling Apart for me. I lost a job, I lost family members, I lost friends, and I lost my sense of self. Over the course of this year I found myself unemployed and moving through

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-82917251188985448832008-11-06T21:37:00.002-05:002008-11-06T22:10:28.900-05:00

Well, it happened. Earlier this week, American history was made. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American President of the United States, and the first true Progressive for a good long time. After the hard-fought campaign, the landslide victory, and the inspiring speech, it's hard not to feel elated. It's hard not to get caught up in all the jubilation and optimism. Hope is rekindled.

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-63731778898700204832008-08-12T20:11:00.003-04:002008-08-12T20:56:13.818-04:00

Against my better judgement, I have to say that I do like Al Gore. He's a bit of a stick, sure, but he's consistent. And unlike most of the Trustifarian environmental activists I've known personally, he seems genuinely sincere when he talks about saving the planet. And I do respect that. So when Mister Gore threw down the gauntlet recently to American energy producers to switch to renewable

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-88479896110847165322008-08-04T18:13:00.003-04:002008-08-04T18:39:06.506-04:00

Unemployed again, jiggity-jig.Of course, this time it wasn't my fault. Really, it never is. I have been the victim of layoffs in most of my career changes, and this one is no different. With the exception of one firing which was really for the best, I've always ever been laid off from a job.Doesn't make it any easier, though. Fault of my own or no, the fact remains I am unemployed. For the short

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-26253161984096801802008-05-26T21:31:00.002-04:002008-05-26T23:04:34.255-04:00

I guess I worried a lot of people with my last blog entry. It's understandable; when you write something about how depressed you are and then disappear for a few months, people are bound to worry. I did want to pop in again, and let people know I'm mostly okay. Or at least that I'm not dead. It's been a rather traumatic year for me, I suppose. It was about this time last year that I had my

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-61988826052679984432008-03-10T20:03:00.002-04:002008-03-10T20:40:54.791-04:00

"Life is what happens while you're making other plans." - Some Stupid HippieThis weekend I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Well, I marked the occasion, at least; didn't much feel like celebrating. So much is becoming clear to me as I get older, as my hair goes gray and my waistline expands, as my body starts to betray me in a dozen little ways. I never gave much thought to it when I was younger.

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-62398006271425671652008-02-03T14:53:00.000-05:002008-02-03T16:00:11.759-05:00

We laid my grandmother to rest this Friday. After eighty-six years and thirteen days in this world, Nana Dot has gone home. We will miss her, but in a way we were lucky. We knew it was coming, so we were able to make her last days comfortable and to say to her what we wanted to say. She said she was ready to go, and that she had no regrets in her life. For those of us she leaves behind, it is

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-78484887579057412682008-01-07T19:45:00.000-05:002008-01-07T20:29:50.957-05:00

With the holidays safely over, and the shopping malls no longer packed to capacity, I feel like I can speak plainly. Besides, it's a whole new year; time to unburden myself. Besides, I've been turning over in my head something my girlfriend said to me one dark shopping day this season. She observed my discomfort and annoyance at all the baby carriages at the mall, crowding the corridors and tying

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-64894286603355854342007-11-05T19:36:00.000-05:002007-11-05T23:58:47.491-05:00

...or, Why I Can't Go To B-FestTwo weeks ago, my local National Amusements Theater finished their "Attack of the B-Movies" program. All in all, I enjoyed it. I'm an old-school MSTie. Not a B-movie aficionado, exactly, but one who is thoroughly entertained by crappy film. I don't worship the likes of Roger Corman or Ray Kellogg, but I get a kick of the train wrecks that are their movies. And

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-29110747684187526682007-10-25T18:34:00.000-04:002007-10-25T20:31:29.663-04:00

Today, October 25th, was once known as the Feast of Saint Crispin. To a modern person, that probably doesn't mean much. Saint Crispin was one of those obscure saints dreamed up in the early days of the Catholic Church, apparently the patron saint of shoemakers (and tanners; pretty much all the leather-related skilled trades). It's uncertain if he ever was a real person, or even how many Crispins

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-80920674742558893482007-10-17T22:05:00.000-04:002007-10-17T22:35:14.004-04:00

Whodathunkit?It was one year ago today that I wrote my first Dispatch. Amazing how time flies, isn't it? Even here, in the Suburbs of Hell, where one day seems to blend into another, time does pass before you know it. Makes you want to stop for a moment and take it all in.Which, I've found, is dangerous. Because when I get introspective...things start blowing up.The past year has been perhaps the

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-2890307644092064522007-09-12T19:16:00.000-04:002007-09-12T20:18:15.369-04:00

I never thought the day would come, when I would be even mentioning Britney Spears in my blog, let alone coming to her defense in a roundabout way. But all the fallout from the MTV Video Music Awards has somehow managed to slip under my radar, so I feel I must comment.Understand first, I am not a fan of Britney Spears. I don't hate her, or consider her the antichrist of pop music as some do. I

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-29001437562110853222007-08-20T21:57:00.000-04:002007-08-21T00:23:05.713-04:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted some of my useless ramblings, so I thought I'd do a little something here. Originally I intended this blog to be a place where I could comment on and review a variety of media. The function of review has pretty much been taken over by my dedicated movie review site, The Pit. But I'm in a judgemental mood of late, so I thought I might as well post a few

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-33524620970535257222007-07-14T18:04:00.000-04:002007-07-14T18:42:38.424-04:00

Well, I have completed my first week of my new job. And it's a good job. A fun environment, an interesting line of work...and of course, it's a job. Employment is good.For those of you not hanging on my every word and unfamiliar with my employment saga, I will sum up: this is the fourth job I've held so far this year, and All Gods And Demons Willing, I will be holding it for a long time to come.

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-9654213052773820082007-07-04T10:31:00.000-04:002007-07-04T12:05:01.293-04:00

On this day, 231 years ago, a group of very intelligent men reached a number of conclusions. They concluded that Man is an intelligent creature, both capable and deserving of mastery of his own fate. They concluded that personal freedom was a right Man is born with, and that the purpose of government is to safeguard that freedom. They furher concluded that, when a government can no longer serve

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-74623702810774862822007-07-02T19:03:00.000-04:002007-07-02T19:11:01.621-04:00

Perhaps no political philosopher in the history of political philosophy has gotten a worse rap than Niccolo Machiavelli. It says a lot about public perception about someone when his name becomes a byword for evil. The term “Machiavellian” has become synonymous with ambitious, self-centered politicians who seek to further their own ends at the expense of their country. This is a sad thing, I think

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-87686539593875539432007-06-23T10:52:00.001-04:002007-06-24T17:44:29.338-04:00

Alas, tis a sad day in Geekdom. "Stargate SG-1" closed its doors Friday night, after ten years of galactic adventure. It's always sad to see a favorite TV program get taken off the air, but I don't shed too many tears for it. I mean, ten years is a damned respectable run for any TV program, let alone a work of science fiction; no single Trek show lasted that long. Besides, it's no secret that the

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-55564252560535556972007-06-18T17:45:00.000-04:002007-06-18T19:12:26.699-04:00

In Terry Pratchett's series of "Discworld" novels, there exists a concept known as "knurd." The word "knurd" is, of course, the word "drunk" spelled backwards, and that is what it is meant to be: knurd is the opposite of drunk. This, Pratchett exposits, is not the same as being sober; in fact, the state that we call "sober" is a happy medium being drunk and knurd. According to this idea, most of

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-68873927631689930452007-05-29T21:03:00.001-04:002007-05-29T21:30:22.629-04:00

Wow. It's been a long time since I posted something here. Truly a testament to how time gets away from you. Big changes have gone on in my life in the last couple of months, and not all of them good. Finally I have a moment to elucidate them.Well, where to begin? First of all, I made what might have been the biggest mistake of my life: I left the job I got back in February for another one. Been

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-66407014798041398272007-03-19T20:48:00.000-04:002007-03-19T21:28:43.937-04:00

Dear Mr. Verm;First of all, I'd like to applaud your recent efforts to ensure a safe and decent school environments for our children. Thanks to yourself, our children need never be exposed to such horrible ideas such as cursing or substance abuse in the world of literature. Truly, you are a credit to your community and your religion. If we had more people like you, the world would definitely be a

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-18491627746044120672007-03-06T19:24:00.000-05:002007-03-06T21:31:54.354-05:00

Recently I got bored with the Podcasts I currently subscribe to (you can only listen to so many Irish drinking songs before you start to go a little loopy in the head), so I diversified my interests. After some intense searching on iTunes, checking for quality as well as originality - I mean, honestly, how many World of Warcraft Podcasts does the world NEED? - I think I found a few to my

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-16700319801282552452007-02-14T23:15:00.000-05:002007-02-14T23:50:01.418-05:00

Those of you versed in blogspace are no doubt aware of the flap surrounding Shakespeare's Sister. One of my dear friends, Kodos, a sometime collaborator on Shake's, informed me of the situation. I have come to add my voice to the list of Bloggers who support Shakespeare's Sister.Let's get something straight: I entertain no delusions about what I do here. I'm not a journalist; I'm a guy with an

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-19013771536921659962007-02-11T12:53:00.000-05:002007-01-18T19:55:26.009-05:00

Well, Monday I start my new job. I'm frankly looking forward to it. Two weeks ago I was laid off from my previous position (for a certain well-regarded political magazine who shall remain nameless), and frankly I don't miss it. I don't miss the long hours, I don't miss the primadonna writers, I don't miss the complete and utter lack of respect. That's how a magazine works, of course: the writers

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-62417467920825241972007-01-17T19:41:00.000-05:002007-01-17T20:04:07.262-05:00

Gah.Of all the aphorisms attributed to noted American humorist Mark Twain, perhaps none is so enduring as his commentary on New England weather: "If you don't like it, just wait a minute." It endures, I think, because it's true, as any citizen of the Northeast can tell you. And it was perhaps nowhere more true than this winter, the mildest on record. We had temperatures in the high 60's as late

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-54327881367794516572006-12-23T12:30:00.000-05:002006-12-23T13:46:06.515-05:00

A Christmas Essay, by AnarquistadorWe're all Christians in Hell. Really. If all that's required to be a Christian is to believe in God, then we're Christians. We don't need to believe; we have proof. SOMEONE damned us, after all. And I've always said, that if God is as cruel and bureaucratic as those who call themselves "Christians" say he is, then I will gladly live in Hell. A Heaven full of

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-53474204255623697572006-12-18T19:48:00.000-05:002006-12-18T21:00:25.378-05:00

You've got to be kidding me.Seriously.I mean, really. When Time Magazine names "You" as their Man of the Year, I know the world has truly gone mad.I mean, look at this article! What kind of Populist Fantasy World does Lev Grossman live in? Does he seriously think that this was the Year of the Common Man? And that the Internet has become a tool for popular change? Wake up, Lev. He quotes YouTube

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-73762005219481344742006-12-10T01:35:00.000-05:002006-12-10T01:52:33.086-05:00

Well, there comes a time in every creative person's life when they have to sell themselves a little. I've come to that point. I've been doing some interesting writing of late, and I want to share it with the larger world - partly just for the sake of it, and partly for the exposure. So here goes.First of all, I wish to plug The Pit, my movie review site. There's a rather sizeable community out

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-3096179201994939402006-11-28T13:26:00.000-05:002006-11-28T14:33:25.064-05:00

Oh joy. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has announced that it's raising its fares next year. Hooray. When it's already one of the most expensive public transportation agencies in the country. I ponder this. I pondered this last night, when my bus was 20 minutes late. I pondered this when it finally arrived, and I saw that the the digital marquee was out of order, requiring the driver to

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-64592133506782114002006-11-24T12:27:00.000-05:002006-11-24T12:28:00.805-05:00

This Thanksgiving went off with nary a hitch. 14 people at my Mom's house, way too much food, football, and politics. And once again, Mom could not get through saying grace without crying.Early Thanksgiving morning, my mother calls me, and asks if I wouldn't mind picking up some ice on my way over. Of course I'd do it; I told her I'd get anything she needed (last night, after she said she was all

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-46959439424369313002006-11-15T20:18:00.000-05:002006-11-15T20:53:18.485-05:00

Some of my favorite modern adages:"Anything that can go wrong, will." - Murphy's Law"Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence." - Hanlon's Razor"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Clarke's Third Law"The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place they can cause the least damage: management." Dilbert's Principle"90% of

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1163468605724551152006-11-13T21:02:00.000-05:002006-11-15T13:29:14.776-05:00

...or, Why I Hate Hippies.Last night I had the honor and the privilege of attending a concert given by the Ragged King Himself, Mister Bob Dylan. 65 years old and he still rocks. Rocks harder than his opening act, The Raconteurs, who probably weren't even twinkles in their fathers' eyes when Dylan had his first hit. Standing behind a keyboard, thin and weather-beaten, looking fragile but still

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1162434436630663962006-11-01T20:55:00.000-05:002006-11-15T13:29:14.632-05:00

Caution: Blasphemy Ahead!At times I feel like the only Sci-Fi nerd who wasn't orgasmic over Firefly. I mean, I thought it was a clever show, original and well written, but it wasn't such a huge deal for me. Admittedly, I'm not the most impartial of voices; Joss Whedon is responsible for several lingering scars upon my psyche - and Alien: Resurrection is only the most obvious one - so I'm still a

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1162345587293448242006-10-31T19:39:00.000-05:002006-11-15T13:29:14.559-05:00

It's a strange thing to ponder: I SHOULD be a fan of Halloween. I mean, I'm a former Goth - more than "former;" I was Goth before Goths knew what it was - and a current Fiery Hellbeast. This holiday was made for me and my ilk. And yet, as I sit here, gearing up for my traditional annual scary movie-fest, I wonder why I'm just not in the holiday spirit this year. Perhaps I'm getting old. Or

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1162002162495722962006-10-28T00:34:00.000-04:002006-11-15T13:29:14.465-05:00

Both Isaac Asimov and Rod Serling understood quite well the importance of science fiction. Sci-Fi enables authors to tell fables, to write allegories about human nature without being bound to a specific time or place. It can provide hope for what we CAN become, and voice warnings about what we COULD become. And often it can hold up a mirror to what we truly are; removed from familiar

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1161740579000897842006-10-24T21:36:00.000-04:002006-11-15T13:29:14.378-05:00

Another edition of my sleep-deprived rantings about Adult Swim. Herein I discuss two shows I watch religiously, yet feel quite ambivalent toward:Venture Bros.Created by some dude from Connecticut who calls himself "Jackson Publick," this cartoon poses the question that at least a few of us have asked: what happened to Jonny Quest when he grew up? All those "boy adventurer" characters that were

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1161284225553844002006-10-19T13:15:00.000-04:002006-11-15T13:29:14.283-05:00

My personal religious views are...complex. I consider myself an Old-School Christian. And when I say "old school," I mean, like, 15th century or so. I mean my thoughts on the subject have less in common with modern-day religious scholars than they do with the Christian Humanists of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Erasmus of Rotterdam. Sir Thomas More. Thomas Aquinas. Martin Luther (yes,

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1161129463517475472006-10-17T18:59:00.000-04:002006-11-15T13:29:14.206-05:00

I have bouts of insomnia. They come and go. And when I can't sleep, I flip on the Tube. So Adult Swim has sort of been an off-again on-again relationship for years. There's something about the strange mean-spirited animated chaos that lends itself well to being in a semiconscious state. And while for the longest time the shows on Adult Swim have just not appealed to me, of late they've gotten

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36175943.post-1161091188454935052006-10-17T12:18:00.000-04:002006-11-15T13:29:14.119-05:00

Good morning to you all, and welcome to the Suburbs of Hell.If you've found your way here, I can assume a few things about you. I can assume you are an intelligent and creative person, who enjoys thinking for yourself. I can assume you reject dogma on general principle, because blind obedience to arbitrary laws squelches human potential. And because of these feelings, you, like me, have been...

Anarquistadorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06419875351687722804noreply@blogger.com6