Aaron Bushnell

The Ethic of the Death Cult

Last week we pondered the riddle of the Pop Cult. Today, we have occasion to observe the ethic of the Death Cult, courtesy of the late Aaron Bushnell. Aaron Bushnell — the Air Force engineer who died hours after lighting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in DC on…
February 27, 202411 Comments
Philip Aylesford

Fabricating Philip Aylesford

As we've discussed before, the original Ghostbusters movie owes no small amount of its iconic status to how low-key based it is. One underappreciated aspect of the film is its subtle takedown of parapsychology. In case you didn't know, parapsychology is a pseudoscientific field for nerds who feel a deep…
February 26, 202412 Comments
Nintendo vs Sony

The Riddle of the Pop Cult

Author JD Cowan wrote a post yesterday that shed new light on elements of Cultural Ground Zero and the Pop Cult and showed how they're interrelated. So it was of course fitting that he prominently featured this now-ubiquitous image by retro artist Rachid Lotf. We've been plumbing the riddle of…
February 23, 202419 Comments
SCOTUS

State Steals Catholic Couple’s Son

Pope Francis' comparison of the societal threat posed by gender ideology to the danger of nuclear weapons has proven prophetic again. The Catholic parents of a mentally troubled teenage boy taken by the State of Indiana are appealing to the Supreme Court. In M.C. and J.C. v. Indiana Department of…
February 22, 202411 Comments
Snatch 2000

Movie Review: Snatch (2000)

Every once in a while, I lower the velvet rope and give regular readers a sample of my premium material. Today’s post previously appeared as a Patreon and SubscribeStar exclusive. If you like it, please consider subscribing. Directed by British maverick Guy Ritchie, Snatch is a frenetic and stylish crime comedy…
February 21, 20241 Comment
Rosenhan Experiment

Revisiting the Rosenhan Hoax

In light of society's recent focus - one might even say hyper focus - on mental health issues, it's a good idea to take a closer look at the concept in question. What is healthy in a psychological sense? What's the difference between sanity and insanity. Where is the line…
February 20, 202416 Comments
Millennials’ Spiritual Affliction

Millennials’ Spiritual Affliction

Last week's testimony from a reader who's experienced strange nocturnal visions drew overwhelming comment. Based on the flood of responses, it appears that Millennials' spiritual affliction may be a real phenomenon that bears more investigation. The following are samples of reports from the comments and from X. I used to…
February 19, 202413 Comments
strange church

Strange Characters Showing up at Mass

A Twitter mutual and brother in Christ passes along this personal account. Spiritual battle, high strangeness, or flight of fancy? You decide. I had a very vivid dream last night. I dream fairly regularly, but every once in a while I have one that’s different from the rest & usually…
February 16, 20247 Comments
Religion Is Not Dying

Exploding the ‘Religion Is Dying’ Psyop

A reader offers his testimony after attending Mass for the first time since deciding to explore the claims of the Catholic Church. Editor's note: The following are SeekerAnon's own words, with some clearly delineated commentary from me and some light structural editing to give the original forum style posts better…
February 15, 202419 Comments
Lent difficult

Lenten Difficulty Settings

On this Ash Wednesday, let's take a page from up-and-coming Catholic streamer Pinesap. Over on X, he shares the basic fasting requirements and suggests additional ways to grow in holiness these 40 days by dialing up your Lenten difficulty settings: Fasting Rules for Lent all Catholics are obligated to observe:…
February 14, 20245 Comments