Progressives Conservatives short

The Best Propaganda

Statistician to the Stars William M. Briggs is known for pointing out that love of theory is the root of all evil. After all, theory is a hell of a drug, offering simple answers to complicated problems. The intrinsic appeal of simplicity goes a long way toward explaining why som…
July 17, 202412 Comments
Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet 2

In Surprise Move, Pizza Hut Brings Back Buffet

The phenomeonon of most Pizza Hut locations switching from dine-in to carryout only was viewed by many as a sign of terminal societal decline. But now, in a surprise move all the more unforeseen in the wake of Corona-chan, Gen Y's favorite pizza chain is bringing its legendary lunch buffet…
July 16, 20248 Comments
Akira Ground Zero Rubble

Diggers in the Rubble of Cultural Ground Zero

During my recent sojorun into small town America, a family member guided me on a whirlwind tour of the local game stores and arcades. Yes, they still have arcades, plural. As it turns out, small towns are not immune to Generation Y's nigh-religious attachment to pop culture relics of the …
July 11, 20244 Comments
Rock Faucet

Can’t Stop the Rock Faucet

We've spent a lot of time charting the crisis besetting the modern music industry. And one of the best professionals who's undertaken the project of plumbing the problem is Rick Beato. Now, the veteran producer and studio musician does a deep dive into why music has gotten worse since Cultural…
July 1, 202410 Comments
Clock - Safety Last

The Clock Is Ticking for Boomers

A series of comments on yesterday's post by neopatron Bayou Bomber struck a chord with multiple readers. In the interest of giving the people what they want, here are his insights on the successive deaths of hipsterism and nerdery, slightly rearranged for ease of reading. A couple of thoughts: 1)…
June 25, 202431 Comments
Nerd vs Hipster

Did Nerds Destroy Hipsters?

Where did all the hipsters go? You may have noticed, as author JD Cowan did, that the hipsters who once infested the cultural landscape seem to have vanished overnight. So did writer Sam Kriss, who has an interesting theory as to where all the mustache wax-sporting, Pabst Blue Ribbon-drinking oddballs…
June 24, 202423 Comments
Time Machine

We All Have Our Time Machines

Getting my new dark fantasy novel The Burned Book ready for launch is demanding more of my time of late. So here's a blast from the past that didn't get enough love the first time around. Did you know that you own a time machine? As a matter of fact,…
June 19, 20248 Comments
Conservative Art Starving

Spencer Klavan vs Conservative Art™

Why does every piece of "Conservative art" inevitably turn out to be cringe-inducing pabulum or hamfisted kitsch? Spencer Klavan, son of best selling author Andrew Klavan, takes a crack at the answer and suggests some solutions. For as long as I’ve been alive and longer, the Right has had a…
June 13, 202425 Comments
Anime ONA

Original Net Animation: The Future of Anime?

Today's post is a guest essay by author JD Cowan: Anime in the ’90s was being squeezed out during Japan’s economic bubble popping, but it was still being produced in the highest quality possible. Despite the downturn, anime was still growing domestically and abroad. And it was still aiming high.…
June 12, 202413 Comments
End of Gainax

Anime Ground Zero and The End of Gainax

Despite the overwhelming evidence collected on this blog that anime, like all forms of pop culture entertainment, suffered a fatal blow in the late 1990s, some still cling to that dead art form, hoping for a miracle. Well, if a miracle were to resurrect the Japanese animation industry, the logical…
June 11, 202421 Comments