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Political Satire
Are You a Conspiracy Theorist? King Willie The Slick, Then Junior Bushleague. Once upon a time in the United States of Amnesia lived a king called King Willie The Slick. Now King Willie was a popular king, known throughout the land for his big smile and feathery head of hair. But one day King Willie the Slick was caught smoking a cigar that had been dipped in the sweet nectar of a harmonica flower... More A Modest Proposal - To Convert Shopping Malls Into Prisons. Turning Malls into prisons could be a boon for the U.S. economy. More Letter from Saint Nicholas to the Tax Inspector Psychology Satires
The Breyers-Devere Probe of Human Worth is an online personality test. The Breyers Probe measures five personality categories, as opposed to the four used by Meyers-Briggs. If you want to know who you are, then Take the Test! The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Cult Leaders gives valuable advice to those seeking to start their own lucrative religious cults. Read the 7 habits Satirical Portraits
Satirical Portraits chronicles the life and works of the most important overlooked creative geniuses of our time. Sazonov: Russia's Greatest Poet? traces the hapless life of Maxim Sazonov, who may have been either a total idiot, or the greatest poet in Russian history. Felix Spielenhammer: The Heavy Mahler (1897-1995) reviews the long, weird, productive life of an avant-garde German composer and musicologist. Jake Steiger: The Great Director reviews the career of the critically acclaimed movie director. Claude Roget: Philosopher Or Fraud? discusses the life and works of Roget, a French philosopher who wrote philosophical works about even commonplace texts. More The Anti-Artist reviews a recent Washington, DC exhibition of the great artist, Karl Kinski. Hans Donkerzijde and His Amsterdam Portal. The story of the most illustrious failure of golden age Dutch architecture. New Faulkner Novel Found welcomes the discovery of a lost William Faulkner manuscript, Sons of the South. Dr. Claire Hoyt: "Shrink to the Stars" laments the loss of Dr. Hoyt, who treated famous Hollywood stars, but failed to keep their secrets. Alexandra: True Psychic tells the life story of an honest psychic. Cultural Satire
The New Dictionary of American Cultural Literacy. Key American cultural terms such as "Cool" and "Like" are defined for the culturally ignorant. Browse The Cultural Dictionary Disney's "Genesis" describes Disney's venture into the Bible. The Noah's Ark scenes really do work. Disney's King David. Disney bravely depicts Old Testament sex and violence. Disney's "The Book of Revelations" is a beautiful animated rendition of the Biblical apocalypse, but a curious attempt to shape the public consciousness. Disney's "Animal Farm" and "1984" reviews Disney's attempt at two George Orwell masterpieces. Quentin Tarantino's Harder repackages Tarantino's familiar cinematic tactics. Fake News
The Satirist - August 2000 News. The Satirist - November 2000 News. Election Year 2000 coverage. The Satirist - April 2004 News Reviews of Imaginary Novels
Imaginary Book Reviews. Thomas Pynchon's Dys and John Irving's The Third Leg. An Accidental Family -- Fyodor Dostoevsky Powerful, underrated portrait of adolescence in crisis. The Air-Conditioned Nightmare -- Henry Miller. Henry Miller's On The Road. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland -- Lewis Carroll Fun classic, but slightly over-rated. The Celestine Prophecy -- James Redfield New Age Piffle A Clockwork Orange -- Anthony Burgess Interesting little book would've been forgotten but for Kubrick’s movie. Cracking India -- Bapsi Sidhwa An engaging and extremely well-written story of a young girl growing up in Pakistan, at the time of the partition of India. The Corrections. -- Jonathan Franzen A funny, convincing portrait of an American family at the end of the 20th century. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues -- Tom Robbins Clever words, no story. Read Skinny Legs and All The Crying Of Lot 49 --Thomas Pynchon. Thomas Pynchon's short satire of the distortion of communication. September, 2002 The Fourth Hand --John Irving John Irving must have quickly dashed off and polished this funny, feather-light book. October, 2001 The Handmaid's Tale -- Margaret Atwood Compelling Feminist Negative Utopia. Hapworth 16, 1924 -- J.D. Salinger In this 30,000 word letter, young Seymour Glass asks his parents to send him 40 volumes at summer camp (including all of Proust) because his 5 year old brother Buddy needs to reread them before starting kindergarten! Life After God -- Douglas Coupland Gen-X Fast Food Look Homeward, Angel -- Thomas Wolfe Beautiful passages, pasted together by Scribners editor Max Perkins. Outer Dark -- Cormac McCarthy McCarthy's vision is unrelentingly dark. The Picture of Dorian Gray -- Oscar Wilde An interesting idea, but kind of icky. A Prayer for Owen Meany -- John Irving The Sorrow of American Sports. Another funny John Irving production. A Son of the Circus -- John Irving Hilarious as anything he's written. Strong story. Graceful, but too long. I concur with the publisher who said: "I fail to see why it takes thirty pages to describe a man turning over in bed." Yet the Swann-Odette courtship is a profound meditation on desire. Tyrannicide: The Story of the Second American Revolution (a novel) -- Evan Keliher Hilarious skewering of DC corruption. Vineland -- Thomas Pynchon America as a "Scabland Garrison State" A Widow For One Year -- John Irving Hilarious opening is not sustained. Winesburg, Ohio -- Sherwood Anderson Nice stories, quite saucy for their time. The Cocktail Party -- T.S. Eliot A play with rhythmic dialogue, and ponderous themes. Eliot’s Iceman Cometh The Genealogy Of Morals -- Friedrich Nietzsche Nietzsche's greatest work, featuring sustained arguments rather than incisive fragments. Man's Search for Meaning -- Viktor Frankl Frankl's Logotherapy School (discovering our purpose heals us) was inspired by Frankl's own experience as a concentration camp survivor. Parables of Kierkegaard -- Soren Kierkegaard More readable than most philosophy. Kierkegaard's fascinating, little stories illustrate his theories. Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature -- Richard Rorty For Rorty, philosophy is one part of a changing cultural dialogue that will always address the questions of one era, without having answered any previously asked philosophical questions. The Psychoanalytic Movement -- Ernest Gellner Probing and hilarious critique of the West's embrace of psychoanalysis to describe behavior and emotion. The Book of J -- Harold Bloom Genesis is great literature, not the intended foundation of world religions. The Four Noble Truths -- The Dalai Lama Excellent summary of Buddhist tenets The Gnostic Gospels -- Elaine Pagels Controversial history of early Christianity The Gospel According To Jesus -- Stephen Mitchell A noted translator's attempt to identify the authentic sayings of Jesus, and uncover their spiritual meaning. The Kabbalah of Money -- Rabbi Nilton Bonder Money is an ineffable mystery. But it’s ok to make lots of it. Omens of Millenium -- Harold Bloom Strange, fascinating work on Gnosticism, religious history Zen At Work -- Les Kaye IBM was nice and let the author be a zen monk. So he wrote about it. The Anxiety Of Influence -- Harold Bloom Seminal Work. Bloom's best? The Conquest of Cool -- Thomas Frank 60s Counterculture as unwitting shill for Madison Avenue The Erotic Silence of the American Wife -- Dalma Heyn It's OK for women to cheat too. The Western Canon -- Harold Bloom After some anti-PC rants, 26 rich essays on some of the West's greatest books. The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy -- Jacob Burckhardt Often hilarious account of political struggles in Renaissance Italy. From Dawn To Decadence -- Jacques Barzun Masterful survey of western civilization since Renaissance finds 20th century to be without much decent art since Cubism. Modern Times -- Paul Johnson An engaging portrait of the giant political figures during the 20th century, the age of moral relativism. Engines of Creation -- K. Eric Drexler Nanotechnology. Will it happen? The Holographic Universe -- Michael Talbot Is the universe one big hologram? How Buildings Learn -- Stewart Brand Buildings should be designed for reuse, not for magazine covers. Essays Political Essays
Letter To Republicans: Why You Should Not Vote for George W. Bush. The 2000 Presidential Debates laments the scripted and unenlightening debates between Al Gore and George W. Bush for the year 2000 Presidential Elections. Cultural Essays
Smoking As Religion describes the similarities between smoking and religion. Learning Dutch describes one man's fledgling efforts to master the Dutch tongue. Film Reviews
Fargo. Yes, it is brilliant, but why do people love this movie so much? Film Review: Citizen Kane. Orson Welles' classic satire about Hearst and media sensationalism. Film Review: Canadian Bacon. Michael Moore's 1995 comedy about a wag-the-dog war against Canada rings true today. Film Review: Bob Roberts (1992). Tim Robbins' ruthless satire of American politics. Film Review: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003). Quentin Tarantino pushes the envelope of violence still further. Film Review: Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004). Tarantino's comic book action/adventure is rivetting, but probably a waste of Tarantino's talent. TV Review
I watch Boston Public and I'm Ashamed reviews the sensationalist high school TV drama. |
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