“Five—now this is the most important, Rat. When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV.”—Mike Damone (c. 1982)

On the “avant-grade”: Throughout most of my life, I have been enamored by the idea of movements and revolutions. During the decade I spent studying literature, I was always most excited by experimental, avant-grade work that took place during times of political and social upheaval (you can never read enough early twentieth century artistic manifestoes–fortunately, there is no shortage of them). When I studied critical theory and philosophy, I was

without the obligatory post about talking urinal cakes? I’m not sure that they’ll cut down on anyone’s drinking, but they’re sure as hell likely to make folks think twice before they drop acid again. Also, his post on Amanda’s new job just got funnier.  It may not be what Al Gore had in mind when he invented it, but I reckon the intertubes exist mostly to make me laugh.  And

Barak Obama is a man of principle: He said that the lives of the soldiers killed in Iraq were wasted, and, by God! he’s determined to make sure it happens! **** update [jg]:  Compare and contrast.

Ms Marcotte blames the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue for her troubles, but in truth, her anti-religious screeds (she calls them “anti-theocracy”—though the distinction seems rather disingenuous, given that her attacks tend to target religious people who actually believe the tenets of their faith), once exposed, offended more than just the perpetually aggrieved and controversial religious politico.  In fact, as

Reader Adam Szczepanski points me to this piece on same sex marriage by Crispin Sartwell, which takes issue with precisely the kind of semantic legal argument I offered Friday.  Writes Sartwell: Of all the issues likely to confront a new justice of the Supreme Court, gay marriage is the easiest to resolve. The “legal” arguments against gay marriage are entirely fraudulent: fallacious and dishonest on their face. That anyone takes

“A lot of what we are doing now is just advising, helping them get the training that they need, among other things,” said International Police Liaison Officer (IPLO) Tom Gorman, a civilian police officer and advisor from Stark, FL. “I think being embedded in the police station like we are here, you’re able to build relationships, able to make a difference and show them what we do back home. These

One of the things that I most vividly remember about being in grade school was that we were all expected to bring Valentine’s cards for everyone else in the class.  So, you’d want to try and save anything not too terribly ghey for the boys in your class (such as puppies or baseball players).  The closer you could get to a message that said, “I don’t think you’re repulsive,” the

”…The Walrus and the Carpenter Walked on a mile or so, And then they ‘rested’ on a rock Conveniently low. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…”*

I’ve talked at length on this site about the maneuver, within the structural workings of identity politics, for one subgroup within the larger identity group to push a particular master-narrative which, if and when it becomes the group’s official narrative, is then used to excommunicate heretics.  Generally, this maneuver is easy to pass off to true believers, because it becomes rather simple to frame those ostracized by the guardians of