Tag Archives: Politics

HUMMEL Review – She Said

Director Maria Schrader’s “She Said” probably isn’t a movie that will play well to the holiday crowd, but it comes from an old tradition in filmmaking that lionizes the fourth estate as the last defender of democracy and justice in a world of corruption and hate.  To paraphrase a “Pamphleteer” colleague, what better way isContinue reading “HUMMEL Review – She Said”

Tyler’s 10 Greatest Films of All Time – A Theoretical Sights and Sounds Submission

I am not and was not eligible to submit to the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound vote as to the greatest films of all time. I don’t particularly care of course. I am a member of the Music City Film Critics Association with five years of published film criticism under my belt. I don’tContinue reading “Tyler’s 10 Greatest Films of All Time – A Theoretical Sights and Sounds Submission”

Black Adam and The Parochial Demigods of Pop Culture 

As the city of Troy is burning in Virgil’s poem The Aeneid, our intrepid hero Aeneas is left to decide what little he can save from the fires of the barbarian Greeks as they lay siege to the once mighty civilization. With little time, the pious warrior prince ceases his son and the household deities,Continue reading “Black Adam and The Parochial Demigods of Pop Culture “

Hummel Travel Log – True Diversity in the Most Humble of Places

I don’t typically meet new friends randomly on walks but I was happy recently when I stumbled upon a young woman struggling to assemble a tent on the lawn of my apartment complex. I struck up a short conversation with her out of curiosity and discovered that she and her husband had lived in thisContinue reading “Hummel Travel Log – True Diversity in the Most Humble of Places”

HUMMEL Review: Uncle Tom II: An American Odyssey (2022)

Several of my friends were actually surprised when I told them that there was going to be an Uncle Tom sequel. I was surprised as well. I managed to avoid hearing about it until well after its premiere. I haven’t seen the original Uncle Tom in two years, but I recall thinking fairly well ofContinue reading “HUMMEL Review: Uncle Tom II: An American Odyssey (2022)”

Reflections on Mykola Khvylovy’s “Stories from the Ukraine” – By Simon Maass

By Simon Maass I had one of my more ambiguous experiences with literature when I recently read “Stories from the Ukraine,” an anthology of tales by the early twentieth-century writer Mykola Khvylovy, translated and edited by George Luckyj. The book contains five short stories by Khvylovy himself, followed by an abridged autobiographical account featuring himContinue reading “Reflections on Mykola Khvylovy’s “Stories from the Ukraine” – By Simon Maass”

A Year With(Out) Norm MacDonald – Catching Up on the Obvious

The one-year passing of comedian Norm MacDonald really snuck up on me this year. September 14th marked the one-year passing of the 61-year-old comedian from Leukemia; that he had evidently been facing quietly and never addressing to the public. In the past year, I’ve really fallen in love with Norm MacDonald’s work. In true artistContinue reading “A Year With(Out) Norm MacDonald – Catching Up on the Obvious”

Theodore Roosevelt’s “Strenuous Life” Speech Today

By Simon Maass Reading Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “strenuous life” speech nowadays elicits, mainly, two reactions. Firstly, one is struck by the strength of the late statesman’s character – Roosevelt’s biography leaves no doubt as to his sincerity in expounding “the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife.”Continue reading “Theodore Roosevelt’s “Strenuous Life” Speech Today”

Bolshevism and Anarchy: Is “The Street” H. P. Lovecraft’s Most Relevant Story?

By Simon Maass In 1919, legendary horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft penned “The Street,” a short story perhaps more pertinent to the current political moment – from a conservative perspective, of course – than any of his other writings. Just over a century later, this is also one of his lesser-known creations, and connoisseurs whoContinue reading “Bolshevism and Anarchy: Is “The Street” H. P. Lovecraft’s Most Relevant Story?”