• Bad Argument,  Rant

    Intent, Interpretation, Invention

    Over the decades, particularly the last decade, society has evolved. In most cases, this is good. Progress. Enlightenment. Empathy. Certainly, there are numerous cases where the opposite has happened. Who would have thought that nazis would see a resurgence. Instead, I want to focus on the positive. Don’t worry. It’s still me. This concerns how our messages are conveyed and received by our audience. Particularly the latter.

  • Rant,  Review

    Real to Reel: The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

    Welcome back to Real to Reel. Here I compare books to their live action adaptations. Last time, I compared The Count of Monte Cristo with the 2002 affront to gods and man adaptation. This time, I’m going to compare The Hunt for Red October with the 1990 film. In a way, this is the opposite of the last article. Whereas the 2002 Count of Monte Cristo was terrible, the 1990 Hunt for Red October is a great movie. Arguably better than the book.

  • Politics,  Rant

    Diversity of Thought

    Have you ever heard the phrase “like minded individuals”? I’m sure you have. It’s become a sort of buzzphrase. Anytime someone wants to join a group, they say they want to meet like minded individuals. Why do you want to go to see the sports team? “I want to meet like minded individuals.” Why do you belong to that Facebook group? “I wanted to get to know like minded individuals.” Who are you looking for on this dating website? “Sexy like minded individuals who like The Office.” When I see this, my brain automatically translates it to “closed minded individuals”.

  • Rant,  Review

    Real to Reel: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

    Welcome to a new recurring segment, where I will compare books to their live action adaptations. Today’s critique is on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas vs the abomination that is the 2002 version with Guy Pierce and Jim Caviezel. Figures, since my name is Dantes, I should start with this. Now, I know that this book has been adapted 100s of times in various media. I’m focusing specifically on the 2002 atrocity. Hint: I hated this movie.

  • Rant,  Review

    Review: The Batman

    I, as any sane person, love the character of Batman. Some Batmans are good. Some Batmans are bad. But when given the opportunity to see a Batman, I will jump at the chance. Ten years or however long it’s been since I found out that Robert Pattinson was going to be the Batman, after Ben Afflect decided to give up the cowl, I was excited. I knew that Heath Ledger’s Joker was far better than anyone expected from the dude from 10 Things I Hate About You, so I had the same attitude of optimism for the dude from Twilight. Then I heard that the Riddler would be the main…

  • Life,  Rant

    Chris Explains His Parents’ Music… to his parents. (Heart – Magic Man)

    I don’t know why, but Magic Man has been getting a bit of airplay recently. It’s about time this 70s classic got it’s time in the sun. It reminded me of when I was a teenager. I liked 90s Alternative, because, well, it was the 90s. My parents were strict Roman Catholics, and hated my music because it was “evil”. Yet, they were perfectly fine if I liked music THEY liked. In some cases, it was fine. That’s how I found out about 10,000 Maniacs. Other times, it was… shall we say “hypofuckingcritical.” So let’s take a look at one of these instances. I remember getting Heart’s Greatest Hits, and…

  • Rant

    Chris Explains Rap Music to White People 2: Notorious B.I.G. Featuring Puff Daddy – Juicy (but just the Puff Daddy parts)

    A few years ago, I explained Tupac’s Letter to the President to white people. Then I parodied that by explaining a country song to black people. It’s time I brought it back. Let’s go back in time to the mid 90s. A rap feud is breaking out between east coast and west coast rappers. The two biggest names in the feud were Tupac Shakur, and Biggie Smalls. Then producer, alleged murder, and possible mobster Suge Knight got on stage at an awards ceremony and encouraged rappers to come to his Death Row label, promising them that they wouldn’t be forced to have their producer on every song. This was a…

  • Politics,  Rant

    The 2020 Election and Reconciliation

    Depending on the success or failure of President Trump’s legal cases, Joe Biden is set to be the next president. During a speech recently, President Elect Biden mentioned that we need to consider the other side of the political spectrum as our opponents, not our enemies. This mirrors what I’ve been saying for years. We need to debate ideas, not people.

  • Politics,  Rant

    Power Begets Power

    I was raised in a very conservative family, in a very conservative town. I grew up listening to how the Republicans were the adults. The party of principles. The law and order party. My parents would say that the older I got, the more conservative I would become. Time, however, has shown that the older I get, the more I despise the Republican party.