tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52809302011-07-07T19:06:48.983-04:00Essaysold articles and essays by <a href="http://bluestarscot.blogspot.com/">scot</a>Scotnoreply@blogger.comBlogger101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-1105813847697837642005-01-15T13:30:00.001-05:002010-11-29T03:12:18.551-05:00ESSAYSBig media on the ropesThe Claw-handed Whirlyball GirlA Homo SummerJust Die AlreadyNorman Podhoretz on the WarPost IraqRevisiting DiscoverRock's Greatest Guitar RiffThe Underrated Beatle(old reading room links)ARTSHere on the Island by Lewis NapperFrank Zappa Interview by Bob MarshallThe Importance of Posing as Oscar by Eric BentleyThe New Amateur Journalists Weigh In by Matt WelchThe New Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-1086904309037600492005-01-14T17:51:00.000-05:002005-01-15T13:43:31.036-05:00Norman Podhoretz on the War
Every so often an essayist comes around with a piece on the War on Terrorism that reminds me exactly why I don't write more about it myself. It's certainly a topic of interest and after three years of reading, a topic I have become well acquainted with. However, the talent and scope of these writers simply makes it more fun to read than write. They strike that perfectScotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-1105813832269658292004-11-15T13:30:00.000-05:002005-01-15T13:51:10.053-05:00Just die already
It is being reported that Yasser Arafat is on his deathbed in a France hospital (no kidding). 75 years old, the de facto leader of the Palestinian people and the front line general in the war against Israel is finally knocking on heaven's door. Unfortunately for him, that door will remain unanswered. He deserves no better than a long, excruciating, undignified death - and Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-1086904097995880422004-06-10T17:48:00.000-04:002004-06-10T17:50:55.056-04:00The Underrated Beatle
The Beatles, like other popular culture icons, have attained such a level of fame and mystique that they have become excessively criticized far more than the rest. 'Were the Beatles really deserving of their success?' or 'Musically, they had little talent' are not unpopular sentiments among pop culture sophistos. From legitimate criticism to questionable deconstructionism Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-1070929812037376392003-12-07T19:30:00.000-05:002003-12-09T01:57:09.546-05:00Revisiting Discover
Some days luck just seems to go out its way to find you. Last month, in the middle of what already had been a good day, I walked past a sidewalk trashcan and saw the October issue of Discover atop a relatively clean heap of other dry papers. I reached halfway down the can and grabbed it from the pile. Unusual I know - I'm not a big reader of paper magazines. Nonetheless, I Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-1062173716058779402003-08-29T12:15:00.000-04:002003-08-29T12:37:52.000-04:00The Claw-handed Whirlyball Girl
One interesting topic I've read much about in the last couple of years is a trend that has seen the polarization of people that either admire or respect power (as I tend to do) with those who hate or fear it (you all know by now who I'm talking about). Professional sports dynasties, war generals, great thinkers, world empires - political and economic, spacecraft, Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-1062173435471280532003-08-29T12:10:00.000-04:002003-08-29T12:40:53.180-04:00A Homo Summer
The past few months has been busy for the gay community. With Canada's same-sex marriage recognition, the Supreme Court ruling on sodomy, and the queer Episcopalian priest, there's been a lot of gay in the air. Even Wal-Mart jumped into the fray with their non-discriminatory policy toward the hiring of homosexuals.
For a straight guy, I've known more than my share of queers. I've Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-959314912003-06-22T22:43:00.001-04:002003-08-12T18:27:55.053-04:00Post Iraq
Prior to the invasion of Iraq, I wasn't sure what kind of behavior we would see from the anti-war left during the occupation. They could either lick their (mainly self imposed) wounds and get ready for the next cause (Iran? Saudi Arabia? Syria?) or they could stagnate and dwell on past arguments. Interestingly, they have opted for the latter. With a renewed furor again directed at the Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-959314682003-06-22T22:43:00.000-04:002003-06-22T22:43:08.646-04:00Big media on the ropes
Since high school we've been taught that anything owned, managed, and maintained by lowly humans will be subject to the same gaffes, misperceptions, and biases that we ourselves are. We all screw up and we all cloud our judgments according to our unique tendencies to do so. Accepted is that even some of our most important services - government, medicine, and education - Scotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280930.post-933676612003-04-27T20:40:00.000-04:002003-06-21T02:50:09.000-04:00Rock's Greatest Guitar Riff
(note: for users of Windows 2000 and up, the audio samples should open in your browser - others will likely see default media players open)
Next to Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry wields perhaps the greatest influence in rock and roll's history. The two had much in common; they were the best at fusing popular country and blues styles into a definition of rock and roll, Scotnoreply@blogger.com