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American Culture

Blued: Revue Review

The performance in Fayetteville of Blue Man Group filled my mind too full to write about immediately. A deadline would’ve been wonderful. So now it’s time to free up to brain cavity. Past time. We saw the third of its eight shows at the Walton Arts Center, during the first week of September. The company […]

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American Culture

We Are Don’s Draper

I watch Mad Men religiously. Of all the plot points, the least should be the main one, the secret identity of its lead, Don Draper. Most of the other characters don’t know, but the audience got the gist from the get-go. It became a non-issue for me after reflecting on the opening scene of the […]

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American Culture

Ptop Gun, or Savants Seal

Copyright 2010 Ben S. Pollock Show me your hands. Good, they’re clean. Thumb check, everyone. Twitching and ready to turn up or down? Yes, it’s movie day. I haven’t caught any stories that note James Cameron is the kind of director who sometimes drops into a shot a wink at a movie that inspired him […]

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American Culture

Perilous

On Sept. 11, 2001, the United States rejoined its fellow nations in finding itself vulnerable to attack. Because it was attacked. Americans had grown complacent since what, Pearl Harbor, 59 years and 9 months earlier? They aren’t anymore. While increasingly cautious, which is good, and arbitrarily suspicious, bad, Americans overall have gained little wisdom from […]

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American Culture

I Am So Controlling

You scroll through the Internet and land here. Your choice, your control. I create an essay, choosing topic, slant and wording. I’m in control of what you’re reading now. Hah! The wife reminds the husband about some chore. “You are so controlling,” he says. The husband expounds so about his day that the wife is […]

Categories
American Culture

How the North Won

DATELINE MIRTHOLOGY — News item: The Fort Smith National Historic Site will host a reenactment of the Confederate occupation of Fort Smith from 1861-63 on Saturday. … Union soldiers abandoned the garrison at Fort Smith on April 23, 1861, leaving the fort open to Arkansas state troops. Union forces recaptured the fort in September 1863. […]