ghost_dog2016

Podcast Episode: Meet the Reverend!

Pip: Ghost Dog is the kind of site that makes you wonder if satire ever really went away, or if it just got a better costume. Mara: Today we're covering a piece from Benn Bell — a mock television interview that puts a fictional former president in front of a televangelist host, complete with fake commercials and the full absurdist apparatus of late-night public access TV....

Podcast Episode: Meet the Reverend! Pip: Ghost Dog is the kind of site that makes you wonder if satire ever really went away, or if it just got a better costume.Mara: Today we're covering a piece from Benn Bell — a mock televisi…

One More Cup of Coffee

I am a huge Bob Dylan fan, and one of my favorite songs is One More Cup of Coffee. I have been thinking a lot about this song, and it has inspired some of my own writing, especially in my play, The Last Chance Saloon. I decided to do a deep dive on the net to learn more about the song and the story behind it....

One More Cup of Coffee I am a huge Bob Dylan fan, and one of my favorite songs is One More Cup of Coffee. I have been thinking a lot about this song, and it has inspired some of my own writing, especially in my play, The…

Billionaires and Fascism in America and Around the World

Divide. Distract. Consolidate Power Good morning, friends. Today I want to share with you a summary of a recent interview I watched with philosopher Jason Stanley on an episode of IHIP News with Jennifer Welch. The central subject is Stanley’s assessment of where the Trump administration fits into the historical pattern of authoritarianism and fascism. Stanley’s basic thesis is that what we’re seeing isn’t mysterious or historically unprecedented....

Billionaires and Fascism in America and Around the World Divide. Distract. Consolidate Power Good morning, friends. Today I want to share with you a summary of a recent interview I watched with philosopher Jason Stanley on an episode of IHIP News with Je…

Podcast Episode: STALKER (1979)

Pip: Ghost Dog is the kind of site that watches a film twice, still can't explain it, and considers that a recommendation. Mara: Today we're covering Benn Bell's deep dive into Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker — the film, the zone, and what it means to stand at the threshold of your deepest wish and refuse to walk through. Pip: Let's start with the zone itself....

Podcast Episode: STALKER (1979) Pip: Ghost Dog is the kind of site that watches a film twice, still can't explain it, and considers that a recommendation.Mara: Today we're covering Benn Bell's deep dive into Andrei…

Is Irony Dead?

Is irony really dead? In his famous essay “E Unibus Pluram,” David Foster Wallace argued that irony had become so pervasive in American culture that it had lost much of its rebellious power. Television and advertising could take any sincere statement, immediately put quotation marks around it, and turn it into a joke. Everything could be mocked, including the act of mocking itself....

Is Irony Dead? Is irony really dead? In his famous essay “E Unibus Pluram,” David Foster Wallace argued that irony had become so pervasive in American culture that it had lost much of its rebellious power. Televi…

Podcast Episode: The Curious Case of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Woolery

Pip: Ghost Dog is a site where history shows up unannounced, sits down at the table, and refuses to leave quietly. Mara: Today we're covering a piece by Benn Bell that reconstructs a single, devastating day in 1944 Louisville — a story where a house call ends in triple tragedy, and the world outside keeps turning anyway. Pip: Let's start with the doctor, the family, and the November afternoon that became a newspaper headline....

Podcast Episode: The Curious Case of Dr. Benjamin Franklin Woolery Pip: Ghost Dog is a site where history shows up unannounced, sits down at the table, and refuses to leave quietly.Mara: Today we're covering a piece by Benn Bell that reconstructs a single, de…

Podcast Episode: Fear and Loathing on the Way to Galveston

Pip: Ghost Dog is back, and this time we're loading up the White Whale and pointing it south toward Galveston — which, as a destination for spiritual renewal, is either inspired or deeply suspicious. Mara: Benn Bell takes us on a road trip through Arkansas, Texas, and the American Dream — or what's left of it. Let's start with the journey itself....

Podcast Episode: Fear and Loathing on the Way to Galveston Pip: Ghost Dog is back, and this time we're loading up the White Whale and pointing it south toward Galveston — which, as a destination for spiritual renewal, is either inspired or deeply susp…

Podcast Episode: Book Review: Recessional by David Mamet

Pip: Ghost Dog, where we read so you don't have to — though today's post makes a reasonable case that sometimes you shouldn't bother reading at all. Mara: Today we're covering a book review from Benn Bell — one that sits at the intersection of craft, politics, and the particular disappointment of a writer you admire going badly off the rails....

Podcast Episode: Book Review: Recessional by David Mamet Pip: Ghost Dog, where we read so you don't have to — though today's post makes a reasonable case that sometimes you shouldn't bother reading at all.Mara: Today we're covering a …

Podcast Episode: LUST

Pip: Ghost Dog, where WordPress hands you the word "Lust" and someone actually runs with it — straight to Philadelphia and Paris. Mara: Today we're covering a piece by Benn Bell that takes a single charged word and builds a whole meditation around it — quotes, cities, photographs, and the full weight of what that word carries. Let's start with lust itself....

Podcast Episode: LUST Pip: Ghost Dog, where WordPress hands you the word "Lust" and someone actually runs with it — straight to Philadelphia and Paris.Mara: Today we're covering a piece by Benn Bell that …

Saturday Morning Colloquy

I had another good philosophical discussion with Chat this morning. Here are the results: Benn: Good morning. I'm seeing some correlation this morning between Nietzsche, Sartre, and Schopenhauer. Nietzsche says, "Zarathustra has mastered the great nausea over man. Man is for him unformed, a material, an ugly stone in needs sculpture. Willing no more, this great weariness, wills joy in begetting." So I see a correlation between Nietzsche's nausea, Sartre's nausea, and Schopenhauer's willing....

Saturday Morning Colloquy I had another good philosophical discussion with Chat this morning. Here are the results: Benn: Good morning. I’m seeing some correlation this morning between Nietzsche, Sartre, and Schopenha…