George Case's Blog, page 11

No Soul In the New Machine

Since I began blogging, I’ve been reminded of the argument that I am now part of a planetary consciousness that represents the next stage in human development.  Indeed, the internet as a whole, it’s said, fulfils the visions of the Jesuit philosopher Pierre de Teilhard de Chardin, who foretold the coming of an oceanic global […]

Bogus Beatles Blowout

Like any famous musical act, the Beatles have often been imitated.  Whether done out of opportunism, admiration, or parody (or a combination thereof), the imitations help us recognize the unique elements of the original – the qualities which, when demonstrated by other acts, are instantly found to be “Beatlesque.”  Two- or three-part vocal harmonies, chiming […]

Panic In the Streets

 Tragedy seldom stands alone.  Shocking news, such as the allegations of mass unmarked graves on the sites of former Native residential schools, is not only horrific in itself, but is soon made a symbol of broader, ongoing horror.  “The shootings in Atlanta were horrible, but they didn’t come to me as a surprise,” wrote journalist […]

All Caps

Recently, and with remarkable speed and thoroughness, most major media organizations have amended their style guidelines to capitalize the word Black as a racial denominator, e.g. “The black shoes were worn by Oprah Winfrey, a Black celebrity,” or “It was a black day when Black leader Martin Luther King Jr. was killed.” This is an […]

Let a Thousand Blooms Flower

In the early 1970s, Mad magazine noted that ordinary American conservatives “don’t understand what William F. Buckley says, but agree with him.”  Buckley, at the time editor of the National Review magazine and host of television’s Firing Line, was famous for bringing an erudite verbosity to positions more associated with hicks and hardhats.  Yet his […]

What’s Up, Docs?

The proliferation of nonfiction films and television in recent decades – in the volume of programming on specialty channels, on DVDs, on Netflix, at cinemas, and on YouTube – has deeply changed our understanding of reportage, education, and advocacy.  Reality shows, political polemics, nature series, and behind-the-scenes “Special Editions” of commercial entertainments are so central […]

Pre-Pop Pinups

Though the formula of the commercial pinup or “cheesecake” illustration was established in the 1930s and 40s by craftsmen like Alberto Vargas and George Petty, representations of idealized female forms are as old as art itself.  And there were a crucial few decades preceding the genre’s classic era when its templates of pose and composition […]

It’s About Time

I once read somewhere that the marking of historical anniversaries (other than that of the supposed birth of Jesus Christ) was something that only took root during the long reign of Queen Victoria, who ruled from 1837 until her death in 1901. In an age where life expectancy was shorter than it is now, the […]

If Only In My Dreams

In previous years I have posted a recurring speculation that the annual consumerist frenzy sometimes designated Christmas may eventually become extinct; perhaps that end has arrived sooner than I expected. But the pandemic that began in 2020 and which is approaching its fourth year might actually have rendered obsolete only the most traditional rituals of […]

Pro- and AntiChrist

Fans of heavy metal and horror movies should be familiar with the Antichrist, the Biblical character whose arrival on earth is said to foretell the end of the world; the same fans may be surprised to learn that their understandings are inaccurate.  The Antichrist appears exactly once in the Bible, in the First Epistle of […]