The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: The Mayflower Compact Goes West
By David Churchill Barrow
In his National Review piece Kyle Smith notes that this movie is most famous for its cynicism of the press, and the puncturing of Old West mythology; its most famous line being “This is the West, Sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” In this view, the film was pioneer postmodern. There should not be an abundance of joy in the destruction of myth. As Jordan Peterson often reminds us, shared mythology is part of the cultural cement that holds us together, just as the Arthurian legends instructed actual knights on the meaning of chivalry.
Which Is More Terrifying: The Haunting Vs. The Devil’s Advocate?
Evil from Within or Evil from Without?
By David Churchill Barrow
When I was in 3rd or 4th grade I considered myself a horror film aficionado – mostly watching old horror classics on Friday nights like the original Dracula, or more recent B-rated schlock, like Jack Nicholson in The Terror. Then one evening I began watching 1963’s The Haunting, and had to shut it off after the first few scenes. I didn’t finish the movie until years later. The fright was from pure atmospherics; there’s no monsters jumping out at you, no blood, flesh and gore flying about – but it’s was like walking into someone else’s black & white nightmare. Martin Scorsese ranked it the best horror film of all time.
Halloween Movie Picks: Pumpkinhead
By Fred Tribuzzo
Nature manifests its horror script through biology: old age, disease, and death. Camille Paglia is right to name biology the real fascist ruler of mankind. Added to nature’s brew are the conscious decisions made within the human heart—jealousy, revenge and murder.
Pulling Your Cosmic Trigger: Why July 23 Is Robert Anton Wilson Day
An Overview of the Unique Sci-Fi Novelist and Occult Explorer Who Made Contact With *Something* Today in 1973
By David M. Swindle
If I had to pick a single author who has influenced me more than any other it would be the counterculture godfather Robert Anton Wilson whose books, speeches, and ideas have influenced generations of oddball individualists since the 1970s.
Memorial Day Memories and Small Town Virtues
By David Churchill Barrow
Memorial Day in the sleepy little Massachusetts town where I grew up was a big deal (not so much here in Florida or elsewhere in the south, since its origin was a commemoration of Union dead). Next to Christmas it was also my favorite holiday, despite the somber ceremonies. It marked the beginning of summer – cook-outs, the filling of swimming pools, flowers in full bloom, and fresh clean air. Not long before school’s out!
Consider for Christmas Gifts: Keith Korman’s Eden: The Animals’ Parable
By Keith Korman
Perfect for a holiday stocking stuffer: Eden: The Animals’ Parable by Keith Korman.
A Thanksgiving Salute
By David Churchill Barrow
November brings the confluence of three anniversaries – the birthday of the United States Marine Corps on November 10, Veteran’s Day on November 11, and of course, Thanksgiving. There was a passenger onboard the Mayflower who could be honored upon all three. He was a soldier of fortune who, in between wars, took pity upon these hapless farmers and artisans we call Pilgrims – who were armed with faith but little else – and agreed to accompany them to the new world as military advisor. He was the only one who did not get sick that first brutal winter (half of them died, including his wife, Rose) and so he tended to all the others, especially William Bradford, who would soon serve as governor for most of the remainder of his life and become his life-long friend. The calm, thoughtful Bradford and this fiery-tempered soldier formed a partnership that not only allowed New Plymouth to survive, but eventually thrive. That soldier’s name was Myles Standish.
Happy Thanksgiving!
By Liberty Island Staff
Liberty Island wishes all our friends and readers a very wonderful Thanksgiving today!
1918, American Remembrance
By David Walls-Kaufman
World War I, The Great War, 1914-1918, really is one of the most poignant chapters in America’s extraordinary history.
1) Imagine – America gathers up a million troops and throws them at another continent where wages an atrocious, industrial war that Americans have no fight in.
