Another Interview with Author Mike Baron
By Tamara Wilhite
I interviewed Mike Baron shortly before his comic book “Florida Man” came out. He is more famous for creating the “Nexus” science fiction comic book in the 1980s. He worked on “Star Wars – The New Republic” and “Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy” books.
Mambo Non-Italiano Episode III: Donnie Brasco
By Tom Cosentino
This episode of Mambo Non-Italiano focuses on the gritty true-life story of FBI Agent Joe Pistone who went undercover and infiltrated the Bonanno family in New York City. Pistone was incredibly successful, getting in so deep into the Mafia that they considered opening the books for him to be a made man, a blood member of “this thing of ours”. Pistone’s story is told in the 1997 film Donnie Brasco.
Mambo Non-Italiano Episode II
By Tom Cosentino
I hope you enjoyed the first episode of Mambo Non-Italiano. I left you with the cliffhanger, the question of whether Cher gets an Italian pass for her role in Moonstruck. Moonstruck is a great Italian movie but did she do all that is necessary for the Don to give her a pass?
The Beginning of Mambo Non-Italiano
By Tom Cosentino
Welcome to my new Blog, Mambo Non-Italiano. In today’s crazy cancel culture, where cartoon characters have to be ethnically cleansed and there are casting quotas where Henry VIII could be played by an Asian woman, who self-identifies as something else, well you know where I’m going. I wanted to add my take on this hotly contested debate, in a subtler, more relaxed environment, like my Uncle’s talking about which jockey’s were on the take at the local Harness track.
A few things upfront, I am not on a mission. I have not social wrong I want to make right. I got the idea for this blog from watching the very fine movie Green Book. Viggo Mortensen was nominated for Best Actor but lost to an Englishman playing an Englishman. Mortensen played the real-life Italian Tony Lip. Mortensen was great in the role all except for one small problem; he’s not Italian. He doesn’t look Italian. He can’t make Pasta Fagioli. He acted Italian but isn’t that supposed to be something we aren’t supposed to be doing now? So, I thought I would blog about the roles of Italian characters that were played by non-Italians.
Real Coffee with Scott Adams: A Review
By Tom Weiss
Nothing about Scott Adams’ daily news and analysis show, Real Coffee with Scott Adams, should work.
Not especially telegenic (said the pot to the kettle), Adams would blend right in at an Upper Midwest accountant’s convention. His lilting voice – something he lost for a number of years – isn’t remarkable, and he is incapable of pronouncing some names. His show features no production value or set design to speak of. Bare wooden home office shelves adorned only with copies of his books form his backdrop.
And yet, once you start listening, it’s hard to stop.
Mountain Dew Energized Doritos: Only in Australia. You Don’t Want Them Anywhere Else.
By Tom Weiss
Every time I stroll through the soft drink aisle and see the brand names Coke and Pepsi lining the shelves on either side – even now, nearing the end of my fifth decade on the planet – I think about my parents. Coke, when I was a child (and still, to some degree, today) was an adult beverage. “You can’t have it,” I hear my mother’s voice echo in my head. “It has caffeine.”
Back then, I didn’t know what caffeine was. But, I knew I wanted it. So much of my youth was consumed by a longing to be older, to do what grown-ups did, to drink what they drank. And, as a result, I was primed to fall for the marketing strategy Mountain Dew employed in the 1980s.
SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS!
Part 1 of an Ongoing Poetry Series
By Mike Baron
Liberty Island’s prolific novelist Mike Baron offers some politically-inspired verse!
Dave Chappelle’s All-American Anti-PC Heresies Vs. Ramy Youssef’s Woke-Intersectional-Islamist Cousin-Loving
Check out my new article on Islamist entertainment at The Daily Wire
By David M. Swindle
I had a new article published yesterday at The Daily Wire. I compare and contrast the comedy specials of two American Muslims, and Ramy Youssef, coming down very hard against the latter:
Among the fascinating phenomena of America’s most prominent Muslim activist organizations is how they decide which Muslims to lift up and which to ignore. Compare two recent comedy specials. One, Dave Chappelle’s newest Netflix special “Sticks & Stones,” which is generating intense reactions given its choice of material — including abortion, #MeToo, Transgenderism, “the alphabet people” (referring to the expanding acronym LGBTQIA+), and the implications of the “cancel culture,” which seeks to silence all who do not adhere to the “woke” doctrines of political correctness.
Thinking about this hilariously offensive special brought to mind another recent comedy special that challenged different cultural taboos: Millennial Ramy Youssef’s “Feelings,” released on HBO on June 29.
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.
New Dark Humor Fiction: Hitch-Hike Baby, Part Two
The Ugly
By Carlos Stranger
When last we visited, I had just gotten laid by way of a friendly, frisky, pre-AIDS era hitchhike hookup. It was the only time such a thing happened during my years thumbing rides, but not for lack of offers. Unfortunately, at least for a straight guy like me, all the other offers I got after getting picked up were from men.
