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PopSmarts: This Summer I Hear the Drumming

PopSmarts: This Summer I Hear the Drumming

Jack Feerick May 9, 2013 6

Last week saw the anniversary of one of the most horrific events in American history, the shootings of four unarmed college students by National Guardsmen on the campus of Ohio’s Kent State University. Four

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PopSmarts: Looking for God in “Toy Story”

PopSmarts: Looking for God in “Toy Story”

Jack Feerick April 25, 2013 1

It’s not a revelation to anyone, anymore, to point out that Hollywood is no longer in the business of original ideas. It takes a great deal of money to make and market a movie

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PopSmarts: Going Clear with William Burroughs

PopSmarts: Going Clear with William Burroughs

Jack Feerick April 11, 2013 2

The works of William S. Burroughs are often lumped in with the Beat school; but although he was friendly with leading figures in the movement, his works were far more dark and paranoid than

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Keep It To Yourself: The Writing On The Wall

Keep It To Yourself: The Writing On The Wall

Jonny Balfus April 1, 2013 8

So I’m standing on the 7th Avenue subway platform in lower Manhattan, circa 1983.  Two knuckleheads are discussing a picture of a baby in a circle.  The primitive image is drawn in white chalk on

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PopSmarts: The Judas Gospels

PopSmarts: The Judas Gospels

Jack Feerick March 28, 2013 0

 And so we come, by the turning of the year, to the end of Shrovetide and the beginning of the Christian liturgical calendar. When I was a choir director, these three days of Easter

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PopSmarts: Damned By Dawn!

PopSmarts: Damned By Dawn!

Jack Feerick March 14, 2013 1

It’s coming on St. Patrick’s Day now. That’s when all the amateur Irishmen come out for a night on the piss and an annual flirtation with Celtic folk music. In particular, the Pogues will

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PopSmarts: The Camera Always Lies

PopSmarts: The Camera Always Lies

Jack Feerick February 28, 2013 5

I’ve always been a know-it-all. I was the kid who actually did read the encyclopedia for fun, and I carried my reputation as a fount of useless knowledge into adulthood and into the workplace.

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The Popdose Interview: Brandon Schott Is A Man On (Many) Missions

The Popdose Interview: Brandon Schott Is A Man On (Many) Missions

Dw. Dunphy February 26, 2013 0

Independent musician Brandon Schott is using his talents in an unexpected way -- to fight cancer

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Scales Of Justice: Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Scales Of Justice: Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Dw. Dunphy February 11, 2013 0

Does Taylor Swift's song have the same weight as Gloria Gaynor's

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Book Review: “Profiles in Courageousness” by Rep. Jack Kimble

Book Review: “Profiles in Courageousness” by Rep. Jack Kimble

Brian Boone February 8, 2013 1

Political satire is usually pretty lead-footed. It’s hard to do well, with the result usually falling into the realm of smug, obvious, and overwhelmingly direct (Capitol Steps), or fear-mongering and overwrought (Bob Roberts). It

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