One of the few TV shows that's got its hooks in me is The Americans. Maybe it's because I grew up during the cold war. Or maybe it's because the villains often seem like heroes. Keeping bad guys and good guys straight is fun. Watch, esp if you think Russians are channeling Soviets now.The new season of the show starts this Wednesday on FX (10pm PST). This season is bound to resonate even more deeply than in the past four seasons because Russia and the Trump administration seem to be … [Read more...]
Facial symmetry & why some clowns scare us.
Stephen King's It— a 1000 page epic of a shape-shifting evil from beyond time— features a clown named Pennywise. The clown doesn't This dancing clown grins through all the horror and gore in It and exudes malevolent wit. While King’s villains are often frightening, Pennywise's wit approaches camp without really being funny.Zach Handlen describes It as "set largely in a single small town in Maine. [W] hile it spans decades, the main action takes place in two distinct time periods.—1958, which … [Read more...]
O.J. Pistorius? Another psychopath like O.J?
Judge Thokozile Masipa handed down her judgment in a South African high court on Friday. She found Oscar Pistorius guilty of "culpable homicide,'' similar to American "manslaughter." But whether it's the equivalent of American voluntary or involuntary manslaughter may be resolved when she sentences him. Judge Masipa felt prosecutors didn't make a strong enough case for premeditation which would've meant Pistorius was guilty of first degree murder. Bladerunner Pistorius During the sentencing … [Read more...]
Oscar Pistorius——not mentally disabled, but a psychopath?
No mental disability when fired shots. It's been a month since various media shouted the news that Oscar Pistorius didn't have a mental disability when he killed his girlfriend. So technically, he has only one disability, his amputated legs. However, it's been over a year (Feb 2013) when I speculated that Pistorius might be a psychopath along the lines of fallen and disgraced sports heroes like Lance Armstrong and OJ. Simpson. I'd have to say the "jury is still out" regarding whether … [Read more...]
Lance Armstrong, a Sociopath? Or a Psychopath on the order of O.J and maybe Oscar Pistorius?
Nothing new about a hero falling from grace and joining the ranks of the villainous or foolish. This site includes pictures of Babe Ruth, General Patton, and Charlie Chaplin who travelled this path in the eyes of many. The infractions of these three, besides a kind of un-American personal arrogance, included, respectively, abusing a wife, slapping a soldier, and engaging in controversial relationships and politics. What bothers many people about … [Read more...]