Cinema
Say It Loud: Blaxploitation and the Cinema That Couldn't Be Ignored
I am going to admit that I missed this genre. Oh, I heard about it, but it wasn't my jam. Now, I am totally diggin' it.
May 23, 2026 Week in Review
This is your week in review. Remember, if the emails and daily posts are clogging your inbox, you can turn off the main newsletter (Sweaty's Corner) email notifications and just get this tidy wrap up in your inbox. Just click through to the web page, be sure you
The Ratchet Only Clicks One Way
On the doom loop, the Never Trump optimists, and the uncomfortable maths of where we actually are
The Billboard Won't Save You
Sarah Longwell is among the sharpest political operators working today. She is also, on this particular question, wrong. Dead wrong. Part 1 of a three episode arc
Music: Ally the Piper plays A7
Enjoy this ripping cover by Ally the Piper
They Forgot to Outlaw Shamelessness
The $1.7 billion slush fund isn't just corruption. It's proof that the founders' whole architecture rested on something they assumed would always be there and isn't anymore.
The Wave, the Wall, and the 40 Percent
The pundit class' insistence that 2026 will be a wave year, and that Trump's flagging approval is a lock is not that comforting.
Übermensch in a Cubicle Farm - Pt 1: The Collar Color Was Always a Con
Why doesn't Tech unionize? It isn't difficult to suss out, but you have to look at it in context. This is the start of a weekly series about the "why"
Music: Lari Basilio is back with a new axe
Favorite of the newsletter, Lari Basilio is back with a new guitar, and moar strings. See how she puts them to use.
The Wrong Side of the Street: Poverty Row Noir and the Beauty of Having Nothing to Lose
Noir is a deep genre, and while it is by definition gritty, there is a sub-class that truly embodies the grittiness, and the ethos. Poverty Row is an apt description.
May 16th, 2026: Week in Review
To help reduce the clutter to the inbox, this is a weekly round up post of what was published. Go to the account area on the website, and for email, you can turn on or off any of the newsletters. If you prefer the once a week round up, make
The Useful Fiction Act IV: The Political Fiction
Closing out, the accident that created what we call the middle class is about over. Sure, politicians will pontificate, but neither party is willing to do the work to keep it going.
The Useful Fiction - Act III: Et tu donkey?
If you think that the Democrats are the party of the middle class, you're fooling yourself. But since the 1980's they've gotten on the gravy train, feeding at the trough with the Republicans