Michael Kaplan
@differance.bsky.social
Writer. Teacher. Scholar of rhetoric, media and democracy. Chicago Bears and Arsenal fan. My work is mysterious and important.
Cruel optimism in the age of Trump:
The Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On
YouTube video by The Supremes Archive
youtube.com
Still waiting for a #BrokenTimes headline asking if voters *anywhere* (e.g., Ohio, Alabama, Texas, Florida, etc.) will think a corrupt racist sexual predator running for office is "too radical" for them
So "traditional Democrats" refers to post-Obama consultant-driven, fundraising-obsessed losers who gave fascists an easy path to power?
Trump should have the military build a wooden horse, hide some Navy SEALs inside, and leave it as a parting gift to Tehran on the beach at Bandar Abbas.
I'm revisiting this burgeoning genre, and I have questions: "Everyone wants identity and purpose. For many men, these basic needs can manifest through a desire to feel masculine…" The missing premises doing all the work in this little enthymeme!
Traditional gender roles won’t get men what they want
Men’s search for meaning is everyone’s problem.
vox.com
I am 1000% against AI (or what passes for it these days), but my hottest take is that life on Earth would be a helluva lot better if video games disappeared forever.
"Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events." —Lincoln at Cooper Union Turns out, they both rule and ruin
remember the Epstein files? neither does anyone else
Just came across a media scholar claiming that the flashback was a cinematic invention. And then go on to mispronounce Bazin’s name.
The more I think about it, the more I feel that Wilson’s review of The Odyssey was just plain dumb
Kai keeps on slippin’ slippin’ slippin’ In past the defense
finally got to see The Odyssey. Emily Wilson is working on a new translation, so 6-7 years from now, I assume we'll get to see Denis Villeneuve's version. can't wait to compare the two.
the anti-war president has brought us to the brink of a major regional war
There’s a petition to keep Mamdani from attending the 9/11 commemoration. What is wrong with people?
