Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
This column was meant for September, but as fate would have it, a few other things got in the way — the presidential election, various school shootings, the demise of Twinkies — that deserved some commentary. However, the start of a new year is just as good a time to talk about this subject: the future. What was special about … >>
These are crazy times. On one TV channel, mobs are destroying cities in England. On another channel, mobs are destroying San Francisco. The first is presented as news, and I’m supposed to be shocked by it. The second is presented as entertainment, and I’m supposed to enjoy it. Is this sick or what? Obviously the makers of Rise of the … >>
From November 1966 to December 1967, a number of people in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, claimed to have been frightened by a large, man-like creature with glowing red eyes and wings. As they drove near it, it rose up and followed them in the air. A reporter called it Mothman. No one knows exactly what Mothman looked like, since the … >>
This summer seems like it’s been the summer of death. The Grim Reaper has claimed one of Charlie’s Angels, a 50-year-old kid who’d held a baby out a window, a defense secretary who’d been responsible for the Vietnam War, and an Irish-American author who, in old age, was still complaining about his awful childhood. Now the most trusted man in … >>
Going to the movies this weekend will take us back 40 years, and ahead 240 years, in the new, “reimagined” Star Trek film. In 1969, poor ratings caused the demise of the original television series. But the Star Trek franchise gained so much momentum over the years that it’s now unstoppable. Why is it so popular? One word: optimism. Unlike … >>