Fun on the Mississippi
Mississippi River, steamboat, dinner cruise, St. Louis, waterfront, excursion
By Sacha Mardou
The Memorial to Joan Didion in NYC
The memorial service for Joan Didion, who died December 23, 2021, was held this week at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. (You can watch it here. There is no audio during the slideshow at the start.) Organizers explained the…
Right-Minded Electricity, Anyone?
Distrustful of (some) digital technology, yet resentful of the power others might gain by its use, CPAC attendees were asked almost nonstop to consume “conservative” or “alt-tech” technologies. In the hours-long general sessions each day, in a ballroom with thousands of chairs, flashy, high-tech displays showed video ads between every speaker or panel—for The Right Stuff (“a dating app for the right wing”), Tusk (“The Freedom-First Web Browser developed exclusively for Conservatives”), Parler (a “free speech” clone of Twitter), FourSure (“a powerful remote control for the content you already share” so you “Don’t get hacked or canceled”), and other tech companies.
When the Void is Loud
You may be surprised to hear that St. Louis is an excellent place for a fall hike. But that is because St. Louis and its surrounding areas are full of surprises.
Found Objects: Sludge
Anaerobic bacteria, courtesy the CDC/Gilda Jones A multinational corporation was investing in environmental initiatives, and I hoped to write about them. Their main project was highly technical; for background they had me email two university scientists. The scientists could not easily explain to a layman what they did,…
The Tree
Photo by John Griswold On a trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis this summer, a wonderful thing happened: my younger son suddenly thought of something he would like for his birthday. My kids do not want things, usually, which makes holiday gift-giving difficult, so I…
Estate Sale
Estate sale
The Library of Experience
Photo by John Griswold How many times in my life have I worked in that particular position: squatting or kneeling, one hand holding up a heavy piece of furniture or machinery, the other hand using a screwdriver, Allen key, or crescent wrench on it delicately? It is the…
The Terrible Pertinence of the Texas Schoolbook Depository
A man sights out the window at the Texas Schoolbook Depository, Dallas. Photo by John Griswold. I would bet that at least once every day of the week (except Monday and Tuesday), there is a young guy with a beard and wraparound shades on the back of…
Will the Promise at the End of CPAC Hold?
CPAC audience during Donald Trump’s speech, August 6, 2022. Photo by John Griswold Donald Trump’s keynote speech at the end of CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference) in Dallas last Saturday ended with a scripted, dystopian litany of all he says is wrong with America under a Democratic…
Carny World: Sideshows, Freaks, Oddities, and Curiosities
In the way that burlesque, roller derbies, and tattooing and other body modifications were reclaimed in the postmodern age (though not without detractors), sideshows and freak shows have tried to become something different than their earlier iterations. Many say they intend to be inspirational, empowering, and to realign conceptions about difference.
Reaching the Climax at CPAC
A superfan at CPAC Texas 2022 waits for the speech by Donald Trump. Photo by John Griswold Protestant services this morning at the Hilton Anatole marked the end of CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference ) Texas 2022, which was held in Dallas. The conference itself appeared to…