The real question was which book!?

So Trump's grand plan now that he screwed up any chances of a ceasefire are to...<checks Notes> blockade the already blockaded straight...
By the Gods he is the stupidest person to ever live...
#PedoGate #PedoWar

Who would’ve guessed? An administration filled with grossly incompetent people, led by the stupidest president to ever occupy the Oval Office, failed to end the illegal war they started.

April 12, 2026.

This is absolutely fantastic.

ht: @maddenifico.bsky.social

Has to stay drunk cause he can’t stand himself

And a ton of us didn’t

Yeah everyone told you so

Accountability brings consequences.

And consequences are the only language corruption understands.

Money and political power do not outrank the Constitution.

They just need a wake up call and it’s coming at the midterms.👇

Trump Says He Will Order T.S.A. Agents Paid as Funding Deal Stalls

Trump Says He Will Order T.S.A. Agents Paid as Funding Deal Stalls www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/u... - nevemind that it’s not legal

Cause it’s never been about mail in ballots

Out of Steam: Spinout and the Moment the Elvis Formula Started Hearing Itself Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

There are worse Elvis movies than Spinout, which is exactly why it matters. Not the bottom of the barrel, but the moment the Elvis formula starts sounding tired to itself. New on Ars Mendacium: tinyurl.com/4jurakfy #ElvisPresley #Spinout #ClassicFilm #FilmEssay

Dumbest administration ever

100%

Susan’s Losing Streak and the Frozen Pizza That Saved Sunday Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

Susan is on a losing streak. Last Sunday’s 1963 Good Housekeeping experiment, Cheese-and-Onion Casserole, ended with frozen pizza and no regrets. The latest in the series is here: tinyurl.com/mv3b3h2w #ArsMendacium #VintageRecipes #RecipeFail #MidCenturyCooking

The Man Who Would Go Anywhere

The Man Who Would Go Anywhere www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/t...

Of Human Bondage and the Pain We Mistake for Love Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

New on the blog: Of Human Bondage and the pain people mistake for love. Maugham understood attachment, self-deception, and the ways people keep returning to what harms them. tinyurl.com/4k5bhcb5
#OfHumanBondage #Maugham #BookBlog #ClassicLit #LiteraryAnalysis

The Red Ribbon Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

A beautiful room, a woman at a mirror, and one small red ribbon that changes the whole painting. My latest looks at Frieseke, beauty, composure, and the struggle to remain visible inside the pattern. tinyurl.com/5n8wresm #Art #ArtHistory #Painting

When a Throwaway Marvel Movie Goes Somewhere Real: Thunderbolts and the Language of Darkness Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

I expected Thunderbolts to be standard Marvel noise. Instead, it surprised me by engaging loneliness, emptiness, and human connection, even if it simplifies the darkness too much. That alone made it worth writing about. tinyurl.com/46ftw9j4 #Thunderbolts #Marvel #MentalHealth

The First Loss in Susan’s Kitchen: Baked Eggs in Cheese Sauce (1963) Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

Not every vintage recipe ages well.
This week’s experiment from the 1963 Good Housekeeping “Susan’s Section” – Baked Eggs in Cheese Sauce. The recipe worked… the result was just meh.
A little culinary time travel.
tinyurl.com/3ym6sr8c
#FoodHistory #VintageRecipes #RetroCooking

The Morning I Found Huevos Rancheros in a Civil War Town Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

Great huevos rancheros in a Civil War town?
Maria’s Taqueria in Shepherdstown says yes. 🌮🍳
tinyurl.com/2w6kv5da

#Shepherdstown #WestVirginia #FoodFinds

The Backbone of the Bid: Women in Capture A statistic crossed my desk recently that made me stop for a moment. According to the latest compensation survey from the Association of Proposal Management Professionals ( APMP ), roughly eighty-one ...

Capture & proposal work sits at the center of federal contracting.
According to APMP, 81% of the professionals doing it are women.
Some reflections on the profession and the women leading the way – click here: tinyurl.com/57mf2ca2

Beach Parties, Elvis, and Two Beatles: The Strange Musical Landscape of Mid-1960s Cinema Deep-dive cultural criticism, film reviews, and culinary history. Exploring the meaning behind the noise.

Mid-1960s pop culture had a strange split.
The radio had the Beatles, Motown, and Dylan reshaping music overnight.
But in theaters? Beach party musicals and Elvis vacation films.
A fascinating cultural gap from 1962–1966.
tinyurl.com/mr3tr4w9

Susan and the Crown: A 1963 Cheese Soufflé There is a particular kind of confidence that comes from carving a trench into something you’ve just spent twenty minutes trying not to de...

Susan’s final exam: 1963 Cheese Soufflé for Six. 🧀🥚
Ungreased casserole. Carve a crown. Don’t open the oven.
It didn’t tower — it didn’t need to. It rose and held.
Turns out confidence is just repetition + patience.
Full story: tinyurl.com/3xc2x4xf
#SusansSection #MidCenturyCooking #TrustTheRise

John Leslie Breck’s Grey Day on the Charles: Modern Light Without Rupture There are paintings that stop you in your tracks. This is not one of them. John Leslie Breck ’s   Grey Day on the Charles   will not command...

Not every cultural shift is loud.
In 1894, John Leslie Breck’s Grey Day on the Charles showed how American artists adopted Impressionist light without abandoning structure. Modernization, held steady.

Why that balance still matters: tinyurl.com/jc7zssmm

#ArtHistory #AmericanImpressionism

'One year of failure.' The Lancet slams RFK Jr.’s first year as health chief - NPR

President Obama had a deal with Iran that trump ripped up without replacing, and now we're in an unnecessary war with Iran that he started without Congress, because he's a small, petty, envious punk.

BOND and the Balance Between Speed and Integrity in Defense Acquisition All opinions are my own. I have spent enough years inside the Department of Defense to know that reform always arrives wrapped in urgency.

The Pentagon’s new BOND program embeds private-sector execs in defense acquisition to speed procurement.
Efficiency matters. So do guardrails.
In my latest piece, I examine the ethical and conflict-of-interest risks that must be addressed if reform is going to last.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/bond-b...

When the Empire Learned to Speak: The Black Watch (1929) It can be disarming to watch a film from 1929. Not because it feels ancient, but because it feels certain. The people on screen move as if t...

1929: Hollywood finds its voice.
The Black Watch, John Ford’s first sound film, is a story about loyalty, reputation, and institutions surviving through performance — released just months before global confidence collapsed.
Empire. Narrative control. Transition.
tinyurl.com/5xvd3mcx

When leaders narrate instead of row, institutions slowly decay.
Confidence rises. Rigor withdraws.
The truth? High performers can stabilize what they resent.
You can’t fix selection bias from below. But you can refuse to internalize it.
tinyurl.com/5df745ux

A Gasthaus in West Virginia There is something mildly audacious about Bavaria overlooking the Potomac. Shepherdstown , anchored quietly by   Shepherd University , does ...

Early December above the Potomac. Staff in Bavarian garb, Jaeger Schnitzel that made me miss Schwaben, and gloriously vinegary German potato salad.
A Bavarian lodge in WV shouldn’t work. It does.
tinyurl.com/2wfkrpbv
#Shepherdstown #BavarianInn #GermanCuisine