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Annals of Americus® | Notes from the Desk of Matthew Newton
www.annalsofamericus.com
4
Annals of Americus features reportage and commentary on art, culture, and politics in post-millennial America. It is the daily journal and archive of writer Matthew Newton.
#266020 in All

The Hi-Riser On The Hill

Each day I drive past this hi-riser on my daily commute through Western Pennsylvanias Monongahela Valley. In three years, its never moved, yet somehow it retains a shine -- like the owner still regul...

10 may 12

Read or Regret, Vol. I: Hard Truths and Unshakable Horrors

A month or so back, for example, I unearthed a copy of The Soul of America (1986) -- Esquires state-by-state look at life in 1980s America. A Ken Kesey essay on rodeo culture in Kansas is what prompt...

24 apr 12

Postcards from America: Rochester, New York

A year ago we did a project called Postcards From America. It was a groundbreaking experiment. Rather than waiting to be commissioned, we just made a decision to do something and hit the road. We dro...

23 apr 12

Scene From The Suburban Slums: ‘This Is All Gone Now’

For the last several months, I’ve been researching the topic of suburban decline for a series of nonfiction stories I’m working on. I’m looking at what is traditionally viewed as first-ring suburbs, ...

20 apr 12

New York City’s Faded Ethos in Colson Whitehead’s ‘Zone One’

I was not surprised when the “occupation” of Zucotti Park was cleared out last November by the NYPD. What surprised me was that it could persist for nearly two months in a place as spatially constric...

14 feb 12

The Last Night Of The Year

My uncle used to refer to New Years Eve as amateur night. That was because, well, he was a high-functioning alcoholic, and most social drinkers are not as well-versed in the dubious art of driving un...

31 dec 11

The Brilliance and Racism of Soul Man

Can we start a serious discussion on how inadvertently brilliant and terribly racist this film is?

19 dec 11

In the Tunnels Beneath Las Vegas

Back in November 2010, Austin Hargrave wrote about his experience photographing the homeless who live in the tunnels beneath Las Vegas. His photographs appeared in Matthew OBriens book, Beneath the N...

19 dec 11

David Lyle: This Ends Here

Last year I kept seeing this image (pictured) pop up all over Tumblr, but never with any attribution. Somewhere along the line, though I dont remember when or how, I learned that photographer turned ...

18 dec 11

Alice Cooper and the ‘Chicken Incident’ of 1969

After an unrehearsed stage routine involving Cooper and a live chicken garnered attention from the press, the band decided to capitalize on tabloid sensationalism, creating in the process a new subge...

18 dec 11

Public Service: Preaching The Evils Of Comic Books

When I was a boy and played with the gang we did a lot of things. We roasted potatoes and went on expeditions, we tipped over garbage cans now and then, we wrote nasty remarks about the teacher on th...

17 dec 11

Augmented Reality: June 20th, New York City

The first time I ever actually saw augmented reality, I was living in Albany, NY. My friend loaded LAYAR onto his phone and we walked around our neighborhood, watching real estate data instantiate al...

15 dec 11

Larry Carroll On The Weight Of Explicit Imagery

Several years back I attempted to write about the work of painter Larry Carroll, known best for his two-decade collaboration with Slayer, painting every album cover from Reign In Blood to Christ Illu...

09 dec 11

#Occupy As Live Action Role-Playing

We have so much knowledge, so many skills, maybe too much time and energy. Our knowledge is widely distributed and too easily evaporates into the cloud, but we have more of it than ever. We may have ...

08 dec 11

The Giant Gila Monster vs. Glenn Danzig

The font of the movie’s title on promotional posters has been copied on most albums and associated promotional materials released by Glenn Danzig’s musical acts Samhain and Danzig.

08 dec 11

In Search Of Hanni El Khatib

Garage-rock revivalism holds a certain amount of sway over me, especially the type Hanni El Khatib has assembled on Will The Guns Come Out (Innovative Leisure). Most likely my interest has something ...

08 dec 11

Railyard Dispatches: BuZ Blurr’s Diversion From Boredom

“I’m a retired railroad man who indulged in the folk art tradition of making chalk drawings on the railcars as an announcement of presence, and diversion from boredom. Although against the rules of t...

06 dec 11

Call For Submissions: Death Of A Good Job

Looking for personal stories from individuals who lost a job in the months and/or years following the stock market crash of 2008. The submissions will be edited and published in the epilogue to Death...

05 dec 11

The Most Dangerous Breakfast in America

Breakfast death game: Bacon vs. Gun. [via badhills]

05 dec 11

When Slugs Rule The World

Walmart needs to adopt Slug CEO (pictured) as their corporate mascot. This yellow-skinned, pipe-smoking millionaire is adorable.

05 dec 11

The Social Contract Between Citizens And Police

I’ve been reading criminal defense lawyer blogs for years now. It’s an important perspective to have, and it’s a useful reminder about things that have come to the national consciousness lately have ...

22 nov 11

Noam Chomsky On The Cult Of American Sports

In this clip from the documentary Manufacturing Consent (1992), Noam Chomsky talks sports and the "indoctrination system" it encourages. Its an argument that, back in 2005, the Free Republic ...

11 nov 11

All Talk

Unlike my post on AC/DC the other day, I got nothing but nice things to say about Van Halen. Despite being a dyed in the wool, cardigan-carrying Smiths fan in high school, I always secretly dug VH. T...

10 nov 11

Skinemax: The Lure Of Adolescent Nostalgia

In the description for this hyper-nostalgic audio-video mix, Smash TV explains that "Skinemax is Koyaanisqatsi for a generation raised on late night television and B-movie VHS tapes. Its long for...

10 nov 11 1 person likes this

Death At The Demolition Derby

The loss of a father, husband, and friend.In Logan, Ohio, on September 12, 2006. Dave Cosper passed away after winning his demolition derby heats at the Hocking County Fair. His son Brandon took his ...

08 nov 11

Daniel Clowes’ Unaired Ad Spot For Apple

Its hard not to be entranced by this 2004 Apple advertisement starring cartoonist Daniel Clowes (click to view). It was part of the largely unsuccessful "Switch" campaign created by Errol Mor...

07 nov 11

Angus Beef

I know, I know, they are one of those bands that everyone like totally loves but I gotta confess, I never really liked AC/DC. In fact I can’t stand them. It’s got nothing to do with their musicianshi...

03 nov 11

Permanent Reminders Of Our Academic Shortcomings

To blame Radiohead would be satisfying but unfair. After all, its Thom Yorkes love of a good pun that set a fire in this young mans heart; moved him in such a way that only a permanent mark in the sk...

03 nov 11

Live Like An Imaginary Millionaire

I was looking at Groupon or Living Social or one of those sites the other day, and I found one for the “getaway” deal that gave you a room at a fancy-ass hotel in South Beach for $999, which is a ton...

03 nov 11

The Lawyer Who Wanted To Be A Writer

A recent law school grad (who also happened to be a Juggalo) emailed me the other day: "I am graduating law school in [a] few months but dont want to bury my life in briefs. Instead, Id rather wr...

02 nov 11

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