I have not been to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis for a long time but it retains memories of both PCA and DragonCon from way back in the day, so many varied memories resurfacing through the hectic days which were marvellous! Great fun with Miss Wendy and old friends like Frenchy and Carol, and such terrific…
Category: popular culture
PCA is going to be Magic!
I could not be more pleased to let you know, PCA folks, that the 2026 Lynn Bartholome Eminent Scholar Recipient is the fabulous AMY HALE! She will be speaking on ‘Understanding This Golden Age of Magic’ about magic and art and popular culture and this moment in which we find ourselves. I am so delighted…
Ripley & Saltburn
I’m off to the EUPop conference soon — my last formal academic conference (probably, maybe–except for pop culture…) — and because I won’t get around to other things before I depart, here’s a peek at my slides for that talk on two related topics (with a bunch of other things [surrealism!] shoehorned in because that’s…
Getting Girly with MLP
What I Learned from Cult TV: Friendship is Magic This is about my My Little Pony epiphany. I have sighed my way through a lot of bad entertainment consumption with the Executive Princess, much of it day-glo and glittery. I think the bottom of the barrel might be Barbie’s Life in the Dream House but…
Keeping Abreast of the Fabulous
All right, even I am having difficulty at times keeping up with all the news, so if I repeat something here, it just means you’re paying attention, well done, here’s a cookie! Soon I have to leave the glories of Alba for the um, gories? of Albany. Alas. Which means I have to figure out…
Tuesday’s Overlooked A/V: A Gun for George
A Gun for George offers the new Walter Mitty for a 21st century. Terry Finch is a frustrated pulp fiction author and eternal loner looking for brutal revenge on the mean streets of East Kent. This short film offers a fascinating (and funny!) look at a few tropes that are instantly recognisable to any film…
Krampus and Digital Monks
Did the Krampus visit you last night or did Saint Nicholas fill your shoes with gifts? Happy Independence Day, Finland (let’s have a little Värttinä for that). My talk is today at the Moore Institute. It’s an update of my keynote address from April; I wanted to hit a lot of the same issues, but…
Know-vember: Miss Wendy
You knew she would be here: the Patsy to my Edina, she of the big hair, former Elf-Queen (and survivor of many a medieval play), southern gal supreme, Mechademia Submissions editor, connoisseur of Jack Daniels and hostess of the Rosh Hashanah Ragin’ Kegger and Toga Parties — Miss Wendy! I am so happy to know…
Snapshots of Pop Culture
Here’s a little taste of the trip to the Popular Culture Association Conference: we stayed at the Marriott Rivercenter which is a combination mall and canal, chock full of tourists and cheap Texas trash, er, souvenirs. I lived in that state for three years, eleven months, six days, five hours and fifteen minutes and I…
On the Road Again
Assuming all goes well, by the time this posts, I ought to be on a plane from Chicago to San Antonio. We shall hope for there to be no prolonged visit like Friday. If I had time to actually see the city, it would be different. I have many potential duties to accomplish in Chicago….