THE WULFSHEAD

20090204

Is there life after Neo-conservatism? Fukuyama knows! Or so he claimed three years ago. Where were we then, and where are we now? A misguided "benevolent hegemony," was it? Did Francis Fukuyama have it right? Is that what those past eight years have really been about? I don’t know---just asking.

And is Neo-conservatism dead?

There are those, like Juan Cole, here, who claim that it died in Gaza:

The Gaza War of 2009 is a final and eloquent testimony to the complete failure of the neoconservative movement in United States foreign policy. For over a decade, the leading figures in this school of thought saw the violent overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the institution of a parliamentary regime in Iraq as the magic solution to all the problems in the Middle East. They envisioned, in the wake of the fall of Baghdad, the moderation of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the overthrow of the Baath Party in Syria and the Khomeinist regime in Iran, the deepening of the alliance with Turkey, the marginalization of Saudi Arabia, a new era of cheap petroleum, and a final resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on terms favorable to Israel. After eight years in which they strode the globe like colossi, they have left behind a devastated moonscape reminiscent of some post-apocalyptic B movie…

The truth is that Neo-conservatism is an idea, a philosophy. It’ll always be around, in some form or another.

There will always be in the world small, bitter people ready to follow some leaders who promise them peace and happiness through justified violence and the killing of scapegoats.

Ah! I see that you have recognized John Gast's famous painting. How perceptive of you. You're right: it is an allegorical representation of Manifest Destiny. Like all of the paintings displayed here at the Wulfshead, it’s an original. The one at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles is but a mere reproduction, of course. The Wulfshead prides itself in its art collection and the contrasts highlighted therein between the historical and the mythological. Don't be afraid. Take a closer look. Careful, now; the bartender is staring at us. Just don't let him catch you touching anything. Observe how the different economic activities of the pioneers are highlighted. There is a strong emphasis on the telegraph and the emerging new forms of transportation. The Indians and wild animals are fleeing...
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20090203

How to dance with a writer

"Another 'date' was Marilyn Monroe.

One evening while she and Arlen were dancing, he said, 'People are staring at us.' 'They must know who you are," she told him."

From the book Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows, and Blues, by Edward Jablonski.
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20090202

That woman. The one over there

with paste diamonds and lipstick on her glove. I know her. Her sister was a Tri Delt. Even that couldn't save her.

Over there. Quit staring.

Watch your wallets, boys. That's all I'm sayin.

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A question.

Ever see a trailer and just...hate everything in it?

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20090201

ship of hope

The artist's name is Joseph Cusimano. The page also gives you his interpretation of the work, including

"...under this arboreal umbrella, rests a broken down ship without oars, without masts and without sailors. It is the ship that inspired Ulysses and Columbus to dare the unknown, it is the ship of fools, the ship of dreamers, the ship of sages and the eternal ship of hope."

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The Buffaloes used to say roam where you roam

There are countless access points to the Wulfshead, "at locations all around the world . . . if you know where to look."

And so I looked, and one of them, I heard, can still be found in Buffaloland.

I once asked the Bartender about it. He looked at me with that usual expression he always has on his face, the same kind of expressionless expression he has with everyone, no matter what you ask him. That one time, he did pause for a while, though, and he just said: "What can I say? You can't ignore the Buffalo song, sir."

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