Recent posts
Rumpus Articles
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Short but Striking: The Films of Les Blank
Who knew a gap could be filled with so much. But such is the lure and luxury of the films of Les Blank, such as his ode to gap-toothed women aptly called Gap-Toothed Women. When asked why gap teeth are…
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All’s Love in Myth and War
Clouds with legs, balloons filled with flame, and a war against February occupy the world of Shane Jones’s debut novel.
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Cash and Cars: Formula 1 Bahrain
Rising in front of us, surrounded by nothing but miles of empty sand, is the Bahrain Formula 1 racetrack.
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BitchCraft: Fully Fashioned
I love clothes. I love fashion. I have an interest in the way I cover my body. I have ideas about what I think looks nice. It’s not very deep, and it’s not very unusual. It brings me pleasure more…
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Josh Bearman: The Last Book I Loved, The Incredible Yanqui
The Incredible Yanqui by Hermann Bacher Deutsch is the true story of the exploits of Lee Christmas, a tramp railroader, scoundrel, and soldier of fortune who wound up helping the United Fruit Company colonize central america as a corporate fiefdom.…
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Homeless Reality Show Too Real
Homeless Real World, a reality show about six homeless people in Denver, has been dismissed as too edgy by TV execs. Funny, we thought edginess was a desirable quality in reality TV. Maybe by too edgy they mean: Our viewers…
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What Will Become of the Word “Ponzi”?
When Bernard Madoff described his investment business as a ‘giant Ponzi scheme’, he gave a somewhat obscure phrase, used to describe a swindle that pays early investors using money from later investors, a huge boost.
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Detroit’s Brewster Projects: What’s Left
Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Mary Wilson lived out their early lives in the Brewster Projects in Detroit, the first federally funded public housing for African Americans. Unfortunately, the abode of these legends of the lyric is falling to pieces.…
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The Fine Art of Quitting
To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage, or of principle. — Confucius
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War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery
With echoes of 9/11, the protagonist of Jim Knipfel’s novel flees the ubiquitous surveillance of a not-so-futuristic government.
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Film Bites
Though Gravure: The New American Journal touts itself as a fashion journal, its online presence offers a portal into a standout cultural corridor. Check out these three great short films for example: Urban Cowboy, Gymnasium, Kai Kuhne.