New History

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Rites of Patches

(Editor’s Note: This is a slightly updated version of something posted as a Facebook note several years ago. Also, I got the house!)

Many of you know that I am buying a house. Last Tuesday, I paid a home inspector to check out my (hopefully) future abode. After he looked it over, he asked me what I did for a living. I told him I was a history teacher. Without missing a beat, he asked, “You’re not teaching that ‘new history,’ are you?” I charmingly told him that I teach the truth and nothing but the truth. I didn’t think about it again until today. Continue reading →

In Defense of Professional Wrestling

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Rites of Patches

I barely remember how I became interested in professional wrestling. I had a few middle school friends who essentially tricked me into watching a couple of pay-per-views. I was an elitist asshole back then too, so I would never have watched “trash” like WWF (as it was known before a World Wildlife Fund lawsuit) of my own volition.

One video game later, WWF No Mercy of course, and I was hooked. I watched religiously until graduation, even listening to Raw on scrambled cable like it was porn (Oddly enough, I never thought of watching actual scrambled porn). I never watched again until CM Punk’s infamous promo last summer caused enough buzz to pull me in once more.

For better or worse, I can’t shut off my brain and just enjoy a thing. I need to know everything. So, in addition to WWE, I began watching Ring of Honor, a company that stresses the “wrestling” above the “entertainment,” Chikara Pro, an American company with high-flying, lucha libre influences, and Dragon Gate USA, a Japanese promotion in the United States influenced by both lucha and pouresu, a Japanese style that uses heavy striking.

After a year and a half, I’m coming out of the wrestling closet. Continue reading →

Inevitability

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Rites of Patches

As we speak, twelve human beings, fraught with fallibility and riddled with bias, will decide whether or not an approximate tenth of our nation’s citizens are entitled to the protections afforded all Americans by the 14^th Amendment: “No State shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Despite my knowledge of and interest in constitutional law, I really can’t merit a guess as to how the Supreme Court will rule. With eight justices probably already decided, my gut tells me that Justice Kennedy is leaning towards overturning Prop 8. Whether or not that leads to an end to the discrimination against our gay brothers and sisters for simply being who they are remains to be seen.

However, come June, we will await our Brown v. Board despite the very real possibility that we are only at Plessy v. Ferguson.

That is, however, my point. Continue reading →

Confessions of an Anglophile

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Rites of Patches

After spending five days in London last summer, my friends and I took a train north to Edinburgh to spend our final week together in Britain. Our schedule slowed down. We checked out the gorgeous city at a leisurely pace. We slept in Dylan’s apartment instead of a random hostel where our shit could be stolen.

Yet, somehow, I felt out of place.

In London, I almost kamikazed a car driving in the “wrong” direction. I didn’t pick up the accent very quickly. I would last two minutes driving in London-proper. But there was no culture shock.

I felt at home. Continue reading →

We All Got It Coming, Kid

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Rites of Patches

(Editor’s note: Saturday afternoon I posted this on my website. By Saturday evening, a good friend of mine published a response/supplement. This is a continuation of that discussion. Erik, if there’s more to come, keep it coming.)

I can still remember the exact moment that I came to recognize my responsibility to the world. I had been raised well by two loving parents. I understood responsibility. I understood cause and effect. But I don’t think parents can teach collective guilt.

For that, my teacher was Clint Eastwood. Continue reading →

Causation

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Rites of Patches

The Sandy Hook Shooting made me think about guns, children, mental illness, the Bill of Rights, violent video games, and an assortment of related topics. I’ve also been thinking about collective guilt and the NFL. Concussions, suicide, premature deaths, and my role as an avid football fan have been weighing heavily on my mind since the death of Junior Seau, the first casualty whom I can remember watching play. I also play video games with violence and explosions. (Yay!)

While these topics might not seem connected, all three have led me to the same place. Our society’s glorification of violence doesn’t cause violence. It’s an effect. We glorify violence because, at heart, we are a violent people in a society that values violence. Continue reading →

The Post My Mom Doesn’t Want To Read

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Rites of Patches

I’ve never written or spoken about this before.

********************

My credentials as a Catholic are pretty well-established. Baptized, Eucharized, confirmed. Fruits and gifts memorized. Bible read. Parables understood and applied. Nineteen years of Catholic education. Campus ministry volunteer.

During college, things began to change. Continue reading →

Dead Series Discussion: Last Rites for Last Resort (Part 4)

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Rites of Patches

Last September, the television show Last Resort premiered on ABC. The show starred Homicide alum Andre Braugher as the captain of the nuclear missile submarine USS Colorado, given orders to nuke Pakistan. The Colorado is attacked by American forces after Braugher’s character refuses to fire. A chain of events is set in motion that leaves Colorado in control of a nearby tropical island, attempting to expose the truth of the US government’s involvement in the attack.

Despite a favorable critical reaction, the ratings were never where they needed to be. As a result, the show was canceled after thirteen episodes. For a look back at the show, I am joined by my esteemed colleague, Jeff of Slazenger1. After Monday’s series overview, Tuesday and Wednesday’s looks at what worked for Last Resort and what didn’t, we end by handing out some awards. Hope you enjoyed our discussion and thanks for reading!

BEST PERFORMANCE
Patches: Andre Braugher, Andre Braugher, Andre Braugher. He’s, like, the best thing ever.
Jeff: There’s really only one answer to this question, right? Well I’ll let you be right and I’ll be second. I’m actually going to go with Scott Speedman as Executive Officer Sam Kendal (just over Daniel Lissing as James King). Sophie/Sam/Christine love triangle aside, Speedman believably held his own with Braugher, selling his internal conflict and giving us someone to root for who wasn’t hiding something. Continue reading →

Dead Series Discussion: Last Rites for Last Resort (Part 3)

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Rites of Patches

Despite a favorable critical reaction, the ratings were never where they needed to be. As a result, the show was canceled after thirteen episodes. For a look back at the show, I am joined by my esteemed colleague, Jeff of Slazenger1. After Monday’s series overview and yesterday’s discussion of what worked, today we look at what did not work for Last Resort.

Jeff: My list of things that didn’t work about the show (for me anyway) is definitely longer than my “praise” list, but I’ll try to keep this to a reasonable length. One of my first big problems with the show was that it never took the time to give us anything worthwhile on the mainland/US side of things. Sure we got awful Kylie stories and dead-end Christine stories, plus we got small mentions of an unstable but highly approved president, however, we never really had a sense of the other side of the major conflict of the series. Yes, the island stories featuring infighting and trouble with the locals were okay, but I don’t think we ever got a true “big bad” for the series. Curry (Jay Karnes) did a little bit, but not enough to make me think he was the villain. I think the writers dug themselves into a hole and were taking their time trying to get out of it, incorrectly assuming that these one-off stories (with consequences that were often conveniently forgotten/brushed aside by the next episode–rape riots anyone?) were going to keep us entertained until we got to the true meat of the show’s central conflict. Continue reading →

Dead Series Discussion: Last Rites for Last Resort (Part 2)

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Rites of Patches

Despite a favorable critical reaction, the ratings were never where they needed to be. As a result, the show was canceled after thirteen episodes. For a look back at the show, I am joined by my esteemed colleague, Jeff of Slazenger1. After yesterday’s series overview, today we look at what worked well for Last Resort.

Jeff: Yesterday’s “one word” answers, somewhat negative though they may be, hinted at a show that seemed like it could have been something great, but just fell short (or shot too wide). Still, there were pieces that worked somewhere in these 13 episodes, otherwise we probably would have stopped watching. When you look back on the series, what stands out to you as something, or things, Last Resort got right? What parts of the series are worthy of praise, or at least of your own personal admiration? Continue reading →

Nothing But The Rain

What Do You Hear?

Author Archives: Rites of Patches