The SamHill Energy Postmodern Village / EastWesterly Review Conference 2012

Notes on the 19th Annual Postmodern Village Conference

By E.W. Wilder

Hershey KissingerRichard Milhouse Cookies: Homespun Horseshit from the Checkers Speech to Nestlé, a Marketing Manual
by Hershey Kissinger

As a practical guide, Kissinger's paper is a model in modern spin. As a tasty treat, we thought it lacked butter.

William J. PryanWoodrow Flip Wilson: Making the World Safe for Black Comedy and the New Freedom of Topical Stand Up
by William J. Pryan

Pryan's idea that Flip Wilson essentially created a new world comic order by being black, vaguely issue-oriented, and accepted by white society is as cogent as the notion that our current role as the world's policeman is an unintended consequence of our international success. We're now as taken for granted as Tyler Perry is successful despite himself.

J. Squincy AdamzRick James Monroe Doctrine, or the Era of Good Feelings, the Era of Feeling Good, and the Misery Compromise: Freakin' as American Decolonization
by J. Squincy Adamz

We have to admit that we couldn't follow the premise of this paper, but we had a really good time getting' down.

John Foster DullestDwight & Tina Eisenhower (Proud Mamie Keep on Turnering), or I Left a Good Job in the Army: the Presidency as Spousal Abuse, a Complex in Military Industrialization
by John Foster Dullest

The thesis that America's relationship with the Military Industrial Complex is, essentially, a prolonged domestic dispute is both compelling and sad. But does this mean that Canada is, like, some international battered-citizen's shelter? At the very least, we could engage them as our BC buds.

Alexander Redding Rutherford Purple Hays: Trippin' in Electoral Collegeland
by Alexander Redding

In an attempt to prove his point about how surreal electoral results can be, Redding spiked the refreshments with Owsley-level acid. As near as we could tell from the paper itself, doing this made as much sense as anything.

Richard OzneySuper Grover Cleveland Rocks: Musical Monetary Policy with Mugwumping Muppets
by Richard Ozney

The tunes were catchy and the action camp, but the points deserved a veto.

James G. DavisJesse James Garfield Sits Around: Fatal Laziness in the Mortally Shot, an Analysis in Daily Strips
by James G. Davis

Modern medicine meets 'Merican history as Davis argues, controversially and graphically, that lassitude equals death for those suffering from severe physical trauma. Could be, but we all know that true healing happens as a result of lasagna.

Tita van BiggunAndrew Jackson-If-You-Nasty: Dueling for Honor and "Driving old Hickory," Double-Entendre as Cultural Current from 1824 to the Present
by Tita van Biggun

The paradox of the double entendre as hidden dishonor presented in an honorable way proves that the po-mo collapse of the du(e)listic oppositions predates the awareness of postmodern thought. Those keeping abreast of the presentation noted the wardrobe malfunction--just in case that sort of thing gives you any timber.

 

Papers, Part 6