Pop Culture Shock

Maus, Art Spiegleman By Ben Horne

Hey buttholes, I just finished reading Maus and I am still blown away - literally stuck against a wall of awesomeness. Although this is not a recent publication it still deserves some recognition. Maus is an autobiographical account of the author’s father’s experiences during the Holocaust and his incredible story of survival. The story is presented in graphic novel form, a medium that enhances the readers experience and yet provides a softer approach to the insane events that occurred. The book also deals with Spiegleman’s relationship with his aging father, the suicide of his mother and the task of writing and creating the novel.

The story sounds really depressing and quite frankly, it can be. Spiegelman offers variations of comedy, tragedy and emotion. Thanks to the visual abilities of graphic novels, once you are immersed into the world of Maus, you will have trouble putting the book down. All people are represented as anthropomorphic animals in Maus. For example, all of the Jewish characters are Mice (Thus Maus; the German word for mouse), the Germans are cats and the Polish are pigs. If you’re interested in graphic novels, comics or just wondering where to start, Maus is definitely the first place you should look. Pure awesomeness.

A Review of Pro Wrestling By Professor Suplex

Pro Wrestling: Ten or fifteen years ago, it was the hottest thing on TV, ditto in the ‘80s. Now, it’s back to where it usually is; a cultural oddity somewhere between opera and a gladiator contest, enjoyed by rednecks and weirdos. Well, somewhere out there in the Quill readership are people who enjoy professional wrestling for more than just the violence and the silliness. When it’s done right, pro wrestling is performance art worth writing passionately about. So here’s an overview of how the three major North American promotions (well, one major, one bush league, and one independent) stack up in terms of the quality of their product.

WWE: Despite slow business through most of the decade as compared to the late ‘90s, World Wrestling Entertainment is still the world’s largest wrestling promotion, by far. Pros- Amazing production values, decent wrestling, huge video library spanning almost every decade of wrestling

Cons- Stale main events, backstage politics taint the wrestling (I’m looking at you, Triple H), too much focus on silly things that aren’t wrestling, gutted tag team division, retarded women’s division

The WWE has a lot going for it, it’s just been held back so long by Vince McMahon and his habit of pushing big wrestlers with no talent, ignoring what the fans want to see, and his desire to see wrestling noticed by the mainstream by not referring to it as wrestling at all, while still making it so stupid and goofy that nobody in the mainstream would be caught dead watching it. Way to go, Vince.

TNA: Supposedly the second major promotion, TNA’s appeal is still largely local, and it doesn’t come anywhere close to the PPV buy rates or TV ratings the WWE gets.

Pros: Good talent pool. Women can actually wrestle.

Cons: Oh, where to start…bad booking, bad writing, bad acting, confusing storylines, too many stupid gimmick matches, the list goes on and on…

TNA is a such a goddamn mess, it’d be funny if people weren’t actually trying to make a living there. Now that Hulk Hogan and his Greyhaired Brigade are in the picture TNA looks more like WCW every day, which isn’t a good thing considering WCW failed on a level never before seen in the wrestling business. Say a prayer for the poor bastards trying to make TNA shows halfway enjoyable each week, against rapidly diminishing odds.

ROH: The smallest of these three promotions, by far. Most shows come out of one arena in Philadelphia, to a small but enthusiastic crowd.

Pros- Excellent wrestling. Good wrestling to non-wrestling ratio. Unique wrestling styles on display. Good booking. Good talent pool.

Cons- Sub-par announcing, wrestler’s entrance music a bit generic, title belts are boring My quibbles with ROH are minor, as you can see. ROH puts on, pound for pound, the best wrestling show on television each week. However, they tend to get drowned out by the competition (perhaps having their show on the same night as the cable juggernaut RAW isn’t such a good idea). ROH is a breath of fresh air for fans that just want to watch some goddamn wrestling, without midgets and Hulk Hogan getting in the way.

Sammiches By Johnson Apetagon

Does anyone ever consider what the perfect food is? I guess that’s what is awesome about opinions, there is no wrong one. We’re all right when it comes to opinions; whether it’s ethical or socially acceptable, that’s something else. Personally, I like sandwiches. What’s not to love? You have a filler, something that’s flavourful and pleasant. Whether you’re a peanut butter and jam or a meaty kind of person, it allows you to put your own personality in it. Then you get to your kind of bread. That even has some variety. Whole wheat, white, multi grains, whatever you like. It really is like the human experience, different fillers and yet we all have a similar outside.

Perfection!