The World Series and Americanism

Baseball, they say, is America’s favorite past-time. I confess that I don’t pay much attention to it, except at unusual times such as we have now, as the Philadelphia Phillies are playing in the “World” Series. I really wish I could just turn off the television and pretend that none of this is happening, but [...]

Lew Rockwell on non-participation

In the latest online edition of the American Conservative — a magazine I do not read regularly — the president of the Ludwig von Mises Institute lays down the rationale for not playing Empowered Citizen™ this November. His words are reprinted below in full without alteration. The critical problem we face today is the same [...]

If you thought the soup Nazi was bad, wait until you meet the trash Nazi

I’m glad Aristotle has already started posting; his work kept the activity going on this site while I was out of town (no laptop here) for a family occasion. While I was away, I had occasion to be reminded of some items which would probably be of interest to the readers here. 1. Municipal lightpost [...]

‘They Both Suck’ Campaign Sign Draws Stares

Truth in advertising… a bracingly refreshing concept*. Campaign signs in support of presidential candidates Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama decorate lawns across the country, but a man who said he doesn’t support either candidate has created quite a stir with a sign of his own. “They Both Suck ’08″ reads the sign in [...]

Memo to pro-lifers: Stop being accessories to evil

Like many children of the Eighties from practicing Catholic families, I attended the National Right to Life March in Washington D.C. (I remember on one of these bus rides, I was exposed to the vulgar wonders of Eddie Murphy’s Comedian album, segments of which I can still quote to this day. But that’s neither here [...]

New Contributor

In order to mix things up here a bit, and in order to improve the pace of these pages, I have added a new contributor to Fragmented Obsessions.  Please welcome Aristotle Esguerra, a fellow anarcho-capitalist and and colleague in the music world.  He is an experienced blogger and currently authors CantemusDomino, a page about Roman [...]

John McCain should probably just shut up

He’d probably see an increase in support if he did–though not from me, of course.  He’s got a great gift:  the ability to see a fault in his opponent but not to see it in himself.  To wit, he says that Barack Obama’s policies are socialist.  Well, so are yours, Mr. McCain.  Both of you [...]

Finding TV’s dumbest show

Here’s an article on TV’s dumbest shows. Surely this must be a tight race. I confess I only watch a few shows, Frasier being my favorite. That one is probably too snooty for most people. It’s frankly what I like about it the most: I get to thumb my nose at all the egalitarian claptrap [...]

A thought for the day from Albert Jay Nock

I am currently reading Albert Jay Nock’s autobiography, Memoirs of a Superfluous Man.  Reminiscing about his early childhood in Brooklyn, he recalls one of his fellow city-dwellers: “Another neighbor, a patriarchal old Englishman with a white beard, kept a great stand of bees. I remember his incessant drumming on a tin pan to marshal them [...]

On learning to stand up straight

I generally have a tendency to think about things too much, and to be too cautious in my decision making. I have, at times, passed up opportunities because of too much risk, or so I thought. In the area of music, which is my profession, this happens a lot. I shy away from projects with [...]