Author Archives: Tom Garrett

About Last Night

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Tom Garrett

I wanted to write something about the Improvised Shakespeare Company performance I was fortunate enough to attend last night, but I need to preface it with this proviso: I’m working on about three hours of train sleep (which equates to … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Reviews | Tagged Blaine Swen, Brendan Dowling, Commentary, Greg Hess, Improvised Shakespeare Company, Intestinal Roll Call, Joey Bland, Patrick Stewart, Reviews, Ross Bryant | 8 Comments

Best of 2012

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Tom Garrett

The Axis of Ego’s second year was a productive one. This is the 105th and final post of the year, which averages out to a hair over two pieces per week. Not a bad clip. As of this writing, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Site Stuff | Tagged 2012, Barack Obama, Best Of, Billy Beyrer, Breaking Bad, Commentary, Gay Marriage, General Culture and News, Introspection, Joey Bland, John Cena, Knight Rider, Presidential Election, Pro Wrestling, Republicans, Site Stuff, Stephanie Sottile, The Kitchen Sink, WWE | Leave a comment

Science < Ideology

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Tom Garrett

The last few weeks have provided a veritable cornucopia of off-base commentary and unsophisticated political thought. From David Dow’s call to impeach Antonin Scalia, to today’s suggestion by the NRA of armed guards in every school, to myriad pundits who have … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Politics, Science | Tagged Commentary, Fish in a Barrel, Gender, General Culture and News, New York Times, Politics, Science, Sex, Sexism, Society, Sociology | 2 Comments

Childhood Wish Fulfillment (and Why Movie Theaters Are Doomed)

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Tom Garrett

Tomorrow, December 18th, marks the release of the Neo Geo X, a handheld re-imagining of the Neo Geo video game system. The original Neo Geo (or, more properly, the Neo Geo AVS) was a home console designed and manufactured by … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Gaming, Movies | Tagged 1990's, Commentary, Fatal Fury, Gaming, Metal Slug, Movies, Neo Geo, Neo Geo X, Samurai Showdown, SNK, Tommo | 1 Comment

Culture Trumps All

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Tom Garrett

I was a political science major in college, and many of the upper-level classes in my major dealt specifically with electoral law. American electoral law, British electoral law, continental European electoral law, comparative electoral law. I studied systems used by … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News, Politics | Tagged Adam Lanza, Commentary, Crime, General Culture and News, Gun Control, Newtown, Newtown Elementary School, NRA, Politics, Second Amendment | 6 Comments

Christmas Shopping = Complete

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Tom Garrett

Divining gift ideas gets less fun and more difficult as we get older. One reason for this phenomenon is that people get grandfathered into our gift-giving list for years after we stop seeing them on a regular basis. Of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Literature, Music | Tagged Barnes & Noble, Christmas, Commentary, Gifts, Humor, Ke$ha, Literature, Music | 1 Comment

SitCombat: 12/6/12

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Tom Garrett

30 Rock won back its crown (with a wedding episode, no less!), turning back a decent effort from The Office and a mediocre League. I hate writing these intro parts, so let’s just dive right in, shall we? We get … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Reviews, Television | Tagged 30 Rock, 80 Under 80, Apex Technical School, Belsnickel, Commentary, Elaine Stritch, Hathanobody, Lorne Michaels, Reverend Gimp, Reviews, SitCombat, Television, The League, The Office, Zwarte Piet | Leave a comment

Good Cause, Bad Slogan

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Tom Garrett

The burden of being Tom Garrett extends beyond my profound lack of social interaction, incompetence at parallel parking, and maintenance of an inexplicably-large retro video game collection (although it occurs to me that the former and the latter points may … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, General Culture and News | Tagged Anal-retentive, Commentary, General Culture and News, Marketing, Public Relations, Salvation Army, Slogans | 2 Comments

SitCombat: 11/29/12

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Tom Garrett

Hello there, SitCombat. It’s been a while. It is nearly December, and, in these virtual pages, SitCombat makes a return that I can only assume will be triumphant. A combination of some downtime for the shows, plus a week in … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Reviews, Television | Tagged 30 Rock, Commentary, Dennis Duffy, Liz Lemon, Reviews, Surge Points, Television, The League, The Office | Leave a comment

Good News / Bad News (Part Two)

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Tom Garrett

My name is Tom, and I’m here to help. When last we “met,” I discussed the problems faced by the Republican Party in the wake of last week’s elections. While I noted that the fallout from the elections and the … Continue reading →