After writing about some of the scariest short stories last time, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few great American short stories. In these burst cultural times, people are starting to notice (again!) how wonderful a short story can be, and what it can accomplish when done right.

Not only will I discuss the stories - all of which I consider to be classics - but I’ve provided links for you to read the stories yourself. When does Matt give you such a plethora of free entertainment? Never, I say!

Let’s get started, shall we?

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First off, I’d like to apologize for getting so literary with this column. I always assume Matt breaks down in tears whenever sees one of my posts. I do have reviews of Federico Fellini’s La Strada, John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, and Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast (which might just have one of the greatest and most compact scripts in cinema history) in line; however, they are not finished. I also want to talk about the amazing pop cultural pastiche that is The Venture Bros. sometime down the road as well. I was in the process of working on a two part piece about liberature (no, I spelled it right) and how video games can provide hints to literature’s ability to remain valid in the 21^st century, when I decided it would be best to do something a little more…light. Don’t worry though, the literary torture will resume next week.

In the meantime, since I’ve been living in Poland for five years this month, I thought it might be fun to make some general observations about Polish pop culture from an American’s perspective. (more…)