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Ren's Rants - An Introduction...

What is this and who is "Eric Renderking Fisk?"

Who I am and what this website is all about seems to be intertwined. The Fedora Chronicles (and my rants) are just as much a part of me as my arms, my heart and my head. It's as much a part of my identity as my face and voice.

It's what I do and who I am, just as much as I'm a husband to my wonderful wife and father to my awesome sons. But does that answer what this site is in general, and what my section of it is? Maybe not... so let me elaborate...

Fact is this, my friends (and strangers, rivals and detractors...) there is a lot of junk out there. A lot of it is perpetrated by people who have taken something that we all love and enjoy and have stolen it for there own, like the news and entertainment. I wanted to do something that was going to sort through the junk while trying not to add to the "white noise" that's become the sad side-effect of the internet.

I came up with the idea for this website a few different times in my life, combining all the things I love such as vintage style, pop-art from the 1930's and 1940's, the history and heroism of that era and my own passion for writing. Rather then host several different websites for different interests I thought I would just toss then all together under the name "The Fedora Chronicles" and just see what happens. It's hard to imagine that it took me so long to finally commit to doing this, and that I've been doing it for so long.

The goal of this site is to share my thoughts and opinions on issues that matter to me the most. I hope that people who have followed me here from other fan sites will be introduced to a broader range of motion pictures and music, and maybe even get you to read some books.

I also write rants about current events and try to put them into a historical perspective. My rants aren't the "definitive" official policy of The Fedora Chronicles, they're just my opinions. If I ever get something wrong, you can take me to task on our forum. And I hope you do.

I also wanted to provide a place where people can discuss any topic that's forbidden elsewhere. I wanted a place for people with similar interests to publish their own work and have a place to call their own. This is supposed to be a site for traditionalists, retro-centrics, vintage aficionados, history buffs or just people who love classic movies or period films to have their say, (and I hope yours, too.) I also want all of us to use this space to remember and honor those who kept freedom alive.

My hope has always been that we change the world a little, turn back towards the things that are good, and embrace the things that make the here and now so special.

Archive: 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014


2003

July 31st , 2003 "Self Segregation"  Eric Renderking Fisk asks: "What’s the point of being different if you’re surrounded by people just like you?"

August 8th, 2003 - "War On Terror" -  Eric Renderking Fisk writes about Terrorism and Paranoia..

August 24th, 2003 -  "CALIFORNIA DREAMIN," All the leaves are brown, and the skies are Gray Davis.

October 4th, 2009 - Junk Mail In part one of Renderking Fisk’s series on the foil’s of Modern Commerce, he attacks the violations of privacy in our mail boxes each and every day… and what’s holding up your packages from our favorite vendors that use the United States Postal Service…

October 15th, 2003 - "The Everlasting Drama Of Democracy In This Republic," Eric 'Renderking' Fisk quickly shares his thoughts on the historical events that took place during the Recall-Election in California this week...

November 6th, 2003 “Why Not 'Jazz' The Vote,” By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk rants about "Jazzing" the vote, and the evils of turning Politics into Entertainment...

November 19th, 2003: “Fighting Depression, Jones Style,” - A Fedora Chronicles reader (who asked to be called “Cats” for the sake of anonymity) wrote to me on October 16, 2003 and told me that she was in real trouble with depression. She told me that after her medication ran out, she found herself in emotional turmoil.

December 29th, 2003: - "Temple Of Censorship" - Pan And Scan is a form of Censorship.

2004

Eric 'Renderking' Fisk dispenses advice to those who are graduating, reconstructing the advice he gave to his brother 10 years ago...

July 22nd, 2004: COMMISSIONING A WORK OF FICTION - Eric Renderking Fisk asks, What does the 9-11 Commission final report meant to you and who's to blame for September 11th, 2001?”

September 11th, 2004 – “In memorial  - Flight 93,” This years September 11th Memorial Article focus on the hero’s of Flight 93 who personified bravery, heroism and self sacrifce.

September 17th, 2004: “John Kerry is losing this election: Here’s why. Eric “Renderking” Fisk discusses John Kerry and his decline in the polls and it’s implications.”

October 12th, 2004: “Media Bias, Oil For Food, and “No” WMD’s. The omnipotent United Nations?”

November 9th, 2004: “And now THAT’S behind us…” With all the name calling and fighting during the 2004 political campaign, Eric Renderking Fisk asks: Who were the real losers this election season?

November 18th, 2004: "In Celebration of The Death of  A Terrorist" This week’s Rant from Eric Renderking Fisk, he asks who was Yasser Arafat and what will be his legacy in the years to come. Besides death, destruction, deceit, deception and chaos, what has Yasser Arafat's life amounted to?

November 23rd, 2004: "Thankful For What?" - It’s Thanksgiving… And Eric Renderking Fisk chews on what to be Thankful for, and what not to do this holiday season.

December 3rd, 2004: “Humbug” Eric Renderking Fisk Goes Over The Top This Holiday Season With A Harsh Criticism of The Holiday Season And Tries To Narrow Down What The Season Should Mean.

December 7th, 2004: “Every Day That’s Since Passed...” -  In honor of the Anniversary of “The Day Which Will Live In Infamy”.

December 31st, 2004: "End The United Nations" - Eric Renderking Fisk puts another nail in The United Nations coffin, an organization that should be ashamed for playing politics in this time of need.

2005

December 31st, 2004/January 1st, 2005 “Calling For Heroes in 2005” - For the New Year, Eric Renderking Fisk plays the roll of Motivational Speaker…

January 21st, 2005: "Nazi Prince"- Everyone makes mistakes… but not everyone makes ones in view the public eye and changes people’s perception of you forever. Perfect example is” The Nazi Prince” of England…

February 13th, 2005: Last Minute Valentines  Ideas - Eric Renderking Fisk Comes to the rescue of one of his woman readers just before Valentines day…

February 27th, 2005: Chris Rocks The Oscars - Eric Renderking Fisk joins Chris Rock in trashing the Oscars… For Different reasons.

March 31st, 2005: "Saving Social Security by sacrificing the lives of those who are already 'Dead.'" Far beyond what anyone could have pictured in The Golden Age, We're able to do things that are both incredible and horrific in the name of Science and Medicine. Where are we going, and what's on the horizon? (Part Parody over the Terry Shivo incedent…)

April 22nd, 2005: "'Save Enterprise' Equals Trekkies Behaving Badly..." - For the first time since October 1987, there will no longer be any new Star Trek Episodes on Television, nor any new ones in the foreseeable future. Eric Renderking Fisk writes about what this means… and how maybe it’s about time we take William Shatner’s advice about getting a life…

May 14th, 2005: "Trekkies Gone Wild…" - In a second part of his rant about “Star Trek,” Eric Renderking Fisk reviews the final episode of the franchise and the impending doom of the UPN network…

June 14th, 2005: "Michael Jackson: GUILTY! (… of at least having very bad taste.)" Eric Renderking Fisk doesn't just call Micheal Jackson nuts: he paints the parents of his elleged victims with the same  crazy brush...

June 14th, 2005: The Passion of The Truth" - Eric Renderking Fisk asks: "What happened to Journalism's dedication to the Truth? Or was there ever such a commitment to the facts?"

September 2nd, 2005: "The Passion of The Truth  - Part II" - Mass Media – This isn’t The Age Of Aquarius. Eric Renderking Fisk believes the news in the Mainstream media is generated just to rekindle the over romanticized era of protest and anarchism… and diminishes those who are trying to have a legitimate debate on both sides about what’s happening in the World today.”

September 21st, 2005: One Nation Under God, No More: Eric Renderking Fisk makes the point that striking down "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is just the first shot across the bow in what's to become a heated culture war in The United States...

November 10th, 2005: "France Is a Riot!" Are The Riots in France a problem that stands alone, or is it a symptom of a greater problem... as the world becomes more apprehensive and concerned - Eric Renderking Fisk details the cause and what little we have to look forward to...”

December 3rd, 2005: Review of David Lynch's DUNE: With Narnia – The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe on the horizon, Eric Renderking Fisk reprints an earlier article about another book turned into a motion picture for the holidays…

December 17th, 2005 “The Rant That Ren Used The Word “Orgasm” In The Title!” There are some things that should remain private - and it's a mystery why too many people think there's a problem with that...

2006

January 4th, 2006 - Patriot Act: Part Two: Eric Renderking Fisk makes the argument that it’s partisan politics, hypocrisy and selective indignation that may cause the end of The United States, and an actual wide scale terrorist attack might be little more a contributory event to this countries final demise.

January 13rd, 2005: "Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Confirmation Hearings and Judicial Activism." Eric Renderking Fisk submits a quick Rant about his perceptions about Judicial Activism and the confirmation hearing that concluded earlier this week.

April 27th, 2006: "Paramount Disenfranchised," While Paramount Studios uses rumors as trial balloons in an effort to figure out what to do with "The Franchise," Eric Renderking Fisk debates that maybe what's needed is another dose of reality and really change the world.

August 24th, 2006 "Kneeling At The Altar Of 'The Great Bird Of The Galaxy? I don't think so..." Did Gene Roddenberry Die on The Cross and rise from the dead a few days after? Did he ascend into heaven on a Flying Horse? Part The Red Sea? No? Then why is this man who's been dead for 15 years being remembered as a Saint, Prophet or a Deity... even after he denounced faith in God or Gods?

December 22nd, 2006 - "TrekCore and Republcian Trek?" Sometimes in the best interest of everyone - including yourself - the best answer to give is "no." That's the hardest thing to say and knowing when to say it is the hardest lesson to learn.

December 28th, 2006 - "Remembering Gerald Ford - Before And Beyond Watergate..." Who was this guy, Gerald Ford? What was the rest of the story behind this American President? Is there more to this character besides Watergate? What's the whole picture and why should we care?

2007

January 23rd, 2007 Eric Renderking Fisk revisits "Science Fiction Age..." "Nobody is able to know for sure what tomorrow brings and what the future holds. The Best any of us can hope for is an educated guess..."

As a special service to The Fedora Chronicles Readers, here's a look at what you have to look forward in 2007... "Eric Renderking Fisk’s Top Ten Predictions for 2007" (Humor)

February 10th, 2005: "Super Bowl and the Two Minute Hate…" Here's the text of The Fedora Chronicles Radio Show for February 10, 2007...

February 14th, 2007: Cynical About Valentine's Day? Don't Be. News Flash: Valentines Day isn't about What you Buy... but how you feel.

March 1st, 2007: Oscar 2007 - Gore’s Hollywood: "As I mentioned on The Fedora Chronicles Hollywood home page, here are my comments about the Oscar Award ceremony that was held at the end of February. I’m disappointed on a few levels.

March 12th, 2007 -"How Much Freedom Do you Really Need?" This topic is just too important to leave to just the forum. But that's where this topic was brought up. Sunday night one of our members "Kan Smiley" started a topic about Jim Zumbo, a former writer for "Outdoor Life" who was fired for his comments about hunters using Assault Rifles.

April 10th, 2007 - Career Ending Comments: Don Imus and "The N-Word" - Currently there's an explosion about this same topic all over the media - how one comment can ruin a career... Last week when Don Imus was talking about Woman's Basketball, he called the Rutgers University women's basketball team  "nappy-headed hos." Now, people every where are either asking for MSNBC and Westwood One to fire him, or lambasting his employers asking why did it take something like this for them to see Imus for what he really is...

April 26th, 2007: "Rosie O'Donnell: Cake Owner - Cake Eater" -  Let me just head some of you off at the pass - the title of this rant isn't a dig or a jab at Rosie O'Donnell's weight. It's a play on the old phrase, "Having your cake and eat it, too." Ok? So shut down Outlook and put your "I hate Renderking" stationary away.

June 15th - 18th, 2007:: Eric "Renderking" Fisk goes on "Safari" with Steve Jobs and come back empty handed and frustrated...

July 17th, 2007: With the Filming of "The Fourth Installment of the Indiana Jones Adventures" now in Hawaii and not much news coming out this week since the sets in The Aloha State is sealed tighter then an ancient vault... there's nothing new to talk about. So maybe old rumors and fan conjecture is being recycled as current news... then again, maybe they're not. Eric Renderking Fisk rants about "Paramount Leaks And Wishful Thinking..."

July 26th, 2007: Picture Tube: Kathy Griffin's "My Life On The D-List," Season 3

August 16th, 2007: 30th Anniversary Of Elvis Presley's Death: "Death Of One King, Fall Of One Princess." - "As I was in the Grocery Store this morning, and saw how one publication observed the Anniversary of the death of one celebrity while another chronicled the continued fall of another, it wasn't too easy to imagine that 30 years from now one of my sons will be an a grocery story, watching a clerk stock a commemorative magazine observing the three decades since the death of our former Pop Princess."

August 24th, 2007 - Our Names Will Be Synonymous With "Adventure." Eric Renderking Fisk writes: "Someone on another forum asks this question -  now that we have vendors that are supplying perfect replicas of the fedora worn by Harrison Ford in "Raiders Of The Lost Ark," (and countless other heroes from The 1930's and 1940's - real and imagined.) "What's Next?" Here's my answer...

September 5th & 15th, 2007: "What happens when we chose to be lied to?": "There's an storm brewing out in the open seas of The Internet... it's called "Yellow Journalism" and we've faced it before in other medias... There are some people who think this storm has come and gone, but I'm telling you that it's only been building, just touching the coast line of reality with deadly consequences before heading out back into the Cyberspace ocean for warmer water and hot air to build and gain strength..."

October 3rd, 2007: "Brit-Brit Kids shipped Fed-Ex." "This would be a great time for Ms. Spears to get her act together and focus on two important things, and in this order - getting her kids back and raise them better then her mother raised her, and to focus on her career. And when I say this work on her career, I'm not talking about being getting attention by being a public train wreck and the poster child for under-education over paid white trash... I'm talking about producing an album that's successful with out relying too much on over-dubbing and folks will actually be able to listen to.... be sure to send her a copy of Audrey Hepburn's biography. She'll have plenty of time to read while behind bars if she's not to busy singing "Jailhouse Rock." Spears needs to learn what it means to be a performer AND a lady who cares."

October 11th, 2007 - John Edwards Caught Cheating? The media should be hammering away at both parties with the same intense scrutiny, not pick sides or over-report some stories and under-report others. That's just common sense. But from even the casual observer can tell you, the news media isn't about reporting the news any more, the goal now is to alter perceptions and entice people to think, act and eventually vote in ways that will benefit their favorite partisans and party, just as William Randolph Hurst did with his publications during the first half of the 20th Century.

October 30th, 2007: How did the slaughter of one goose bring up issues about our collective mortality, the disproportionate way that nerve and courage has been distributed to the men in our culture, World War II and September 11th... and overcoming difficulty? "Making A Killing."

November 30th, 2007: I remember the day that I hosted Luis Muñoz's article, wondering what the reaction to it would be. I had no idea that this would later become one of the most debated articles on The Fedora Chronicles and there would still be people talking about this more then 2 years later. A lot of people wrote about it, a lot of people commented on it, and over 2 years later it's still the centerpiece of a decisive and long-running debate. "'That Gay Article' And It's Debate That Just Won't Die..."

Winter Storm Warning (2007) - December 13th -14th, 2007: No need for panic when The Weather Forecast Calls for Light Armageddon and a 90% Chance of Mild To Severe Natural Disaster when it's just a heavy storm. You can actually enjoy yourself if you're prepared and have the right state of mind...

Quotes From "Indiana Jones And The Crystal Skull" - A lot of fans have written in and said that they are concerned that the Next Indiana Jones Sequel may have too many references to Aliens and Flying Saucers. We have found excerpts of the script to assure you... Warning! These are actual lines from a movie directed by Steven Spielberg...

Dishwasher Confidential - : New Year's Special: "Working on New Year's for the particular restaurant I write about was one of the worst things that I've ever had to endure since I started to draw a pay check for slave's wages. I hated it. More then 15 years have passed, and when I look back on it I'm filled with this fond bitter-sweetness."

2008

Remembering Asimov: By Eric Renderking Fisk: "... Asimov didn't 'write down' to his audience, he didn't needlessly uncomplicated the subject matter - it's a difficult thing to try and explained how he treated his readers as if they were intelligent while at the same time taught anyone who was willing to read what he wrote. That was part of his genius, you felt smarter then you really were just by reading what he had to say." Read More...

Book Review: "Write It When I'm Gone..." By Thomas DeFrank. "Many of the members of this cast in the Shakespearian tragedy that was Nixon's Watergate are veterans of World War II and members of the Greatest Generation.  These political titan's fight and clash over the rule of law and concepts that are beyond the grasp of some but are embodied in others.

January 28th, 2008: Thanks For The Memories, George... I Wish I could Say It's Been Fun. Did you catch George W. Bush's final State Of The Union Speech? No? Check this rant out to read about what you missed, and what those of us missed who also heard it. Something huge was missing, and the Main Stream Media didn't catch on...

Biggest Losers Super Tuesday 2008: "...It's a wonderfully dysfunctional way to pick a leader, entertainment for civics nuts, and I wouldn't want it any other way... the question isn't about who the big winners are, the question is: Who are the losers?

February 25th, 2007: These Are The Moments..." Eric Renderking Fisk debates the Relevancy of The Oscars this year was over-shadowed by moments not captured on Film...

Have Movie Fans Come Along Way in 10 Years? - February 28th, 2008. "There are some classics like "The African Queen" that haven't released on DVD format. With each new format, fewer classics are released as form of cinematic entropy. That bothers me a lot. These issues have created a "Catch-22" for Classic Movie Fans and Studios alike."

"Dishwasher Confidential: Food Poisoning" is the story of one Vintage Aficionado's survival in the culinary underbelly of one small college town. This rant contains harsh language and intense descriptions of bodily functions and is a frank, honest and genuinely disturbing account of filthy restaurants and the desperate employees who work in them. Do Not Read This Rant If You Are Easily Offended or Grossed-Out! Read this rant at your own peril!

March 8th, 2008: "Hometown Crusade - Who's Village Is It, Anyway?" by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk- I'm an outspoken opponent against many franchises moving and taking over small towns in America. I'm obviously against them coming into my town, Rindge New Hampshire, too. Also check out the companion forum thread: "Preservation of Hometowns and American rural areas."

March 12th, 2008: "Eliot Spitzer Suicide Watch," By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: "My anger towards Spitzer isn't some holier-then-thou rhetoric or a mask to cover up my own misdeeds. I feel horrible for his wife, his children and his sycophantic supporters who blur the already grayed line between "Right" And "Wrong." Men should love, treasure and adore their wives as I do mine, never do anything that would blatantly break their hearts or violate their trust no matter how powerful they are."

March 21st, 2008: Eric Renderking Fisk's tribute to Arthur C. Clark

March 25th, 2008:  Eric 'Renderking' Fisk asks: "Do you really want to attack your opponent with words and terminology that reminds everyone else about the character flaws that your candidate has?" "Hillary, Barack... And The Judas Factor."

March 31st, 2008: "Don't Turn This Into A Religion." -  "I was reminded of the saying when Doug "Webhead73" Palumbo started the thread: Girl Dies After Parents Pray for Healing. This prompted me to get some things off my chest about faith, religion and the cult of pop-culture...  hence the name of the title..

April 3rd, 2008: "What's a Parent's 'Worst Nightmare'?" One of the things they don't tell you before you become a parent is that you'll be plagued with strange dreams about your children for a very long time... much the same way they don't tell you before you graduate from high school that you'll still have nightmares about showing up for class unprepared. - Since becoming a parent, I've had the occasional dream or nightmare about some danger that threatens my boys..."

April 22nd, 2008: Eric Renderking Fisk has been working on this rant about how we need to do more to help each other out in The Retroverse and what we need to do to prevent the tragedy that occurs to many different people when one person takes their own life. "Celebrities Of Suicide."

Walking With Dinosaurs: The Experience. "If you have the chance go to "Walking With Dinosaurs: The Experience," then absolutely go and be prepared - the pictures I took and posted here just don't do this event justice. Review by Eric "Renderking" Fisk.

Pizza Haven: Here I'm going to lay out my argument why you should almost always frequent your friendly neighborhood pizza joint. Not only because you should support non-corporately owned business and support your neighbors who own local restaurants, but because they're simply better most of the time." Review by Eric "Renderking" Fisk.

May 15th, 2008: Eric Renderking Fisk rants: "Painfully Young Siren Strikes A Pose..." "new 'jail bait' has been manufactured by Disney and is now in the middle of a controversy involving a proactive photo which now brings back the topic "how young is too young?"

June 4th, 2008 - Democracy's Apocalypse 2008: Hillary Refuses To Quit. The important issues in the National Presidential Campaign are being ignored while the nation's media obsesses about what the former First Lady is going to do next in her campaign to undermine the 22nd Amendment...

June 16th, 2008: "Is This Not The Perfect Sunday? "What does "Carpe Diem" mean to you, can you 'Seize The Day' and appreciate the quite times for what they are?

June 20th, 2008 - "I grew up in Brattleboro, Vermont. And this week there's the 20th year reunion for the Class Of 1988... and I'll be attending one if not both of the events that will be held. Much of who I am is where I'm from. And where I'm from finds its way into these pages from time to time. ...Part of growing up is embracing what we left in the past, but just for a moment. - "A Song That Reminded Me of Long ago."  - By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk

July 20th, 2008: "Is This Not The Perfect Sunday?" What does "Carpe Diem" mean to you, can you 'Seize The Day' and appreciate the quite times for what they are?

August 16th, 2008 by Eric "Renderking" Fisk: What About This Word "Retarded?" A rant in response to the controversy created by the Ben Stiller movie "Tropical Thunder," - If you're easily offended by words, this isn't the rant for you. If you're looking for an uplifting message about how to deal with small people using big words they don't understand, then maybe this is... Read More...

August 26th, 2008 - "The Fading Days of A stolen Summer, Into Autumn" by Eric Renderking Fisk "For reasons I've already explained on our forum, the last half of summer for me was ruined by events that were beyond my control and changed our lives through horrible circumstances. As the days grow colder and shorter, I've come to realize yet again that the changing of the seasons are a great metaphor for life and how the things we take for granted are eventually gone. "The Fading Days of A stolen Summer, Into Autumn"

September 2008: "From Hillary To Sarah - How Did We Get Here?"  - "If I were to tell you a few weeks ago that the first woman to become Vice President would not be a Senator from "New York," but the Governor from Alaska, you would have thought I was crazy. Then Googled to see who I was talking about and what her name is. But for a week now, Sarah Palin has been the talk of the country, if not the world." Read More...

September 21st, 2008: "IndyGear For Women" goes 'Couture'  - Thanks To Ralph Lauren ? By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: "In this rant I expose the outrage towards, and then try to explain, Ralph Lauren's "Ready To Wear Shimmer And Sand" Spring 2009 Collection. By no means is this an attack towards the people that I've known and grown to love and respect in the past decade, or openly trashing "IndyGear.com". Fact is, I'm surprised at the amount of angst over what Mr. Lauren presented. Isn't this what we asked for all this time?" Read More.

September 30th, 2008: How The Fedora Chronicles (Almost) Bought Office Space in The AIG Headquarters In Down-Town Manhattan... By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: " I bet you didn't know this, but I've invested in a handful of companies that are involved in insurance, real estate, and in primary and secondary mortgage holders. How this came about is a long story, part of which you've already heard about in the news... Read More.

October 9th 2008: “Guilt By Association, And Execution, Too.” by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk - "I hope that our national and international audience gives me a little slack with this rant. While this might seem to be self-indulgent, events in my state have made me think about what's going on through out the nation - following this fad in the ballot booth could make this sub-prime mortgage fiasco seem like mild compared to things to come..."

October 23rd, 2008: “The Biden's Crisis,” By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk - "With this campaign season winding to a close and we look forward to a new period of American history - a period that will no doubt be historical in one sense at least if the current polls are correct - we seem to forget that with all this "hope and change" we're promised we also have to keep our guard up for the promised "horror and terror" many of our enemies are preparing for us... One person who hasn't forgotten is Vice-Presidential Nominee and member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations - Joe Biden. His comments about this issue has raised concern for a lot of us, how those looking to create conflict will react to Barack Obama if he takes the Oval Office... How he reminded us of these concerns is just as frightening." - ... Read More.

November 4th, 2008: "In 2009, Kiss Your Fedora Chronicles Goodbye," by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: "..."The Fairness Doctrine" is the same as the FBI or CIA checking with the Library or book stores to see what you're reading... There will be the "Fairness" committee to make sure your speech is "Political Correct." You  think this is funny until "they" take a look into what you're saying and they don't like it. The Fairness Doctrine would also tell you what you can't listen to, simply by killing it at it's source. You're either for censorship and "The Fairness Doctrine," or you're for free speech. For Speech to be free, it has to be free for EVERYONE, not determined by some bureaucracy in Berlin after 1932 or Washington after 2008."

November 21st, 2008 - "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer is perhaps the most "horrible" book I've ever read on two levels. It's harsh, raw and often bitter with a few sweet moments to barely keep your faith in humanity. "Life As We Knew It" is a difficult read, but is well worth the effort as a preview of what might happen if we're ever truly in a "worst case scenario" ...if you're a "young adult reader."

December 4th, 2008: "Red Robin" Review: Somewhere on The Electric Speakeasy there's a quote that might become our motto for a short while: "Everyone gets knocked over: The measure of a man is how well he gets up again." The same holds true for eating establishments; from one of a kind sole proprietors, hot dog stands and even chains. Everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how badly they fouled up. This review is one great example.

December 11th, 2008 “Nackles,” or "Dark Christmas Nostalgia," by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk. "What's going to happen to all of us? What's going to happen to individual families and the country as a whole? There are troubling news about bail-outs, inappropriate corporate spending, political officials being arrested for corruption, and the clarion call to all us to spend more because sales are down. There's a lot of anger out there. And maybe, just maybe we should postpone Christmas. What's there to celebrate? Why even have Christmas when nobody's really in the mood? Things are pretty dark, aren't they? My response to that is, what better time when times are dark to celebrate a holiday that's supposed to be about Light overcoming Darkness? Let me explain.

December 17th, 2008: “Playing It Safe In The Face Of Disaster?” by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: "If you are easily offended by harsh language or would like to perpetuate your believe in the Fairy Tale that your local government officials are looking out for you and your best interest and will be there when disaster strikes, skip this rant..." Read More...

December 20th, 2008: “Good-Bye, Majel,” by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk She and I were on the same page about Trekkies needing to "Get A Life" and take part in making the future depicted in "Star Trek" a reality, rather then passively obsess about it. She just happened to say it better. This very regal, forth-right lady care about the fans, and glowed about those of us who took the message seriously - glowed about those fans who accomplished something as if they were her children or grand-children. Sadly, she died late this past week of pneumonia. She will be missed. Here's why..

December 31st, 2008 "Dynastic Senatorial Appointments?" by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk, "If you're looking for someone to heap praise on Governor Peterson's choice for US Senator, and gushing over Washington's return to "Camelot," don't read this rant. "There's just so much to discuss here, this one single appointment is so ripe with opportunity for political commentary and satire, it just can't be left alone. I've scrapped everything else I wanted to discuss and do for the rest of 2008 just for this one rant." Read More...

2009

January 16th, 2009 - “Celebrate Life,” Remembering Sergei: "There's proof that there is a heaven since angels and grace have been among us..."

Thursday January 22nd, 2008: “Will You Join Me In Taking This Medicine Called Hope?” By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk - Inauguration Day: Tuesday January 20th, 2009 - "While I'm listening and watching Barack Obama take The Oath Of Office, I'm also remembering what I said earlier today when I spoke on 96.9FM WTKK in Boston with Michael Graham - Sometimes the Best Medicine is "Hope." I'm overwhelmed by the palatable optimism that's now in the air and that there will come a time when we no longer focus on partisanship and hate for hate's sake." Read more...

February 5th, 2009: “Et Tu, Barack?” By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk - "How can you build someone up, create a cultural and political phenomenon, then suddenly hate the person you helped get elected? And so soon after they took the oath off office?"

March 3rd, 2009: “Fandom Is A Strange Thing” Eric Renderking Fisk rants about talented fans and putting skill to better use.

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 "Cramer Versus Stewart... and President Obama," By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk - At what point is it safe to critique a new leader, when is the honeymoon over and the criticism allowed to begin?

April 14th, 2009: "The Devil, Roger Ebert, Made Me do It" Eric Renderking Fisk responds to Roger Ebert's review of "Fanboys."

April 21, 2009: "Class Acts," - Eric Renderking Fisk asks what are you supposed to do when you're face-to-face with someone you're diametrically opposed to everything they say and act?

April 22nd, 2009 Hey Eugene, Can You Spare A Dime? By Eric 'Renderking' Fisk. What should someone do with the money his family made from other peoples hopes, dreams and aspirations about a better tomorrow?

Saturday April 25th, 2009 Raising Fisk's: Being The Dad I Always Wanted.

May 4th, 2009: "First, Jay Severin - Next, Eric 'Renderking' Fisk," - "But the fact is, Voltaire's philosophy is a dying one. You can tell by the negative discourse out there on the internet; anyone who disagrees with the "conventional wisdom" or the current Orwellian Groupthink will find themselves silenced by the Political Correctness Thought Police. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" has come 25 years late. But it's has arrived." ... More

Monday, June 22, 2009 “The Sins Of Our Fathers Will Be Visited Upon Our Community”  by Eric Renderking Fisk: "Inspired by recent events in my own life, starting with being accosted by a local drunk after yelling at my son for not looking both ways before crossing the road. Apparently a lot of us have anger/daddy issues. Who suffers for that? Not just us, or our sons and daughters, but all of us in society. [Read The latest rant...]

Sunday, June 28, 2009: Thriller: Michael Jackson by Eric Renderking Fisk... "I'm trying to set aside my memories of the early 1980's and the album everyone had to have and the videos on MTV that everyone had to see, from the caricature of himself that he became. How can I remove the ugly rumors, innuendo and allegations made in charges against in those court cases from the musical artist that I enjoyed during some of my formative years? [Read More]

Wendsday, July 8th, 2009: "Why Palin Quit" by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk: "How can I answer this this question with out turning this into a rant about something else? This could turn into long winded diatribe on how much I hate the main stream media (MSM) and moronic bloggers." [Continue]

"The Death Of Libraries And The Decline Of Civilization," September 5th, 2009 When local municipalities try to 'save money' by cutting funds to local libraries, what messages are they sending to the city or town? That they don't value the literacy in the community, or that they're punishing the poor for having to rely on such a simple but vital service?"

"September 11th, 2009" - A new rant by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk.

Remember November, 1994? Or: Why ObamaCare Is Doomed To Be A Republican Success... September 18th, 2009 - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk discusses the mistakes made during the Clinton Era, and how The Obama Administration is making the same mistakes... recreating the conditions that caused a "Perfect Storm" for the next Conservative Revolution.

"Call Your Congressman About ObamaCare?" September 24th, 2009: Eric 'Renderking' Fisk tried to find answers by contacting his congressman about "ObamaCare" or "Health Care Reform," and uncovers a much larger or disturbing problem - an unrepresented constituency.

"What Are Our Children Watching?" -  September 25, 2009 "I don't think ANY political group should be allowed to make political movies to be shown in school. Period. I don't care if the group is Liberal, Conservative, Neo-Traditional, Agnostic or Religious. How hard would it be to make schools a politically free zone? With that said..."  Read More... 

October 21st, 2009 - “Epilogue For Rick's Cafe Americain... Life Imitates Art.” Eric Renderking Fisk how "Real" Rick's Cafe American changed his life, providing a place to think, clear his head - and come up with something else to say besides "we'll always have Paris" when saying good bye to his own "Femme Fatal"

"A Prize For A Nobel President?" by Eric Renderking Fisk - October 12th, 2009: Eric 'Renderking' Fisk shares his thoughts about the Nobel Prize being given to the current President of The United States, and the notion that the committee in Oslo, Norway is trying to manipulate this administration. How can you send troops into war after you won an award for peace?

August 18th - October 28th, 2009 - "Saving Old Fedora Chronicles Hardware With New Fedora Software," before Eric Renderking Fisk rants about how much he likes (and dislikes) Windows 7: He shares with us how he saved one of the older machines used to run The Fedora Chronicles in the early days with a Linux operating system. Sometimes it's good to be sentimental about older machines...

“For Retrocentrics, The Spirits Of The Past Haunt Year Round.” Eric Renderking Fisk - Halloween 2009 - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk explores the ideas of spirits, haunting, and the specters' of the past from The Golden Age. Why are we so connected or enamored with the 20's - 50's? Are we recycled souls from that period, or are we visited by those who can't step into the next realm because of unfinished business? Read more..

2010

January 23rd, 2010: “Lessons To Learn From  Martha Coakley Loss” - What can politicians learn from Scott Brown's victory last week? What could we all learn from The Democrats disaster?

Feburary 16th, 2010 - "Why Patches Quit" - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk discusses Patches Kennedy quitting and throwing in the towel before he had to run for reelection. Not because he wants to move on, but because he knows he can’t win and the Kennedy Mystique is gone.

"I Read It On Facebook!" Feburary 16th, 2010  - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk rants about his favorite modern pet-peeve - finding out about important news via social networking sites!

February 3rd, 2010: "I Read It On Facebook!" Eric 'Renderking' Fisk rants about his favorite modern pet-peeve - finding out about important news via social networking sites!

May 20th, 2010 - "The Arlen Specter Moment" - Talk about the moment Arlen Spector's career ended... back on August 11th, 2009.

The Demons Of Gilford Street. April 19th, 2010: "I’m starting to come to grips with the horrible memories that I’ve been trying to drown with the sangria, scotch and tequila... While I’m standing in the kitchen this past Sunday afternoon, I was suddenly burdened and overwhelmed with a true nightmare that’s been lurking in the back of my mind that caused me to cringe and reach for a bottle until the recent past.

"The Bad Dad Dilemma,"  May 8th, 2010: "I turned 40 this past summer. I’m a father of two boys, aged 7 and 5. These two fact have been weighing pretty heavy on my heart recently. I’m simultaneously asking myself, what am I doing with my life and what kind of father am I?

May 20th 2010 - "Everything You Need To Know About Customer Service You Can Learn From Nashua Outdoor Power Equipment." - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk vents about how one guy can ruin a whole franchise, and how laziness is running western civilization. All this because of a flat tire on a John Deere Tractor.

August 16th, 2010: "Steven Slater Jetblue Warthog" - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk discusses one stupid flight attendant that caught the world's attention...

August 24th, 2010 - "Word 2010 With Blog software," Eric 'Renderking' Fisk vents about the problems with Office and Word 2010 intergrating with other non-Microsoft services.

‎‎September ‎04, ‎2010 - "Incomplete Kits" - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk the missing experiences of his life and making them up to prepare him for the next decades to come...

 ‎September ‎08, ‎2010 - "Miles Down A Different Road,"  ‎A variation on the theme “The Road Less Traveled,” But in your own neighborhood. By Eric Renderking Fisk

Friday, ‎September ‎10, ‎2010 - "What Does Book Burning Solve?" - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk asks the question - what does book burning solve? Who are we more like when we do that? What problem has ever been solved by burning a book, whether it's the Koran or "Mein Komph."

October ‎28, ‎2010 - NPR Wrongly Fires A Black Man For His Honest Opinion… ‎‎by Eric Renderking Fisk - The Juan Williams/NPR incident proves how lethal partisan toxin really is.

Specter At Your Door: The Fedora Chronicles Rants - Sunday, October 31, 2010 5:30 PM Eric 'Renderking' Fisk discusses one of the scariest moments in his life: being woken up in the middle of the night by an intruder from the neither world… Discuss on The Electric Speakeasy

"Barack's Passage To India," The Fedora Chronicles Rants - ‎November ‎05, ‎2010, ‏‎5:30:00 AM | Eric Renderking Fisk debates the wisdom of President Obama’s trip overseas after the 'shellacking' his party took this past Election Day. At this point, what’s the benefit of this trip, is the overwhelming risk worth the improbable net gain that’s being used as an excuse for this multi-stop tour?

"Missile Mystery Launch Off The Coast Of California Asks Hard Questions:"  - Thursday, November 11, 2010 10:45 AM | Eric Renderking Fisk asks about the contrail that was seen off the coast of California, and debates the validity of the claim that it was a missile. If so, who launched it and why? If not, what does it say about our collective state of mind and collective paranoia?

"Its A Matter Of Ethics" - November 18, 2010 - Eric 'Renderking' Fisk discusses Charlie Rangel's conviction in his ethics trial...

2012

New Years and Abandoned In The Woods: While taking care of three New Year’s resolutions at once, Eric Renderking Fisk finds abandoned relics in the woods that asks a few questions about the layout of the region from decades ago.

2013

"Lacking Political Faith" - since politicians are flawed human beings like the rest of us, shouldn’t they have oversight groups, too? The media doesn’t count... Any more

100 Photographs That Changed the World: The Zapruder Film - November 20th, 2013 - Eric Renderking Fisk shares a paper he wrote for a sociology class about one of the most shocking photos or movie stills that deeply affected society and the way we saw the world.

2014

Questioning Authority Of The Presidential Flat Earth Society Thanks to Liberal Groupthink and lack of educated opinions we’re plunging back into an Dark Age

Remembering Frank Herbert - Eric Renderking Fisk discusses how one book and it’s author (DUNE by Frank Herbert) introduced him to a world beyond his imagination – and used his own imagination to take people to similar places and new designs…

"Since When Is Being Succesful a Bad Thing?" If you don't want to be the best at what you do, go find something else. Being good or at the top of your game isn't evil...."

Night Of The Living Wage: A decision about raising the minimum wage for the wrong reasons.

Return To The Wonderful And Strange A discussion about Paranormal, Supernatural, Art Bell, Dark Matter, Coast-To-Coast, and SiriusXM.

Jennette McCurdy – Imperfect Role Model: The minute you agree to ben an actress in a Nickelodeon TV show and take their money you’re whatever they say you are. Whether you like it or not. But her statement about how she’s not a role model she proves she’s just that.

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