American Culture Influence Pop

The Beatles and Philosophy, a collection of essays by philosophy experts (many of them university professors, all of them Beatles fanatics), is a new and sometimes tedious example of the latter. An entry in the "Popular Culture and Philosophy" series of books, which is now 25 volumes deep, The Beatles and Philosophy exploits the Fab Four's weakness for populist consciousness-raising by aligning their work to that of Kant, Heidegger, Aristotle, and a host of other great minds that don't necessarily have much to do with the band's music.

A major problem with the collection is that it addresses the Beatles' lyrics only—understandably, seeing as there's no way to discuss Nietzsche and overdubbing with a straight face—an approach that inevitably treats the band as a one-dimensional unit.

GSN Orders New Game Show from Buena Vista Productions

SANTA MONICA, March 29: GSN, the network for games, has ordered 40 half-hour episodes of Camouflage, a new hidden word puzzle and trivia game show, from Disney's Buena Vista Productions.

Hispanic Culture's Bold Colors Gain Wider Acceptance

AKRON, Ohio - As this country's Hispanic population has grown, so has its contributions to mainstream American culture. The food. The music. And now, the decor. Hispanic influences are a growing force in home decorating. The vibrant colors, rustic woods and heavy, large-scale furniture are finding their way into our style consciousness. Credit Cristina Saralegui with kick-starting the trend. The Cuban-born talk show host, who's often called the "Hispanic Oprah," partnered with Pulaski Furniture in 2004 to create a furniture collection, and she has since expanded her Casa Cristina brand to accessories, rugs, lighting and even mattresses. Her bedding and bath collection arrived at Kohl's department stores nationwide this spring. You can't get much more mainstream than that. The spread of Latin American and Spanish influence probably shouldn't come as a surprise, given that Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States, according to the U.S.

A brief history of the five kinds of conservatism

During this time of political setbacks for conservatives, it is a good time to consider the vital role of Conservatism in Western cultural and political history.

Conservative ideals played a crucial role in the rise of the West, and Liberalism did not. In fact, Liberalism appeared during the 18th century after the West had already become the premier civilization of the world in literature, philosophy, art, music, architecture, economics, commerce, exploration, science, technology, war, and politics.

There is an illusion abroad in the land that Liberalism is an old tradition, and that Conservatism arose in the late 1940's as a reactionary force. This essay will demonstrate that four of the five kinds of Conservatism were very old when Liberalism first appeared.

Bread and Circuses: Pop Culture Face-Off

This edition of Bread and Circuses is a face-off. Our resident Cynic-in-Chief Lee Brown goes up against newcomer and Mercury contributor Jason Levine, the defender of all things Hollywood.

Jason: Paris Hilton's role in society is for those who want to relive their youth. She's like that girl in high school, who never turned in any homework, but dated every member of the football team.