I’m writing today’s post the morning that we head out for our flight before our current cruise (that’s a lot of clauses). I’m excited to see what kinds of modern art adorn our current ship, as it’s a different one (I think) than the one from our honeymoon.
As such, it seemed like a fun time to look back at the art from that honeymoon cruise. Some of it was quite odd.
With that, here is 19 December 2025’s “Phone it in Friday CXIV: YouTube Roundup CLXXIV: Cruise Art“:
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Back in late 2022 and early 2023, Ponty and I did a series of posts about our favorite films. I ranked 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back as my number one pick. If we redid the lists, I doubt it would rank that high, but it would certainly be in the top five.
At the time, I noted that Empire was the first film I ever reviewed for what would become Monday Morning Movie Reviews. At the time, I just called it Monday Movie Review, perhaps knowing there’d be days I’d miss the “morning” deadline. Regardless, the review of that film marked something of a turning point for The Portly Politico, moving away from primarily political topics and moving more decisively towards cultural ones.
With that, here is 28 September 2020’s “Monday Movie Review: The Empire Strikes Back“:
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As you’re reading this post, dear readers, Dr. Wife and I should be cruising the high seas, adrift in a wonderland of luxury somewhere in the Gulf of America (née Mexico). As such, why not cast our gaze back to cruise- and cruiser-related posts of yestyear (specifically, last yesteryear):
Happy Sunday—and, if you’re also on a cruise, Happy Cruising!
—TPP
This week I’ve really been banging the drum (really, really banging it) about folks on the Right supporting their fellow conservatives who create art—books, music, long-form essays, fiction, etc. We are phenomenally bad about supporting anything that isn’t bog-standard conservative commentary (which is kind of what I used to do here on a more regular basis).
It was serendipitous, then, that when looking back for today’s TBT, I found this piece, which I’d reblogged from a prior piece. In the original, I argued that donating to the RNC is a waste of money, and that dollars are better allocated to conservative creators.
I stand by that assessment. Indeed, the intervening years have only deepened that conviction—the conviction for you to send your money to me (and other awesome conservatives), not Mitch McConnell.
With that, here is 27 March 2025’s “TBT: Support Culture, Not Political Machines“:
Yesterday I encouraged readers to “Support Right-Wing Culture“; the thesis of my argument was that there are conservatives who create amazing art, but who languish in obscurity. Meanwhile, we’ll complain that don’t have any cultural products compared to the Left while also paying for a DailyWire+ subscription so Ben Shapiro can buy another ivory kippah. (but, by all means, have a DW+ subscription, just also be willing to spend five or ten bucks a month on smaller creators).
Ben Shapiro doesn’t need your money or your emotional support (although his plummeting viewership may suggest otherwise). His wife (like mine) is a doctor, after all. Quite frankly, he doesn’t deserve it, either: it’s pretty clear he hates the very people he purports to support. However, conservatives are willing to give him $9 a month, but will balk at the idea of spending $9 a month to support a small creator, for whom that $9 could be extremely impactful.
But I digress. Plenty of other people can (and have, and should) poke fun at Ben Shapiro. My point here is to discuss ways we can build each other up—and build a lasting cultural legacy.
To that end, I highlighted a few creators yesterday (note that a lot of the links to come are Amazon Affiliate links; I receive a portion of the purchases made through these links, at no additional cost to you):
There are several other creators I failed to mention yesterday; to wit:
And that’s just a start! There are people who are really trying to create new, original, cool stuff.
I’d like to think I am one of them. All of the folks mentioned above are far more talented and driven than yours portly, but I’d like to think I have created some unique culture in my doughy life. So, here are some of the ways you can support my contributions to right-wing culture:
Almost all of those items can be replicated for the other creators mentioned herein. None of them take very long. Many of them are free!
It doesn’t take much. I know money is tight and we’re probably staring down the start of the Third World War (or everything fine will be in another week—no need to panic), but everyone can afford five bucks a month to support a creator. Sacrifice one meal out and you’ve saved enough buy a couple of books or Substack subscriptions.
We conservatives need to step up and actually support—financially, morally, and culturally—our own people. The Left has built entire institutions to propagate their worldview, such as it is.
We don’t have to let them have a stranglehold on creating cool stuff. There is more to life than grilling and Kid Rock concerts and Ben Shapiro’s nasally commentary.
So dig deep and do the bare minimum to support the creators in your life (and, if you see fit, me, even though I just lectured you).
God Bless!
—TPP
From time to time, I’ll read essays that argue, essentially, that the Right is terrible at creating culture. If anything, we simply mimic what the mainstream culture is doing, but like most copies, our versions are poorly-executed and lame. The prime example of this phenomenon is contemporary Christian worship music, which takes the aesthetics of the blandest power pop and changes “baby” to “Jesus,” all set against a synth-string pad and a bunch of sus2 chords.
The thesis is correct—to a point. We are pretty bad on the Right at supporting good cultural output. I think there are a few reasons for this failure to support our own creators:
There are likely more, and I think some of the above are more relevant than others. For example, the fourth point paints with too broad a brush, perhaps.
But these points are generalizations, and we can derive a good bit of Truth from generalized observations, even if “Not All Conservatives Are Like That.”
The ultimate problem is that we’re not looking in the right places for culture that is pure, good, beautiful, virtuous, and true. That kind of cultural output is not getting the attention it deserves, even though it is creating work that is timeless.
There are artists, writers, poets, painters, etc., creating work that is great. There are creators on the Right who are not staging WWE-style funerals or hawking Kid Rock as the alternative to the Left.
Dr. Wife and I took a cruise for our honeymoon aboard Royal Caribbean‘s Explorer of the Seas. The artwork impressed, delighted, and even confounded me.
As such, I put together a brief video showcasing some of the art onboard the ship. This video only captures a small fraction of the collages, paintings, photographs, mosaics, etc., aboard Explorer of the Seas. The selections were often odd, but they really fit the atmosphere of the ship, and added a touch of elegance and class to the cruise.
When I first wrote about workers needed Thanksgiving Day off, I was experiencing pretty severe burnout myself. I do still believe that the Black Friday creeping into Thanksgiving is reprehensible, but I also realize my own stress was playing a role in my analysis.
Of course, this Black Friday I’m bunduru’d with Dr. Wife on the high seas, so I’m absolutely getting a break. Indeed, I might be eating pizza covered in gravy and leftover turkey from last night’s onboard Thanksgiving feast (I assume we had one; I’m writing this post way beforehand). While I’m enjoying the Thanksgiving Lover’s Pizza, though, millions are schlepping into retail stores at 4 AM to help grannies save pennies on toaster ovens.
Well, who doesn’t love a good deal? But a better deal would be shuttering retailers all day on Thanksgiving so employees can rest up and spend time with family before being berated by penny-pinching Karens.
With that, here is 25 November 2022’s “Flashback Friday^4: Brack Friday Bunduru: Workers Need a Break“:
I’m currently reading through J.D. Cowan‘s short book The Pulp Mindset: A NewPub Survival Guide (those are Amazon Affiliate links; I receive a portion of any purchases made through those links, at no additional cost to you), which isn’t precisely a guide on how to write pulp but, rather, an extended argument for why one should write pulp. Cowan unapologetically—indeed, enthusiastically—argues that the “low art” of the pulps provides readers what they want: action and wonder. He makes a reasonable argument for reviving this older form of writing, which features punchy writing and upright heroes: audiences want to read such stories, but “OldPub” (his term for the current publishing industry) prefers massive tomes that push approved messages. Readers lose out, therefore, on good stories, and the publishing industry is dying as a result.
That’s gotten me thinking about art and writing and what not. Last summer, a guest writer, Brian Meredith, wrote a post entitled “There’s No Such Thing as Bad Art” here at TPP. I don’t precisely agree—I think we can have (more or less) objective standards for what qualifies as good art and literature—but he does touch upon what I think is the important distinction between “low” and “high” art. Cowan argues in his book that pulps are “low art,” but that doesn’t make them worthless. But both low and high art can, I would argue, be quite bad. Just take this example from author and poet Liza Libes (Libes is an exquisite writer; she’s just sharing an excerpt from some trashy “romance” novel); no one can read that and not realize it’s awful writing (and not just because of the lurid subject matter).
But the worst art is art that is only valuable in the financial sense because the people making it are either a.) well-connected and/or b.) elevated because of some perceived victim status. We’ve had too much of both lately, and it’s why—as Cowan argues—the publishing and film industries are dying slow deaths (and, yes, yes, shortened attention spans due to TikTok and what not play a role, too, I’m sure, but people go to those platforms because they at least give folks what they want). That was the crux of this post, first written back in 2021 and reblogged mercilessly every summer.
With that, here is 25 July 2024’s “TBT^4: Modern Art and Influence“:
The big scuttlebutt in the conservative world is the rumor that Ben Shapiro‘s The Daily Wire may be going bankrupt. I have no idea if that is true or not, although their longtime co-founder, Jeremy Boreing, is apparently stepping down from his position as co-CEO.
It’s a good reminder that some of these big-named conservative commentators are often too big for their own good. In some ways, having a bigger brand and presence means you also have to walk a thinner and thinner line. I am increasingly ambivalent about Shapiro, who I think hedges his bets too much. He was flat-out anti-Trump eight years ago, and now acts like he was leading the charge for Trumpism in 2015. Balderdash!
Whatever happens at The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro is going to be okay. He’s got book royalties, a nationally-syndicated radio show, a popular podcast, etc., etc., etc.
But you know who does need support? The small fries. But not just the political commentary small fries: the artists, authors, writers, composers, musicians, painters, craftsmen, etc., the people who are making culture on a shoestring budget and a prayer.
Not just me, either, but that would be nice.
With that, here is 19 April 2024’s “Support Culture, Not Political Machines“:
