Laughing On The Edge
A Piffany About Milestones, Millstones and Withstanding the Grind Roy Wood Jr., performing for Don’t Tell Comedy at Edge NYC on Sept. 24, 2025. Photo: Sean...
Why Are We Doing The National Anthem At The Home Run Derby?
A Piffany About A Pastime Tradition That Has Passed Its Time Sure, there are too, too many serious things I could be, should be, would be writing about. But...
Beans, Greens, Potatoes, Red Lobster?
A Piffany About Capitalism Capitalizing On Memes Hi! I know it has been a while. I've been busy with freelance work as well as developing my other...
For Your Grammy Consideration
I launched Piffany because I wanted to stretch my writing and reporting muscles by breaking out of the comedy-centric coverage I created for myself with The...
So we're doing this now?
Hello, readers! Welcome to Piffany on Buttondown! Thanks for reading. If you'd like to help support me financially, too, here's a handy button to donate...
Now What?
Last things first, in case you’re wondering why you haven’t received many emails from me recently — I’m OK, but is Substack OK? I’m increasingly not so sure....
The Old Man and The Hat
Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Lucasfilm); Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures); Timothy Olyphant in Justified: City...
What's Left Behind For The Last Of Us?
Did you have a happy Earth Day, Earthlings! May we now please look away from Season 3 of The Mandalorian, which exists in a galaxy far, far away where...
"Groundhog Day," 30 Years Later
I’m a jumble of emotions today, so please bear with me in advance for that. Or rather, for the sake of remaining in the zeitgeist, I’m a Wordle of emotions,...
"I Didn't Think We Were Rowing," My Favorite Pop Culture of 2022
My Year In Movies I didn’t need Nicole Kidman to remind me about the perfect, powerful magic of seeing movies on the big screen at the cinema. Mostly because...
Where Do We Go Now?
Hi Axl! We’re barely a month removed from the U.S. elections (where Republicans proved themselves too hostile for a hostile takeover) and the change of...
Please Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself
Imagine: Someone thinking I could sell newspapers! Last things first, sorry not sorry for referencing both old Jay-Z and new Taylor Swift, for as a...
Nightmare On Vasovagal Street
For my regular subscribers, I know I owe you multiple Last Things First transcripts from October, so please prepare for a deluge…should I not send all of...
Solving The Columbus Day Problem
Christopher Columbus statute in Astoria, Queens, August 2017. Photo by me. Driving a friend across town for errands this weekend, she pointed at the...
How To Manufacture An Epiphany
I went on holiday (holiday? not quite holy days for me, although ‘twas for some of thee; vacation? no, not quite vacare, as the Latins first put it, since I...
Are We Alone In The Universe? NOPE
Images from the James Webb Space Telescope, taken July 2022 (Earth time) Even as a young boy, I understood that we couldn’t possibly be alone in the...
Movie review: "Fourth of July"
Most movies about alcoholics focus on the bottoming out, that moment when the addict reaches the jumping-off point and manages to either find the gift of...
Les États-Unis Now Openly Admits To Planning Coup D'Etats
Even Jake Tapper was caught a bit off guard when, during an otherwise routine live CNN interview Tuesday with John Bolton, the former White House national...
How Do We Remain Civil And Still Hope To Win An Unending Civil War?
The Jefferson Memorial doesn’t get nearly the glory from our culture compared to its nearby National Mall monuments memorializing Lincoln or Washington....
Another Piffany About Piffany
So. Yeah. It’s been awhile, indeed. Sorry not sorry. Did you know Substack now allows us to embed TikToks? Finally! I don’t have a particular TikTok to share...