In loving memory of a young lad’s first crush
If you were, say, 6 to 10 years old between the years 1955 and 1960 it was hard to avoid the "Mickey Mouse Club" on a black-and-white television, even with...
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Obama’s romantic notion
The president's job is to be inspirational at just the right time. President Barack Obama's State of the Union address was a masterwork from that perspective, full of promise, passion...
Making good scents
We decided to put lots of things in the basement in big plastic containers with lids that sealed, a good way to keep them from a variety of persistent intruders...
In 2014 election, heed voter message missed in 2010
Set aside, for a moment, the election just disappearing into the rearview mirror of life and squint all the way back to 2010, when the triumphant Republicans were blasting their...
Maybe you aren’t middle class
About the best anyone can come up with for parameters that define "middle class" in the United States is an income that stretches from $39,418 on the lower end to...
Putin gets played badly by the rockers
There was nothing even vaguely resembling the Russian feminist punk rock band at play 31/2 decades ago when Anatoly Sharansky went on trial on a treason charge in Moscow's Proletarsky...
Ryan’s Mitt Romney problem
Vice presidential choices almost always get the same kind of "game-changer" response from the punditry, perhaps because the selection comes so late in the process that people are just worn...
Beyond 2008: The 2012 presidential numbers
It could well be that Mitt Romney's wealth or his decision to crate the dog and tie it to the top of the car for a long vacation trip or...
When politics finally catches up to culture
I have a collection of ancient cartoon films with unacceptable depictions of African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians and women that I use when I teach media and society courses at...
It’s not about sex
I read this in The New York Times on Thursday. "Sitting in her living room wearing a short jean skirt, high-heeled espadrilles and a spandex top with a plunging neckline,...