Since when did the prom…
…morph into just plain “prom”—as in “I’m going to prom”? I’ve noticed this is the way proms are referred to these days. Or is it a regional thing? When I was growing up (in New York), it was always the … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Pop culture
How can…
…this be? Can a dog survive a month without water, just on McDonald’s scraps? And have you noticed that McDonald’s has been featured prominently in another story lately? That would be the escape of the Cleveland women, whose rescuer was … Continue reading →
More on the Cleveland kidnappings: psychics
We still don’t know too many of the details about yesterday’s remarkable case in which three kidnapped girls, long thought dead, returned. But one thing I do know is that the timing of their escape is excellent—Mother’s Day is coming! … Continue reading →
My generation: hatin’ on the boomers
[Bumped up.] I couldn’t help but notice the amount of boomer-directed venom expressed in the comments section of yesterday’s thread. I’ve noticed it many times before. Actually, I’ve noticed it almost every time I write about—well, about my generation. And … Continue reading →
Respect
Well, call me ignorant, but until the other day I hadn’t realized that Otis Redding wrote Aretha Franklin’s anthem “Respect.” And he sang it, too. Differently… …than she did: Aretha’s version was a sister act, although I don’t know whether … Continue reading →
This is good
I know, I know. You look down on “American Idol,” think it’s trash, yada yada yada. Well, sometimes I watch it for fun, along with other fluff du jour, despite the fact that I’m not ordinarily all that keen on … Continue reading →
RIP Annette Funicello
[Hat tip: commenter “Artfldgr”] The news of Margaret Thatcher’s death today eclipsed this news for me. But to those of a certain age, Annette (we were on a first-name basis) was a formative figure in our childhood. I never was … Continue reading →
The following does not appear…
…to be an April Fools joke, or an Onion article. But I think I’ll take a raincheck on it anyway. I kinda like the disparate elements, although I rarely let myself indulge in those particular vices. But the combo? Gag … Continue reading →
Harvard Commencement Day speakers: upward and onward
Here are some samples from the list of Harvard Commencement Day speakers over approximately the last century and a half. I’ve left out ones you’re unlikely to have heard of, which mostly occur in the early years anyway, and selected … Continue reading →
More child heroes
I love these stories when they have happy endings: “I had him in my arms and still screaming over and over. Then I ran outside. I saw two boys playing across the street, and I yelled, ‘Go ask your parents … Continue reading →
9/11 truthers have taken over the Google search
The other day I was looking for some information about a certain passenger on one of the 9/11 flights that crashed. To find it, I Googled something like “passenger lists 9/11 flights,” thinking that would do the trick, and up … Continue reading →
Roy Brown Jr. must have known,…
…for all these long years, that his obituary would feature the fact that he was the designer of the Edsel. My guess is that, at 96, he’d made his peace with that: Roy Brown Jr., a car designer for Ford … Continue reading →