I have to say, I found myself chortling a bit to myself as I began reading this book. “Hoo, boy,” I thought, “Here we go again with the Birdman nonsense.” By that, I refer to my disdain for a movie that I considered pretentious and undisciplined in its imagination and disguising its author’s lack of a Read More …
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The numbers to remember when covering Powerball fever
That you are reading this column in today’s Daily Herald doesn’t necessarily mean I still work here. I had to finish the column before the $1.5 billion Powerball drawing, so it’s conceivable that I won and have decided to sleep in this morning and every morning from now on. Conceivable. Hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha!!!! Yes, in the way Read More …
Book Review: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
I love Vonnegut’s style and his endearing cynical humanism, though I have to say that I do not see the human race as base and pointless as he does. But I also have to confess that, while I’ve read almost all his books and can cite certain images and scenes from most of them, if Read More …
Book review: Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran
I picked this book up at the library because I was in the mood for an adventure story, and I liked the idea of something from a very different cultural perspective than what I’m used to. The latter was certainly the case – as the story centers on the queen of an Indian kingdom and Read More …
Turning to arts, history to understand journalism
Here’s my column in today’s Daily Herald. Space limitations didn’t allow me to go into much detail, but I thought each of the items referenced deserved attention. So, let me emphasize here, how much I urge you to either read the play “Little Murders” or look up the movie, starring Elliott Gould, Alan Arkin and others. Read More …
Book review: The March by E.L. Doctorow
I’m not sure what stirred me to choose this as my introduction to Doctorow, but it was an excellent decision. It probably had something to do with my interest in the Civil War, and in that context, this was a very satisfying look at the effect of the war on individual lives in its Read More …
High school’s hijab event starts a national conversation
Read Column at dailyherald.com Who knew a headscarf could attract so much attention? The experiences of a former Daily Herald reporter might provide some clues. In 2005, then‐staff writer Nadia Malik, who has since moved on to other professional interests, wrote a compelling first‐person story ﴾http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20050227/discuss/502279999/﴿ about the wrenching decision she ‐‐ as a Read More …
Book review: Wilson
For many years, without knowing much beyond the basics about Wilson, I greatly admired him for his idealism and his commitment, ill-fated as it was, to the League of Nations concept. Then, I ran across some references to his attitudes toward race, and I seriously questioned the depth of my understanding of who he was Read More …
Doing our job when politicians don’t do theirs
READ ON DAILYHERALD.COM No news, we note in this business, is not good news. That twist on an old maxim is particularly relevant, and on many levels, as it pertains to coverage this week of the impasse between the Republican governor and Democratic legislative leaders over the state’s budget. It was prominent in the minds Read More …
Book review: The Bully Pulpit
I love how Doris Kearns Goodwin develops evocative themes from history. Team of Rivals is so much more than a biography of Abraham Lincoln or yet another examination of the Civil War years. In the same manner, The Bully Pulpit is no mere biography, but a thought-provoking study of a dominant theme of an era – the evolution Read More …