Real Experts and Phony Experts. In the Media, It’s Hard to Tell
There is an old saying about people believing what they read in print. With so many people blogging on the Internet and selling self-published books and periodicals, there is a surfeit of information. But the fact that there is a lot of information doesn’t make most of it particularly accurate or authentic. Websites like Snopes.com [...]
Sex and the Christmas Season
Nobody likes to be alone. At least most people don’t like being alone. Especially over the Holiday Season. Even more especially during over the Holiday Season during a rotten economy. Because there is nothing like the Holiday Season to make your being alone feel really, truly lonely.
It’s shopping alone for gifts for friends and family [...]
Democracy for 99 Cents
In most cities you can find one or two places that are in their own way models of democratic activity. I am not talking about voting, or democratic activity with a big “D.” Instead I am point to the unique qualities of a certain location where people from all walks of life come together on [...]
Bad Economy–Even the Hookers are Hurting
A year ago the world’s hookers were being pinched by their flush clientele. Now the same prostitutes are feeling the pinch. Life is a lot tougher out on the streets and in the bordellos of the world. The economic downturn is hurting the world’s oldest profession.
In Prague, long known for its post-communist bohemian scene and [...]
A Critical Passing of Cultural Critics
Our best critics are dying. And with it a form of writing and assessment of our cultural has been downgraded to a lower form. Where critics once served to educate their readers and point to new directions in our arts and culture, most criticism today is either boosterism or narcissism. It is a shame, really, [...]