- Something Pointless About Generation X (9/28/2011) - It's been a while since we Gen X'ers had a good, long stare at our collective navels. The occasion of the 20th anniversary of our invention by the media is begging for more of this "are we becoming them?" kind of nonsense. Count me in! Nirvana marks this auspicious anniversary with a reissue of "Nevermind" so bloated with extras and marked up in price that even Mick Jagger would blush. Pearl Jam team with Cameron… …
- “Honest to Goodness! The Bars Weren’t Open This Morning.” (11/2/2010) - I voted for myself for U.S. Congress today. I walked into the polling place intending to vote for Michael McMahon, our first term Democratic Congressman. Bay Ridge, y'see, is lumped in with Staten Island for representation. This is the first election that I've ever been in a swing district. Boy, the number of phone calls and mailers a voter receives sure can get annoying if the election matters. I now sympathize with the citizens of… …
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- My Greatest Hits (10/30/2010) - Maybe it's because I was recently badly quoted in the press that I'm revisiting some of my dark sarcastic hits from the past. I mean, I could claim that I was misquoted, but, no, I said it. I could quibble with context and editing, but anyone who deals with the press seriously knows the importance of staying on message. I could complain that I'm out of practice - and I may be - and that's… …
- “…If He Died In Memphis, That’d Be Cool” (3/17/2010) - Alex Chilton died of a heart attack today, at a too-young 59 years of age. While it's sad, it's not too surprising. I'd already written an obit about him five years ago, when he went missing in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I still never travel far without a little Big Star. …
- In Which I Ape Larry King (2/2/2010) - It turns out maintaining a blog while taking on increasing responsibilities at work and trying to finish my Masters degree and trying to maintain some semblance of a personal life is a bit tricky. Plus, I think Facebook statuses suck up an alarming amount of my wit (or potential wit). But before I throw in the towel and start a Twitter, I'm going to try my hand at one of those lazy Larry King round-ups… …
- Recent Search Engine Terms That Drove Traffic to My Webpage (1/13/2010) - Presented without commentary: big rats selective service letter allen sessoms gastonia strike,1929 "mary loritz" red strawberry shoelace licorice umass ula program red scare political cartoon shaun richman finska black licorice "federation of union representatives" old fashioned licorice laces not twirler cat abortificant "shaun richman" jew shaun richman aft national staff …
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- A Requiem for Departed Comrades (12/12/2009) - Socialism truly is a dying religion. Tonight, I'm lighting some red candles for some wonderful comrades who have passed on this year. Yesterday, I learned that Ruth Greenberg-Edelstein passed away on November 24th. Ruth was a stalwart of the Socialist Party in upstate New York. On the National Committee, she was an effective advocate for feminist process and gender balance. A retired faculty member at both SUNY and Rutgers, she had, more or less, left… …
- In Which I Grumble About Pop Culture (11/28/2009) - When, exactly, did the celebrity-obsessed tabloid press switch over to first-name-basis reportage? Celebrities used to have full names, not that long ago in fact. Sure, there was the occasional Cher or Oprah, but they were the exceptions to prove the rule. Or perhaps they were the pioneers that got the tabloids asking "why take up space on the page with useless last names?" So, now we have Brad and Angelina, but also perfectly generic names… …
- Play The Legend (10/15/2009) - Can rock music ever go back to the days of "headphone records," gatefold albums, mysterious liner notes and fans creating their own image of the band in their minds? Music video did much to kill the radio star, by presenting a carefully screened image for mass consumption…but Ed Sullivan started it all rolling downhill and Marty Scorsese might have reached the nadir with what might otherwise be considered the absolute zenith of rock-n-roll cinema, "The… …
- “Do you feel like a story…?” (10/2/2009) - If you can find the full, ten-minute clip on your favorite internet video-sharing service, David Letterman's blackmail confession was brilliant, riveting and hysterical. It was almost a throwback to his nervy, early days on "Late Night." If only the blackmailer had been revealed to be Andy Kaufman. …