ESSAYS

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Transition Time…Again: Dating

by Lenny Schmidt August 27, 2014

Relationships. The thought of a new relationship was scary, creepy, awful, bad, and painful… notice a theme? This was a transition I thought I’d never go through again. DATING!? Ugh! A new relationship with a new person? Blah! Now I have to learn someone else’s crazy? I have to find someone who will put up […]

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In Priase of Wes Anderson (Redux)

by Tony Shea May 1, 2013

In honor of the birthday of Wes Anderson, I thought it fitting to re-post a piece from October 16, 2012, celebrating the work of this truly original and life affirming filmmaker. Anderson’s next project, The Grand Budapest Hotel, will be released by Fox Searchlight. Though no official release date has been announced, you can bet […]

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Funny Stuff at the Outhouse – My Life in Midwest Punk Rock

by Ben Easher April 2, 2013

Though my parents were from the East Coast and have since retired there, my father got his first and only job in Springfield, Missouri when I was one year old. For a while, he had continued to seek employment elsewhere, but we were still there when I was graduating high school at seventeen. Though medium-sized, […]

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Table of Contents Locks Horns with Wikipedia

by Tony Shea April 1, 2013

A new database of information is rising up to compete with Wikipedia. And it may just change all of our lives – or what we think of as our lives. While Wikipedia has become the leading source of information on the web, maintained and edited by a group of online volunteers, and free to the […]

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In Praise of Frederick Exley

by Thad Weitz March 28, 2013

In honor of what would have been the 84th birthday of American literary cult  icon, Frederick Exley,  Thad Weitz shares a review he originally wrote for Traffic East Magazine of Exley’s masterpiece A Fan’s Notes. Nearly 50 years since its publication, A Fan’s Notes  remains an astonishing meditation on broken dreams and the struggle to […]

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Reflections on Black History Month

by Harvey Asher, Ph.D. March 26, 2013

In a February syndicated column, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cynthia Tucker called for an end to Black History Month. Separating black history from America history, she said, minimizes “the myriad ways in which black Americans’ accomplishments are part of the national mosaic [by making] the contributions of a few well-known black men and women seem like […]

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What on Earth Were They Thinking – The Framers of the Constitution and the Second Amendment

by Harvey Asher, Ph.D. February 6, 2013

The problem with many of the current attempts to interpret the Second Amendment is that nothing in it actually applies to the arguments we’re having today.  Can individuals own guns?  If so, which individuals, which guns, for what purpose, and how many?  Can governments control the buying and selling of guns? If so, should that […]

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Silver Linings Playbook – Best Picture?

by Tony Shea January 23, 2013

As the Oscars approach, I’ll be reviewing each of the films nominated for Best Picture, and handicapping the contest based on not only the artistic merit of the films themselves, but also some of the political machinations that effect the voting. To see my analysis so far, please click here to read my review of […]

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Attack of the Zombies

by Richard B. Phillips January 22, 2013

The Walking Dead is the number one show on cable with 10 million viewers a week. Zombie movies have earned billions in revenue. Zombies represent money and security. And so now it seems, undead features are processed like packaged meat on an unceasing conveyer belt, arriving month after month. There are people who work for […]

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Our Day at the Circus

by Harvey Asher, Ph.D. January 15, 2013

I think Harvey Asher’s ongoing analysis of the political landscape is of a particularly important kind in an age vexed by political punditry, where various news organizations have been co-opted as paid spokesmen for the two parties. Harvey was a history professor for 35 years and he seeks to analyze events through the lens of […]

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The View from the Cliff

by Harvey Asher, Ph.D. December 27, 2012

The current Congress cannot reach a broad, reasonable agreement – a combination of tax increases and entitlement cuts — to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff for reasons built into American political system, namely the ability of an intransigent minority or individual Senator to torpedo sensible or essential legislation.

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The Voters Have Spoken but What Did They Say?

by Harvey Asher, Ph.D. December 3, 2012

Immediately after the 2012 elections, a deluge of newspaper columnists and talking head commentators confidently predicted what the outcome meant for the future of American politics.  Unfortunately, as happened with their pre-election predictions, the pundits are misreading the evidence. From the Right, we’ve heard from Rush Limbaugh that “we’ve lost the country,” and from Stanley […]

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The Catchiest Post You’ll Ever Read

by Katy McCaffrey November 29, 2012

Very often, around mealtimes, or clothes-picking times, or any culling from a large group to a small group of something-times, I will have to ask my daughter over and over again what she wants.  “Do you want meatballs?  Carrots? Udon Noodles?  Quail? Hello?  Can you hear me?”  Eventually she’ll remember a person is talking to […]

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