On Small Talk Small talk. I dislike it. It can be argued that it is part of the lubrication that keeps social wheels moving smoothly, but I'm not talking about cordialities ("Hi," "How are the kids doing?" etc.). I'm talking about extended conversations that are
Chesterton and the Millennial Nun In an essay that appeared some years back in the Huffington Post, Eve Fairbanks asked why after fifty years of decline, millennial women were discovering religious vocations. Fairbanks is not alone in her confusion. Many Catholics are also puzzled: not long ago, traditional women’s religious life, with all the
Howard Stern Has Left the Building Howard Stern was never just another entertainer. For millions of (mostly male) fans—first in New York, and later, thanks to syndication, in markets around North America—he was the guy who helped get them through the day and rise above their mundane frustrations, with his irreverent humor about politics
How Alcohol Fuels Civilization Gonna pick me up a six-pack of art this evening Marshall McLuhan made himself a household name, writing about media. Media are tools, things that extend ourselves: a hammer extends our fist, flashlights extend our eyes, etc. I'm not sure he ever considered whether alcohol might be a
Neil Young Never Hated the Man(son) The song Neil Young wrote about the infamous murderer Charles Manson Neil Young and Charles Manson have a bizarrely intertwined history. The two men once shared a jam session at a time when Manson was an up and coming talent, one that had started to make waves in California and