All you sailors, Farmer's Almanac editors and practicing Wiccans out there know that this past Sunday was the winter solstice, marking the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. I spent the brief day and long night snug in my well-appointed quarters, watching a Big Love marathon, hoping against both hope...

Like an asthmatic, flat-footed brainiac on the dreaded gym class mile run (not to divulge too much about my adolescent self), we as a nation are now grimly limping toward the end of the year, teeth gritted, bracing ourselves for the next spasm and wondering if there's anything we can...

We all know of the Big Kahuna's mighty exploits. He slew the Clintonian kraken and, yea verily, exorcised the spooky chain-rattling ghosts of Republicanism past. But that was, like, a week ago; what's he done for us lately? The euphoria of his electoral victory was all we'd hoped it would...

I woke up early this morning--6am, an unfamiliar and unwholesome hour for a night owl like me. But I was up, nervous and giddy with election fever. Felt like the first day of school, appropriate since my polling place is ol' John Jay High just down the street. So I...