Q: If one picture's worth a thousand words, what are the following videos worth?
A: A nation's thanks
Rather than writing about Memorial Day, I thought I'd share some YouTube videos that caused me to take time to remember and give thanks.
Whether you are for or against this or...
Clay Broga | Posted May 28, 2012
We are filmmakers in our late 20s and, like most everyone in our generation, we take a lot of things for granted. Past Memorial Days have simply been a day off from work, a trip to the beach and a barbecue in the backyard. This one is different.
Over the...
Dylan Ratigan | Posted May 26, 2012
As our nation starts to draw down the wars overseas, over a million vets will be re-entering civilian life over the next five years -- one of the largest in our country's recent history.
This Memorial Day weekend, we are focusing on the next mission facing our war...
Mark V. Vlasic | Posted May 26, 2012
At NATO's 25th Summit in Chicago, both President Barak Obama and NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen commented on the Windy City's unique role in transatlantic relations. Based upon decades of immigration from Europe to Chicago, the city is a testament to the strong bonds that exist on both sides of...
Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm | Posted May 26, 2012
This Memorial Day weekend, we reflect upon what it really means to honor the memory of the men and women who fought for our country. We'll visit gravesites, observe moments of silence, hold parades and barbeques and celebrate the freedoms our soldiers provided -- all important gestures.
But as a...
Kim Witman | Posted May 25, 2012
This post about the ways in which Mozart's Don Giovanni was received at its premieres was sketched out and ready to go when Tuesday's news of the kerfuffle between the Metropolitan Opera and the trade mag Opera News broke out.
Music criticism has been...
Josh Sawislak | Posted May 25, 2012
In his internationally acclaimed book on social trends, Malcolm Gladwell defines the "tipping point" as an idea or behavior's critical mass or point at which the power of its growth drives the expansion. He uses a metaphor, thinking of an idea or behavior like a virus in an epidemic --...
Cesar Millan | Posted May 25, 2012
This Monday is Memorial Day, when many of us will spend a nice long weekend with our families hanging out at the beach, having a picnic in the park, or grilling in the backyard. School's almost out and summer's almost here. Sometimes in all the fun, it's easy to forget...
Alan Grayson | Posted May 25, 2012
A few weeks ago, it was reported that some right-wing rich guys' club had pledged $100 million to defeat President Obama. The Koch Brothers led the way, pledging $60 million, which is pocket change, when your net worth is $50,000,000,000.00.
Leaving aside the obvious issue -- the estate...
Jim Downs | Posted May 25, 2012
As Americans enjoy the holiday weekend, does anyone know how Memorial Day originated?
On May 1, 1865, freed slaves gathered in Charleston, South Carolina to commemorate the death of Union soldiers and the end of the American Civil War. Three years later, General John Logan issued a special order...
Chris Krapek | Posted May 25, 2012
I have a penis.
After several careful calculations, I think I've roughly seen it a few millions times in my life. I've never considered it to be that humorous. Penises, out of context, aren't inherently funny, are they? Situational penises can be funny, I guess. Shrinkage, sexual malfunction, size...
Marshall Fine | Posted May 25, 2012
If the same proportion of people in the United States saw The Avengers as the percentage of French citizens who have seen The Intouchables, the Marvel super-hero-fest would have grossed well over $1 billion domestically (instead of slightly less than half of that).
As it is, The Intouchables, opening in...
Jaimal Yogis | Posted May 25, 2012
Like much of the planet right now, I'm obsessed with HBO's fantasy series, Game of Thrones. I think about it pretty much every waking minute, but there was a moment in last Sunday's episode that has really stuck with me. It even puts a lump in my throat.
...
Erin Ruberry | Posted May 25, 2012
Bandolero, one of D.C.'s most anticipated new restaurants, opened last night in Georgetown and proved why Mike Isabella is among the city's hottest chefs.
The Top Chef season 6 contestant and Top Chef: All-Stars runner-up threw open the doors to his Mexican small plates restaurant just months...
Tom Engelhardt | Posted May 24, 2012
Whistling Past the Graveyard of Empires
Cross-posted with TomDispatch.com
It’s the saddest reading around: the little announcements that dribble out of the Pentagon every day or two -- those terse, relatively uninformative death notices: rank; name; age; small town, suburb, or second-level city of...
Kevin M. Ryan | Posted May 24, 2012
I look at the figures on my screen, and all I can see is the challenge ahead. Nearly half the young people entering our shelter in Washington, D.C. report having been physically abused, sexually abused, or both. The people they were supposed to trust most in the world caused them...
Mary Anne Hitt | Posted May 24, 2012
At public hearings in Chicago and Washington, D.C. yesterday, supporters, public health officials, and scientists are testifying in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency's Carbon Pollution Standard, the first-ever limit on life-threatening carbon pollution from power plants.
Thousands of Americans have already spoken out via email in support of these...
Mike Lux | Posted May 25, 2012
When I worked in the Clinton White House, I was always struck by how far off the conventional wisdom usually was in terms of how President Clinton's big speeches played with the public. For the State of the Union and other big speeches, there was almost an exact inverse reaction...
John Merrow | Posted May 24, 2012
Lately, I have been living a bipolar life. Here's why: Our production company, Learning Matters, has two editing rooms, and the sounds emanating from them couldn't be more different.
You want to become a civil rights leader? Become a teacher. You want to get involved in the greatest chapter...
Lisa Bloom | Posted May 23, 2012
Graduation season is upon us, and with it all the speeches about shooting for the moon, going for the gold, nothing is impossible, yada yada. I myself have delivered three such college commencement addresses in recent years.
But as I've spent the last year crunching the numbers and talking...
Mark Goulston, M.D. | Posted May 27, 2012