It is important to preface the following diatribe against IKEA with an acknowledgement: it's not you (IKEA), it's me. It has to be my personal problem, because otherwise I would not find myself in the most infinitesimal of minorities by despising IKEA with passion. This piece will have no negative...

...her words, however, do.

Photo-op for the Photogenic:

The cover photo of a wide-eyed, seemingly dumbstruck Bachmann is less-than-flattering. Debating the contrary would be arduous and futile, as the Minnesota Representative is not typically photogenically challenged. Moreover, it stands to reason that a more becoming photo...

You may not have the debt ceiling debacle on your radar. You could be completely oblivious to its existence. You may not even be privy to the definition of 'debt' or currently occupy a dwelling equipped with a 'ceiling.' Regardless, you might be (over) qualified to serve as one of...

Reader's Caveat: The following is slightly sappy and often overwrought. It is, however, also a belated Christmas gift for my mother, as all I gave her this year was a Kindle.

Tiger Mama:

Self-proclaimed "Tiger Mother," Amy Chua, has received a great deal of attention recently. Her brand of...

Comedian/talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, declared November 17th "National Unfriend Day." The premise of this savvy declaration entails an opportunity for Facebook users to carefully examine their likely bloated list of "friends" and glean the proverbial dead-weight wherever possible (a seemingly painless task that, in reality, can include pitfalls galore)....

There was a time when the Yahoo! website was primarily a search engine (either the poor-man's Google or Google's quasi-predecessor, depending on your perception). Today, however, the site provides opportunities for everything from getting a date, to finding a job, to checking one's horoscope. It's one-stop shopping for a particular...

Mark Twain once famously quipped, "I want to be in Kentucky when the end of the world comes, because it's always 20 years behind." Perhaps he hadn't previously graced the great state of Utah with his presence. For in Utah, not only is the prevalence of polygamy inverse to the...

A Story Like That Has to be True:

Shortly after the health care reform bill was passed, while strolling along a random Manhattan street, a dear friend (who also happens to be a staunch conservative and well-connected within Republican circles) accosted me in a state of panic. He proceeded to...

For those of you who feel a "game show" (a relatively loose term in the modern world) isn't worth watching unless there is some chance of scandalous drama transpiring, it's safe to say that Jeopardy! is not your perception of appointment television. Jeopardy! isn't quite as sexy as scantily clad...

The following will almost certainly cause my already paltry list of Facebook friends -- I created an account a few months ago out of sheer, morbid curiosity -- to essentially vanish. So be it, but before rounding up a posse and proceeding to burn me at the stake, it should...

Dear Ohio State: Drop the "The"

This Sunday, as nearly 100 million Americans tune in to the Super Bowl, CBS will likely utilize a popular procedure for introducing the starting lineups, with each player stating his name and then his alma mater. Peculiarly, when Will Smith of the...

A wise philosophical mind once proclaimed "you never forget your first time." Depending on the context, that sentimentality may be less than accurate. Certainly when applied to the myriad topics available on network television's morning talk shows, it seems readily apparent that not only are people forgetting their first time,...