Charles Dickens

Dickensian Slavery: The Real Expense of the Recession

James M. Lynch | Posted 11.12.2009 | Living


James M. Lynch

We've headed back to the workhouse atmosphere of Dickensian England and the view of employee as dispensable "tool" has returned.

No Time to Read? Go Short

Nina Sankovitch | Posted 11.06.2009 | Books


Nina Sankovitch

There is a solution to the time crunch: the beauty and brevity of a short story. For those with circumscribed time, short stories deliver, and deliver big time.

Irving Penn, Twitter, and the Everydayness of Life

Adam Hanft | Posted 10.08.2009 | Style


Adam Hanft

Twitphobes complain, "Do I really care if so-and-so picked up the kids or had to wait too long for a latte at Starbucks?" Maybe we do. Maybe we should. Maybe we can.

Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce

Daniel Krotz | Posted 09.16.2009 | Books


Daniel Krotz

The message of Bleak House is that a lawsuit is the end of reason and not as we presuppose, the beginning of reasoned argument.

Back to the Classics, for Grown-ups

Sarah Schmelling | Posted 09.26.2009 | Books


Sarah Schmelling

I recommend this assignment to those with the crisp copies of Moby-Dick and Brave New World on display probably just to impress people.

Newspapers, Not Books, Are the Key to Engaging Budding College Students

Danny Groner | Posted 09.17.2009 | Media


Danny Groner

The acts of reading the newspaper and participating in conversation about current affairs are worth more to young college students than interpreting foreign works, no matter their messages.

Obama's Second Hundred Days

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

Our look back at Obama's second 100 days will begin with a short overview, and then move on to the categories: "the best of times," "the worst of times," and "the age of (media) foolishness."

Friday Talking Points [87] -- A Tale Of Two Houses

Chris Weigant | Posted 08.24.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

Simply for acting like a leader this week, Speaker Pelosi wins the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week award hands-down.

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Stewart Acuff | Posted 07.27.2009 | Politics


Stewart Acuff

We now measure economic progress not by whether unemployment is going down or up -- it's always going down -- but whether we lost more or fewer jobs than we lost the month before.

Quiet Teacher: Part Four

Arthur Rosenfeld | Posted 07.05.2009 | Living


Arthur Rosenfeld

The final online installment of Arthur Rosenfeld's new novel, Quiet Teacher; a new thriller about the lives, loves, and action adventures of Dr. Xenon Pearl, neurosurgeon by day and vigilante by night.

Little Dorrit Gives Wall Street a Haircut

Les Leopold | Posted 06.03.2009 | Entertainment


Les Leopold

As we know, certain hedge funds and investment groups are whining about getting only 30 cents on each dollar of the Chrysler debt they hold. In financial-speak, they are getting "haircuts."

Brazil's Charmingly Un-PC President

Marilia Duffles | Posted 06.03.2009 | World


Marilia Duffles

Like President Lula, I am also Brazilian and occasionally engage in cross-cultural communication with a Brit. My husband.

VIDEO: Arnold's Christmas Nightmare

Rick Jacobs | Posted 01.24.2009 | Politics


Rick Jacobs

2008-12-24-jacobs.jpgHere's a California Carol from the Courage Campaign in time for the Christmas Arnold wants to give us all.

George Bailey and the Darkness on the Edge of Town

Tom Watson | Posted 01.24.2009 | Entertainment


Tom Watson

It's A Wonderful Life has a dark, brooding heart and it openly questions in brutal terms the complaisance of small-town life just after the world's worst-ever conflict, a war that snuffed out tens of millions of people.

A Dick Cheney Christmas Carol

Stu Kreisman | Posted 01.11.2009 | Style


Stu Kreisman

An excerpt from Dick Cheney's Diary: We turned around and I was back in my bedroom at stately Cheney Manor. "Ronnie? Mr. President?" I whispered, but he was gone.

How We Will Feel if Obama Wins

Lanny Davis | Posted 11.27.2008 | Politics


Lanny Davis

On Nov. 5, if Obama is the president-elect, I think most people -- regardless of their party or ideology -- will take pride in the fact that America is a purple nation, not a red vs. blue one.

The Beat (It) Goes On: A Conservative Stampede

Jerry Weissman | Posted 11.15.2008 | Media


Jerry Weissman

The McCain-Palin ticket has had a severe impact on the writers of the right and sent them running for the hills. Witness the crescendo of the stampede.