Articles

Column - Done eating dead animals?

Trying to become a vegetarian is harder than quitting smoking. For many years, I toyed off and on with the notion of not eating any dead animals.

Column - Trish ain't dead - she's just out of circulation

When I heard the news Librarian Extraordinaire Trish Conroy had just retired, I began a grieving process until I realized, a couple minutes later, “Hey, wait, she’s not dead; she’s just out of circulation is all.”

Column - 'Giveaway' Geithner must go

If President Barack Obama wants to preserve his base of support, which seems to be dwindling, the smartest thing he could do is demand the resignation of his Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Column - Dylan sounds like lovable Scrooge on Christmas album

About a month ago, a friend told me Bob Dylan was about to release a CD of traditional Christmas songs.

Column - 'Saucer' parents do not deserve fame but oblivion

Is it any wonder Richard and Mayumi Heene met in an acting school in Hollywood? Actors indeed!

Column - Increases aren't shocking

As usual, the tail (health-insurance industry) is again wagging the dog (Congress). And we are the victims of their greed.

Column - Altered room brought haunting harmony

Do you ever get the urge to rearrange your furniture? Did you often rearrange the furniture in your family’s home when you were a kid?

Column - Good nutrition is growing

One of the best trends in recent years is the phenomenal growth of farmers’ markets. Such markets make locally-grown produce available in just about every community throughout Minnesota, not to mention virtually every state in the nation.

Column - Waiting is killer of time

It’s often said, “Most of life is just showing up on time.” Whoever said that should have added, “… and waiting.”

Column - Spaghetti suppers point to need for reform

Someday, maybe, spaghetti benefit suppers will be a thing of the past. I, for one, hope so.

Columns

Column - Don't write off Palin, yet

Just about all the political pundits claim Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has just committed political suicide.

Column - We should learn from Jackson's sad story

Childhood cannot be “skipped.” When it is, complications gather like hungry wolves. Poor Michael Jackson. It’s no wonder he founded “Neverland,” an amusement park, an artificial paradise, where he could act out with other children what he never had, what was denied to him with such cruelty.

Column - Same old myths muddy debate over healthcare

Does anybody remember “Harry and Louise?” Let me refresh your minds. Harry, the old man, and Louise, his middle-aged daughter (actors both), were the ones who creased their worried brows in oft-repeated commercials in 1993-94.

Column - Learning - a lifelong lesson

Years ago – too many years ago! – I used to sit in college classrooms and think to myself, “Gee, this lecture is so interesting. What a shame we have to be tested on it.”

Column - When we begin to act, sound like our parents

Our parents warned us, but we didn’t listen. “Someday,” they’d say, wagging a finger, “You’re going to be just like us.” We’d laugh at such a preposterous notion.

Column - Harmless actions can have deadly results

Inattention is killing us. The major cause of roadway deaths and injuries is now various forms of inattention.

Column - List of characters should be required in novels

There ought to be a law – well, at least a “literary” law – that all novels must be published with a “List of Characters” at the very front of the book.

Column - Flu warnings worth it

Ever hear about the boy who cried, “Wolf!”? Well, what about the boy who cried, “Virus!”? Is the kid a fool? Will we listen? Should we care? We won’t know.

Column – Interrogation or torture?

How would you feel if, while being forcibly drowned, the people doing it kept telling you they are using only “enhanced interrogation techniques?” That phrase is the innocuous “substitute” for torture, as used by members of the Bush Administration.

Column – Singing into our hearts

It took a Scottish woman to teach the world never to judge a book – or a singer – by its cover.