Culture
You know the adage about not tearing down a wall until after you know why it was built? Hearing about the latest Florida law, this one “banning” some math books, has me wondering. What could be in math books that would be objectionable? At the same time, I remembered that
Culture
Is America turning queer? Usually, facts speak for themselves. But not always. According to reliable Gallup polling, there has been a volcanic explosion over two generational cohorts, or groupings, of Americans who declare themselves other than cisgender or heterosexual, which remain the overwhelming majority. That is 86.7%, says Gallup.
Culture
You know the rules -- if it makes me laugh, it gets posted. No sides taken, no PC considerations.
Culture
Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson is qualified to join the U.S. Supreme Court, and probably will. Although I am now scratching my head about the hullabaloo about her being the “first Black woman nominee.” How do they know she’s a woman, if she (supposedly) can’t say what a
Culture
In recent years an expression has taken hold that sets my teeth on edge. I think it is more than me being crabby, or old. Maybe I’m watching too many news shows and I’m getting pounded by the repetition of who we are. The expression: “Looking like America.
Culture
Hey! Remember when you were in kindergarten? Me neither. How about 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade? Remember where you sat, or next to whom? I can remember my teachers and sort-of remember what I was instructed — reading, for sure. Probably a little math, a little geography, history, and civics. I
Culture
I’ve been avoiding this subject because I don’t want to bring any pain to my (two) trans women friends. But reality overpowers kindness, I’m afraid. Let’s start with a simple fact. In physical sports, we don’t allow adults to compete against children. We don’t
Culture
Having just downloaded it into my musical library, I am listening to “Be My Baby: The Very Best of the Ronettes,” and thinking how lucky I am, me and my generation. My parent's generation had some girl groups, the most famous being the Andrews Sisters. My generation --
Culture
He was a hero to me, and a disaster for bigots. Sidney Poitier was all the things bigots said Blacks were not -- handsome, athletic, smart, articulate, elegant. Not just on-screen, but off-screen too. He was America’s first Black leading man, the first to win an Academy Award as
Culture
If Andrew Wyeth decided to paint “Christina’s World” again, doing it exactly the same except for changing the color of her pastel dress, would it still be a masterpiece? And would redoing it have been worth the effort? That brings us to “West Side Story - Redux,” a remake
Culture
It’s been a long time since I was a TV critic (Daily News, 1980-’85), but I like to follow the “art” form, and I especially like to keep eye on shows with a Philly slant. I did that with “Mare of Easttown” and wasn’t particularly impressed. More
Culture
Big surprise at Acme Thursday morning -- the supermarket is charging for paper bags, which have been free since Methuselah was a teenager. I was surprised only because a couple of weeks ago, after it had banned single-use plastic bags, Acme had nothing but the usual brown paper bags, two