Essays


ESSAY- Sky Big Brother: Does religion make people nicer? Published on Nov 20th, 2008 0 comments In his new movie Religulous, comedian Bill Maher makes wicked fun of the religiously credulous. But it turns out that the folks who believe in talking snakes and 72 virgins per martyr may be on to...
ESSAY- Virtual feast: Go beyond Thanksgiving dinner... in Rome Published on Nov 20th, 2008 0 comments Picture this as you gather around your holiday feast: In the olden days, there were people who ate dinner while reclining on a horseshoe arrangement of wide, deep couches arrayed around the dining...
ESSAY- Fall ball: don't rake the leaves or tinker with daddy Published on Nov 13th, 2008 0 comments Greg Rogers, right, gets engulfed October 30 in leaves on the UVA Grounds, with the Rotunda in the background.PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER Leaves are falling from the trees. This year, instead of burning...
Vinegar Hill: the long almost-goodbye Published on Nov 6th, 2008 0 comments tasty vinegarPHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO "Vinegar Hill closing?" I gasped, as I listened to the radio. The Hook had reported that the 32-year-old theater was closing after its participation...
ESSAY- Kingfish effect: Why Obama can't help your economy Published on Oct 30th, 2008 5 comments Obama in Charlottesville a year agoFILE PHOTO BY TOM DALY Since I can't support a man who so blatantly panders to American self-involvement that he offers a "gas tax holiday" instead of an honest...
ESSAY- Media frenzy: Press whipped lawmakers into broken bail-out Published on Oct 23rd, 2008 0 comments Brooks: "By rejecting the rescue package on Monday, they have made the psychological climate much worse."PHOTO BY MATTHEW AND PETER SLUTSKY It's mid-October, and the Wall Street bailout that was...
ESSAY- Vigilance front: Doctor, my eyes have seen the Web Published on Oct 16th, 2008 0 comments My contact lenses are dried out; everything's turning milky. I'm blinking and squinting into the glare of my iMac: just one more blog, one more web site. I need to keep going. After all, what...
ESSAY- Monster's bail: What Grandma said about global finance Published on Oct 9th, 2008 2 comments I remember Grandma clearly: "I don't care what anyone else is doing." "If it sounds too good to be true, it is." "What goes around, comes around." Unfortunately, as the burgeoning destruction of our...
ESSAY- White Tornado: Could John McCain have ADHD? Published on Oct 2nd, 2008 0 comments Cindy and John McCain at a campaign stop in Chesterfield, Missouri.PHOTO BY CHRIS DUNN Impulsive. Easily distracted. Hot tempered. Gets into fights. Despite intellectual potential, does poorly at...
ESSAY- Kafkaesque: What's wrong with federal 'enhancement' cash Published on Sep 25th, 2008 0 comments For two hours this summer, I lived a Kafka novel. In the Warrenton Visitor's Center along with 35 others, I listened as the Virginia Department of Transportation explained eligibility for federal "...
ESSAY- Biopsy tale: Turning fear into joy Published on Sep 11th, 2008 10 comments "I'm going to hang up now, so I can scream." Still clutching the receiver, I sank to the kitchen floor and let out a howl. A nurse had just relayed my biopsy results. Although I hope that you,...
ESSAY- Bummer crop: the food you get for $50 a week Published on Sep 4th, 2008 0 comments As the cost of food continues to rise dramatically, Americans face serious choices. For the vast majority of us, the question is rapidly becoming, "How much more of my income can I actually afford to...
ESSAY- The move: You can never really leave Hartford Published on Aug 28th, 2008 0 comments It's that time of year when the streets of Charlottesville are full of U-Hauls and the owners of pickup trucks are suddenly the most popular members of their social circles. Students and new faculty...
ESSAY- Freedom's front: Hey, I volunteered for Afghanistan Published on Aug 21st, 2008 0 comments Lee Payne with Afghan soldiersPhoto Courtesy Lee Payne It seems that over the last few months the media and our would-be national leaders have taken a much-needed new interest in the issues going on...
ESSAY- Plastic ban: Mayor's short-sighted plan to 'bag it' Published on Aug 14th, 2008 4 comments Whole Foods Market won't offer plastic shopping bags at their stores after Earth Day this year. It is a savvy move for the upscale natural foods retailer, which estimates that by the end of the year...
ESSAY- Invisible hand: Sometimes it needs a helping hand Published on Jul 31st, 2008 0 comments Remember how you reacted to your micromanaging boss in a past job? He was forever looking over your shoulder, constantly threatening you. In return, you worked as little as you could get away with....
ESSAY- Dumb drivers: Choosing congestion over inspiration Published on Jul 24th, 2008 0 comments The plus: With Uncle Sam reporting that American driving actually declined last year for the first time since the 1979 Arab oil embargo, we're spewing less pollution and less greenhouse gas, creating...
ESSAY- Keep or toss? Attitudes, like frocks, need examination Published on Jul 17th, 2008 0 comments Keep it or toss it? It's hard to let go of burdensome junk– it doesn't look like junk when it's hanging in your closet or snuggled in your drawer. A silky white blouse beckons to...
ESSAY- Not so 'fine': Suspending licenses hurts the poor Published on Jul 10th, 2008 9 comments Do you believe that someone driving on a suspended license is dangerous? He or she may be, but chances are he's just a person who hasn't paid a fine for something as simple as a speeding ticket or...
ESSAY- '130 valuable Negroes': Learning from a Monticello auction Published on Jul 3rd, 2008 1 comments Like Jefferson himself, his relatives didn't always keep families intact.COURTESY MONTICELLO This Fourth of July will find me at my job, guiding visitors through Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's...
ESSAY- Punctual U: How to solve that perennial lateness problem Published on Jun 26th, 2008 0 comments No one ever plans to be late, but something always seems to come up. Last-minute chores keep us from stepping out the door. Or we don't do chores at all and can't find the car keys because the house...
ESSAY- Mr. Lucky: Obama's drug use could have sunk him Published on Jun 26th, 2008 0 comments Barack Obama made history by becoming the first major party's presidential nominee with an identifying trait that once would have automatically disqualified him for the job. No, I'm not talking about...
ESSAY- Mr. Lucky: Obama's drug use could have sunk him Published on Jun 26th, 2008 0 comments Barack Obama made history by becoming the first major party's presidential nominee with an identifying trait that once would have automatically disqualified him for the job. No, I'm not talking about...
ESSAY- Gideon's strumpet: The move to a room with no view Published on Jun 12th, 2008 0 comments It's a standard part of the hospitality industry: to make guests feel pampered, cared for, at home on the road, hotel operators grievously overcharge them for hardcore pornography. The hotels make a...
ESSAY- I'll rite btr l8r: Or will I? Text messages ruining English? Published on Jun 5th, 2008 0 comments The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is worried about the French language. As though he doesn't have enough to worry about with the economy, rising pâté and gas prices, and getting...
ESSAY- George Garrett: A fond-- if premature-- epitaph Published on May 29th, 2008 0 comments George Palmer Garrett: 1929-2008FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO The following essay appeared in the Blue Penny Quarterly Review in 1996. Today, its subject matter seems eerily apt given the death over...
ESSAY- Barbie revolution: Drop dolls, not bombs, on Iran Published on May 22nd, 2008 0 comments Despite Hillary Clinton's penchant for magnificently monochromatic pantsuits just a couple of epaulets short of colonel status in Michael Jackson's toddler army, the bellicose Democratic senator from...
ESSAY- No peak: Why oil prices will fall again Published on May 15th, 2008 0 comments Oil prices have climbed to their highest level ever, flirting with $120 per barrel. And consumers are feeling this price spike at the pump, with gasoline averaging $3.61 per gallon in the United...
ESSAY- No holiday: McCain & Clinton, see the error of your ways Published on May 8th, 2008 22 comments The writers of The Federalist Papers were right: our political system pretty much demands our candidates pander to our short-term, self-involved thinking. "Courageous" John McCain and...
ESSAY- Slow down! Asking questions to map our future Published on May 1st, 2008 0 comments Who are you to decide how many children God will give you? That was the prevailing attitude in the United States well into the 20th century. Contraceptives– even information about...