The naming of babies, according to psychology professor Dr. Cleveland Evans, has reached a new frontier. Parents seeking to distinguish their newborns from the herd have turned to canned food and footwear for inspiration. According to Dr. Evans, the following luckless toddlers will soon enter pre-school and get a foretaste of peer cruelty: DelMonte, Celica, … Read more
On a cold winter evening, a crowd of John Kerry supporters bundled themselves in scarves and parkas before venturing to Old Chicago for a regularly scheduled happy hour. When I arrived, I stood briefly near the entrance, scanning the room for a raucous group of politicos clanking glasses and spilling beer. Instead, I was directed … Read more
Jeff Mihelich is blind. He is also gay. He also enjoys going to the theater, the Guthrie and Patrick’s Cabaret being among his favorites. For a blind and gay man to actually see a play called Puppetry of the Penis, well, that would be like hitting the trifecta, right? That’s what Mihelich thought when he … Read more
Hear hear on the fleecing we cross-country skiers are now suffering at Three Rivers [“Getting Fleeced,” February]. It is a pain in the rear, but if it makes skiing better, I guess I can take it. Now we hear that the state DNR is cracking down on skiers as well, but you just have to … Read more
Brian Beatty’s review of Mitch Hedberg and his new CD Mitch All Together [Over the Coals, February] is well-informed and credible. I am a big Hedberg fan and also felt that his first CD Strategic Grill Locations captured a too off-the-cuff performance that epitomized the “throw it all against the wall and see what sticks” … Read more
I am writing in regard to Peter Christensen’s letter to the editor regarding whether married men should go to strip clubs [Letters, January]. I agree that the human body is a thing of beauty. But what about male nudity? It seems that it is always about women. Are men not comfortable with baring their bodies? … Read more
I was heartened to read Mr. Collins’ column on the Dru Sjodin phenomenon [Free the Jackson Five!, January]. I share his concern for the inequitable distribution of compassion by citizens, leaders, and media alike. That is why I spend a whole day in a vigil fast every time someone, no matter what color, is killed … Read more
Maybe the reason Dru got so much attention is because her white family and friends were right there to search, hold fund-raisers, and publicize her story. What did you do the last time one of your black sisters were in trouble? Did you pass out posters? Did you go to the media then, when you … Read more
Thanks very much for the wonderful story about Sami Rasouli’s return to Iraq [February]. So much of the media coverage concerns itself with politics, or even with the gruesomeness of war. I find myself increasingly interested in Arab and Muslim culture. It’s as if the news media’s efforts to sanitize the story, or make it … Read more
About Stephanie March’s column on oysters [Down the Hatch, February], in particular the line, “But if you liken it to snot, you should be slapped. Grow up.” Well, Ms. March, I’m a very intelligent, mature man, and now hear this: The texture of oysters is like snot! Truth is truth. I find them to be … Read more