Hey Sam, Happy Birthday! Well, ours, at least. It was 17 years ago today we met, shortly after your motorcycle accident. I can’t tell you how sad your mom was then, or how tough it was deciding to have your organs harvested. She argued with your dad over it. But her years as a …
From WDET Detroit Public Radio December 8: Does giving something a name give it power? That’s what WDET wondered in the latest episode of its podcast Created Equal. It examined the origins of a crime first identified in the Motor City: carjacking. The term was invented in 1991 after Detroit News crime reporter Scott Bowles …
The election is over, if zombies ever die. Turns out, the atheists were right, though Darwin was mistaken. And the end may be nigh. But at least it will also be hilarious, as witnessed by these mock phone calls from the Donald to his new BFF, Barack. 1 On Presidential Medals Of Honor And …
I have been a police reporter for 15 years, and a film reporter for another decade. So I feel comfortable committing the following double heresy: All the President’s Men is a lousy movie. As a book, it’s poetry. As a story, it’s the gold standard for every aspiring reporter. But, strictly from an entertainment …
To miss a train or business deal, Because our clocks are without keel Can cause a nation loss of gold E’en worse than all the misers hold. — 1942 letter to Time magazine urging a national daylight savings time One of the few undeniable benefits of living in the digital era is not having to …
I’ve never really had an issue with clowns. Krusty is one of my favorite Simpsons characters. The Joker is my favorite villain from the realm of superheroes (I even have a Halloween mask from The Dark Knight). As a boy, I was one of Bozo‘s faithful TV servants (along with Bozo’s magician sidekick, Marshall Brodien, …
There’s an idiom in contemporary politics that goes, approximately, like this: Republicans wake up angry; Democrats wake up sad. It would seem an inescapable truism, particularly given the rancor that freights this presidential campaign. While it will go largely unnoticed, Mike Pence did something extraordinary Sunday: He promised the nation that his party would peacefully …
My head is going to pop off like a dandelion’s if I hear one more fresh-faced newscaster wax philosophic on how Donald Trump represents a true break from the political rules of old. True, Donald sealed his fate with last week’s hot mic, but the scandal, however salacious, is hardly new. I know Twitter …
I’ve always been a sucker for gadgets, gizmos and whatzits. Perhaps it was the gimmicks in the cheap magic tricks I bought as a kid. At least that’s what I rationalize when I continue to feed my addiction to odd purchases. Like the spy pen camera I bought I last week. I had no …
The Hollywood Bowles 