by J. Stephen O’Brien Read that headline again. It doesn’t say, “killed by five-year-old.” That’s so common these days that it almost doesn’t warrant a mention in the local weekly. People leave loaded guns lying around, five-year-olds find them, point them at someone, go “BANG” and pull the trigger, and there’s someone dead or badly […]
Author Archives | Guest Scrogue
New oxygen microparticle technology breakthrough: Man, what would Lance Armstrong have given for this?
by Michael Pecaut, PhD A spectacular story was making the rounds on Facebook yesterday: Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing. A team of scientists at the Boston Children’s Hospital have invented what is being considered one the greatest medical breakthroughs in recent years. They have designed a microparticle that […]
Why bad school rankings hurt our children (or, are you listening, US News Best High Schools Rankings?)
by J. Stephen O’Brien The annual US News rankings of US high schools is out today. Here are the assessments of two high schools in two states. High School #1 Reading proficiency score: 3.4 Math proficiency score: 3.1 Students proficient in reading: 92% Students proficient in math: 92% High School #2 Reading proficiency score: 2.9 […]
Is there golf in heaven?
by Jerreigh Is there golf in heaven? If so, I wonder how I’ll play. Better, I hope. But not perfect. In the cartoons, golf in heaven means a hole-in-one every time. But what’s the fun in that? Will Tiger be able to play with Ben Hogan? Will I be able to join their foursome? Or […]
Hardball odyssey
by Chip Ainsworth The long stretch of interstate highway between Tampa and Naples is a straight and boring haul past billboards, construction cranes and strip malls. I was bound for Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, the winter home of the Minnesota Twins since 1991, one of the few remaining Grapefruit League venues I’d yet to […]
The shooters: a photoessay
by Dan Ryan They were young boys shooting corks from toy rifles at a street fair in a poor Tokyo neighborhood. It was a sunny, gorgeous Saturday in late April, 2012, the beginning of an extended holiday called Golden Week. And the gunplay was an innocent thing, just kids having fun taking harmless pop-shots at […]
ArtSunday: the Tokyo telephone book
by Dan Ryan I have owned or had the use of a personal computer since 1982, when my dad bought me an Osborne 1 to take to college. In some areas dad was a bit of a forward thinker. His experience as an upper mid-level executive for Electronic Data Systems (EDS), a now-defunct information services […]
Remembering my son
Guest Scrogue Kaye Lynne Booth is a Colorado-based book reviewer and writer. Her son Michael took his own life in 2008. I’ve always been drawn to amethyst, perhaps because of the vibrant purple coloring. Purple has always been my favorite color. Although it is associated with Pisces, my March 3rd birthday falls three days after […]
Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
by Lisa Barnard I’m turning 30 in a few months, and I recently realized I’m now at the age I made a lot of promises about in the past. One of those promises was that if I was still single at 30, I’d try online dating. I’ve had an onslaught of terrible dating experiences in […]
After protest, NRA advocates for speech control
by Christopher Griesedieck (WASHINGTON, DC) “In the wake of this great national tragedy, the National Rifle Association mourns with the victims,” announced NRA President Buck Donalds at a press conference today following yet another massive protest in favor of tougher legislation on firearms. “We certainly want the community to have space and time to mourn, and […]
The NRA is on the ropes
by Patrick Vecchio The cynicism of Wayne LaPierre’s press conference Friday becomes clearer every day. LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s chief executive, desperately tried an obvious media spin trick. The national media should call him out and keep hammering him. It will further show how deranged the NRA’s response to the Sandy Hook massacre is. […]
A question for NRA and LaPierre: where is that $4 billion going to come from?
by Patrick Vecchio National Rifle Association Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre is not a gifted public speaker. At yesterday’s press conference—the NRA’s first statement after the Sandy Hook school massacre—LaPierre’s head bobbed distractingly as he read from his notes. I mention this because in their account of LaPierre’s speech, Eric Lichtblau and John Cushman Jr. of […]
How can we sleep?
by Patrick Vecchio I watched President Obama’s emotional remarks Friday in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. I was glad I had a box of tissues nearby. I suspect millions of us have had the same reaction. A story line that surfaced yesterday and will linger for weeks is the inevitable question […]
Turn left, then right, then back in time
by Carole McNall I hadn’t traveled that road in eight years. Once, it was the path to home. I lived in three towns when I was a kid, but if you asked me to describe the home of my youth, it would be this street and that house. When I married Steve, my husband, and […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- I-5 bridge collapse: reflecting on our crumbling infrastructure
- Pope Francis says atheists can go to heaven: Sweet Jesus! The College of Cardinals done elected a hippie
- Magic Hat vs. West Sixth brewhaha: will MH win the battle that costs them the war?
- WordsDay: Postmodernist Xerism at it most discontentedly hopeful…
- How to stop journalists: Say they might be criminals
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Samuel Smith: Good questions. Anybody here speak Italian?…
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populartechnology: I reject studies where the methods do not produce …
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descriptivegrace: I did find one video where you got to hear his fir…
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Brian Angliss: I don't think you understand the implications of w…
