Editorials
533 results
Page 45
Criticism: Compliment or insult?
When critics can't take criticism
The free-lance drama critic Wendy Rosenfield recently took me to task for publicly excoriating one of my own contributors. She seems to see criticism as an insult. I see it as a compliment.
Editorials
5 minute read
Directors vs. critics vs. the audience
When Jesse met Jimmy, or: Would Dick Cheney love these guys?
The theater director Jesse Cline and his apparent antagonist, BSR contributor Jim Rutter, are two peas in a pod: Both work in communications but seemingly want to prevent other people from communicating.
Editorials
5 minute read
How anger made me a star
It worked for Patti LuPone, and me too
In my haste to condemn anger in a previous column, I neglected to examine the critical role that anger has played in advancing my own career. Come to think of it, I owe my most significant achievement to anger, and only to anger.
Editorials
6 minute read
The anger trap
My anger and me
Robert Zaller says Americans have good reason to be angry. If I could just find my pitchfork”¦.
Editorials
4 minute read
The Druid case against the Ground Zero mosque
Are you truly, deeply, utterly offended by the Ground Zero mosque?
To me, as an observant Druid, all the arguments against the “Ground Zero mosque” have really hit home. How do you think my people feel whenever we must pass that humongous Catholic cathedral on Ben Franklin Parkway? And why now, when memories of the Spanish Inquisition are so raw?
Editorials
4 minute read
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Ethnic humor: Tips for Dr. Laura
It's OK for you but not for me: Three rhetorical tips for Dr. Laura
As someone who has practiced journalism, comedy writing and speechwriting for a living, let me attempt to set Dr. Laura Schlessinger straight about the rules of rhetoric, which also happen to be the rules of common sense.
Editorials
6 minute read
What hath Steven Slater wrought?
A role model for our time: What hath Steven Slater wrought?
Are you as inspired as I am by the dramatic resignation of JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater? Let's consider how other frustrated service workers might follow his example.
Editorials
4 minute read
The "right' to gay marriage, reconsidered
Sex, society and gay marriage: A few points Judge Walker overlooked
When a California judge ruled that gay people have the right to get married, he made the right decision for the wrong reason. Marriage is no mere private contract; it's a lifelong commitment that two spouses make not only to each other but also to their community. That's not a right; it's a heavy responsibility.
Editorials
6 minute read
The trouble with "All About Eve'
Show business villains revisited: Eve Harrington vs. Sammy Glick
All About Eve won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Picture, and ever since it has been justly acclaimed for its incisive portrait of Broadway backstage backstabbing. But something about this classic always bothered me, specially when it's contrasted to Budd Schulberg's Hollywood novel, What Makes Sammy Run?
Editorials
3 minute read
My words, echoed by Woody Allen
Great minds think alike?
Once in a blue moon a critic finds his thoughts and words echoed by the very object of his criticism. This deliriously serendipitous experience recently happened to me. My object, of all people, was Woody Allen.
Editorials
3 minute read