Name: Cotter Interactive
Price range: $

Library books or placemats? The distinction is getting unclear. (photo by Abhi Sharma via Creative Commons/Flickr)

Abusing library books

Do I need a Hazmat suit to read library books?

Did courtesy go out of style and no one told me? I don’t expect everyone to treat books as holy, but taking a little care would be nice.

Tara Lynn Johnson

Jul 28, 2015 Essays 2 minute read

White bread, before and after. (Photo by Rainer Z via Creative Commons/Wikimedia)

Toast has become a thing: a trend, a fad, the plat du jour. Restaurants are popping up with toast menus that include delectable substances Mom would never have dreamed of slapping on the Wonder Bread.

Pamela J. Forsythe

Jul 21, 2015 Essays 4 minute read

Shall we dance? (Photo of William Mauvais and Maeva Truntzer by Eric Esquivel via Creative Commons/Flickr)

On the things that aren't on our résumés

Failure to thrive

What if you Instagrammed not the Martha-Stewart-worthy antipasto you crafted with radish rosettes and a frisée garnish, but the clotted, eggy mess that was your first pass at omelet-making?

Anndee Hochman

Jul 14, 2015 Essays 5 minute read

Our last big party: the Bicentennial. (Photo by David King via Creative Commons/Flickr)

Pope Francis and the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia

The pope is coming! The pope is coming!

Philadelphia is a world-class city, and it is about time that the people running it started to act that way and prove that they are capable of planning a world event, such as the pope’s visit. So far, all they have done is complain, spread fear, and warn us that we had better take them seriously.

Armen Pandola

Jul 14, 2015 Essays 4 minute read

Scalia in a happier mood. (Photo by Stephen Masker via Creative Commons/Flickr)

Justice Antonin Scalia as performance artist

Antonin Scalia set a precedent at the Supreme Court at the end of its spring term — not in a constitutional sense, but in his unusually high level of vituperation. Has he flipped his legal wig?

Steve Cohen

Jul 14, 2015 Essays 2 minute read

Take a number. (Photo of the San Francisco DMV by Omar Bárcena via Creative Commons/Flickr)

Life lessons at the DMV

A trip to the DMV reminds me of five important life lessons. Who’d have thought the experience would be about more than torture, annoyance, and a bad photo?

Tara Lynn Johnson

Jul 11, 2015 Essays 3 minute read

American news guide to violence. (Image via knowyourmeme.com)

Hate or terror?

Does it matter what it’s called when the tally is 293 dead, 335 wounded, all with guns?

Rhonda Davis

Jul 11, 2015 Essays 3 minute read

Let’s hear it for the boy: A terra cotta figure of Priapus from Ephesus.

Considering Clone-a-Willy

The perfect gift for the narcissistic males in your life

Everything old is new again — like souvenir penis replicas.

Myra Chanin

Jul 07, 2015 Essays 3 minute read

Mild praise was her ultimate crushing dismissal. (Photo of Delia Salvia via themayorsblog.com)

Remembering Delia Salvi

I remember teachers who were nice to me, I even remember teachers who were forgettable. But I revered the teachers who never made a day easy, who challenged me and made me stand up for myself and my art.