Essays
1091 results
Page 83
The case for professional soccer
A sport whose time has come: The case for professional soccer
With its low-scoring games and British roots, soccer may never be America's game. But for connoisseurs, it's the ideal niche sport in an age of niche markets.
Essays
5 minute read
On renaming my commuter train
The R6 train, and other atrocities
Can you espy the connection between a nameless commuter train and a limbless Iraq war veteran?
Essays
1 minute read
On selling Viagra
The best is yet to be? Or, Selling sex to seniors
These days, when I can barely get out of my chair, my junk-mail warehouse is awash with offers of oral sex aids. My TV promises visual metaphors of sex on beaches and in bathtubs. And then there's my priapic role model, Hugh Hefner.
Essays
3 minute read
Can positive thoughts make you rich?
Think and grow rich? Hey, if it works for you….
My wealthy friend tells me I won't make big money until I cast off my “poverty mentality.” To get rich, she and others in her class insist, you must think rich. Why do I remain unpersuaded?
Essays
4 minute read
Ralph Lauren at Monticello (Part 2)
Fashion vs. history: Remaking Thomas Jefferson (Part 2)
Ralph Lauren and Monticello's curator now insist Lauren had nothing to do with revamping Thomas Jefferson's dining room (aside from funding it). But somebody did indeed revamp it.
Essays
3 minute read
The charm of minor league baseball
Only a game (and isn't that nice?): The charm of minor league baseball
The minor league baseball game I attended produced no big moments but plenty of nice little ones. I'd forgotten how enjoyable a ball game can be when the owners, players and fans haven't staked their lives and fortunes on the outcome.
Essays
3 minute read
Confessions of an illegal immigrant
‘Show me your papers': Confessions of an illegal immigrant
Many Americans are applauding Arizona's tough new immigration law. So I think it's time I came clean: For three years I was an “illegal” in Rome. Italy benefited from my presence, just as Americans benefit today from our new arrivals, legal or not.
Essays
4 minute read
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An antidote for cheating: The performing arts
An antidote for cheating: The case for live performances
From our schools to the BP oil spill, cheating and shortcuts are rampant, for one reason: Cheaters know they're unlikely to be caught. Fortunately, this problem has a solution: Teach students to perform in public. It's one of the few arenas where patience and hard work are rewarded, and cheating is all but impossible.
Essays
4 minute read
Pennsic's medieval make-believe
Can't stand your job? Why not check out the good old days?
Every year thousands of enthusiasts gather to turn a Pennsylvania campground into a medieval city. Then as now, it's one way to escape the drudgery of the real world.
Essays
3 minute read
Ralph Lauren's Monticello makeover
Ralph Lauren remakes Thomas Jefferson
The designer Ralph Lauren sells fashion, not history. So why is this darling of America's nouveau riche redesigning Thomas Jefferson's dining room?
Essays
4 minute read