I don't consider myself a vain person, though once I refused to leave the house for a week after I accidentally shaved off an eyebrow (my first thought upon seeing my eyebrow lying in the sink was: Pick up that sucker and put it back on). But now I have a… Read full post »

Recently USA Today posted a story that, to skip to the high points, indicated more people were getting their news from social media sites like twitter and Facebook than they were from traditional news outlets.

You can read the report here.

I read this stuff and I don't laugh,… Read full post »

On Friday, March 16, I was shopping at a Target store in Destin, Fla. I was looking for a shower clock, and I wanted to see if Target still carried computers. My beloved desktop tower had developed a nasty habit of not wanting to boot up. As it was six… Read full post »

1. If you're behind me and don't think I'm driving fast enough, don't tailgate me. I'll likely slow down. I got a speeding ticket seven years ago and another ticket for running a stop sign in August 2011. Unless you're paying the fines and my jacked-up insurance, keep a couple of car length… Read full post »

My birthday is Nov. 25 in case you're wanting to send me money or a BMW (message me for the PayPal addy), but my sister was down from the Land of Strip Shopping Centers (Ohio) over the weekend and wanted me and the momster to have lunch with her at that… Read full post »

I confess: I have no love of Penn State football.

I've always thought the Nittany Lions were overrated, and the cult of personality surrounding coach Joe Paterno annoyed me. Another coach achieved a superior record - John Gagliardi. Eddie Robinson, Bobby Bowden and "Bear" Bryant came close… Read full post »

I've worked at the same newspaper since graduating from college, which makes me a weird throwback to the disposable employment culture of the 2000s. For two of those decades I wrote a column - at first a lame attempt to co-opt Dave Barry's niche, and then, when I became angry, an… Read full post »

Good news! The family of a Texas man killed in the crash of a vintage airplane at a Reno air show earlier this year has filed a lawsuit against the pilot’s family, a mechanic, and the organization that hosted the event, which means even acts of God are actionable.

That’s one… Read full post »

WARNING: THIS POST IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF STOMACH.

I've been dreading this day for three weeks and it's finally behind me.

Had my first colonoscopy this morning and the doctor says I'm fine. He removed one small - I believe he called it "inconsequential" - polyp which he doesn't expect… Read full post »

This really happened. Let me lay out the scenario for you.

I was on the eastern part of Yacht Club Drive heading west toward Eglin Parkway. I approached the intersection of Yacht Club and Eglin and entered the right-turn lane. Immediately to my right is a convenience store. To my left… Read full post »

Monday's crash of the Liberty Belle, a restored World War II-era B-17 bomber that landed in a field outside Chicago and caught fire, brought back memories of a flight I experienced over 10 years ago in a similarly restored airplane.

One perk of working for a newspaper is you sometimes get… Read full post »

Have you ever spent time in a fish camp?

During my early teens Mom and Dad dragged us to one interminably revolting fish camp after another, where we passed the time tabulating the construction materials used to build the shacks (would you believe a kitchen table as part of the roof, chippe… Read full post »

Did Rush Limbaugh mock Japanese earthquake refugees?

Yes, according to the Huffington Post, which aired a video clip of his call-in show. Click here to watch the clip yourself.

I'm no fan of Rush Limbaugh. He's a pompous, self-absorbed jerk who bends reality to fit his skewed take on the world.… Read full post »

Many, many years ago, when I was young and not particularly sensitive to the different flavors of humanity, I was commissioned to write a series of columns for a college website.  My mission was to infuse said columns with as much ribald, anti-PC humor I could muster. What resulted was… Read full post »

“Battle: Los Angeles” directed by Jonathan Liebesman; starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan. From Columbia Pictures. 116 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Mladen’s take:

Del and I exited the movie theater wondering why the flip no one in the American film industry can pro… Read full post »

I have a new profile photo. It was taken by one of the photographers at work, Nick Tomecek. Even his professional skills couldn't improve my looks!

 I'm horrified at how fat and round my face is. My eyes seem to be disappearing into a pudgy mound of facial fat. My skin… Read full post »

“It’s going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking. Or, as Charlie Sheen calls it, breakfast.”

With that, Ricky Gervais kicked off the 68th Annual Golden Globes Awards show.

I tuned in to the Golden Globes telecast Sunday night partly to see how “The Social Network&rdquo… Read full post »

I love traditions.

As I grow older I find myself reconnecting with the traditions of my youth. Traditions are my way of holding the chasm of age at bay. Hell, I might even go trick-or-treating next Halloween.

This year I decided to go all-out with Christmas cards. I'd been cutting back the… Read full post »

The e-mail was from my friend Denise. She wanted a copy of a manuscript her husband and I had worked on 15 years ago. She planned to upload it to a new website and make us both some money.

I wasn't sure I still had it. Oh, the print version, of… Read full post »

Ah, October. The weather cools, the sun dims and the silver screen fades to black as memories of carefree summer give way to the approaching bleakness of winter. Halloween is saved until that last day of the month and allows us a final anticipatory shiver before Thanksgiving and Christmas steer our… Read full post »

Surely you've seen the commercials. A polar bear migrates from the North Pole to somewhere in America and embraces a man who has bought a Nissan Leaf. The implication is obvious - the Leaf will help stop global warming, which threatens to destroy the polar bear's habitat. But is that really the… Read full post »

I grew up in a time when parents abused their children.

My parents abused me by not buying me a car when I turned 16. They believed if I wanted a car badly enough I would find a job to pay for a car. 

I got to drive of course. I… Read full post »

It began as the creeping tide of raw petrochemicals spewing from the runaway Deepwater Horizon oil well neared the Gulf Coast. It continues even after BP capped the flood.

A tsunami of complaint:

The media are responsible for destroying Gulf Coast tourism and real estate industries.

%I… Read full post »