There have always been female rock artists, but up until the 1970's, it was rare to see a woman really rock out, much less wail on the guitar or let loose on the drums.  For every Wanda Jackson or Willie Mae Thornton, there were a hundred Elvises, and it was rare to hear… Read full post »

It was sometime during November that I caught that flash of sky blue out of the corner of my eye.  It took a moment for my mind to process the fact that this was not a color that normally appeared at the bird feeder visible from the kitchen window facing out… Read full post »

(Note:  This is not Sarah Palin's hand.) 

It seems that not a day goes by on OS that someone isn't talking about unions. Being the rather liberal place that it is, most people here seem to be in favor of unions and collective bargaining, at least in principle.  But then,… Read full post »

It's time for another installment of Favorite Opening Credits, in which yours truly searches the World Wide Web for the best opening sequences in movie and TV history!

In the first two parts of this series, readers suggested some of their favorites, which I have provided below.  (I w… Read full post »

Of course they were!

Another tip of the hat to my brother-in-law, Bill, for pointing me to the website My Parents Were Awesome, where people are invited to submit photos of their parents or grandparents before they had children.

From the website:  "Before the fanny packs and Andrea Bocelli… Read full post »

James O'Keefe, self-described young Republican "activist" and "investigative reporter", came to our attention last year as the ACORN-busting pimp.  Now, he has been arrested (along with three others) for allegedly posing as a telephone company employee and attempting to interfere with the/… Read full post »

Judging by some of the rejoicing on conservative websites (and from some of the usual suspects here on OS), you might just think that there have been lots of folks sitting around their kitchen tables having conversations like this:

Bill:  You know, Judy, it's a crying shame that corporations in… Read full post »

I recently blogged about the unfortunate turn of events - and the unfortunate turn of my elbow - that occurred two days after Christmas, after seeing the movie Nine.  (Daniel Day-Lewis still has not called or sent flowers, but I know he has a very busy schedule.  I can wait.)

Here… Read full post »

I was inspired to write this post after seeing the latest Food News Roundup by Thomas Rogers over on Salon.  He referenced a New York Times article about efforts to preserve certain rare breeds of animals, one of which is the Tennessee Fainting Goat. … Read full post »

Guido, Guido, Guido! 

I was counting down the last 24 hours of my five-day Christmas visit to Cleveland to see my family.  It was a quiet Sunday afternoon and a soft snow was falling. After an anxiety-filled four days, I was feeling mellow, knowing that I would be flying back t… Read full post »

This happens every year.  Right before the Christmas holiday, we are inundated with a sudden rush of adverse employment actions, emergencies, deadlines and frantic clients.

I used to wonder why, but a story told (many times!) by my father-in-law sums up the whole thing quite well.&… Read full post »

Yesterday, Catherine Forsythe published a blog on Open Salon about a Milwaukee teacher who cut off the braid of a first grade student.  The article linked in Forsythe's blog states that the school system is going through the disciplinary process with the teacher, and that she remains at the scho… Read full post »

Watch all the boys in the cages gyrate
Try to dance, but I feel a fake
I have to sit and wonder
Where's the boy/… Read full post »

My husband seems to have developed a thing for Lady Gaga, or at least for her videos.  This morning, he was telling me about the video for the song "Bad Romance" -- the sets, the lighting, the dancing and the costumes.  As he was describing what Gaga and her entourage we… Read full post »

I heard a song by Junior Brown on the radio the other day, and it made me want to go ahead and pull out my 0ld copy of Guit With It, the album he recorded way back in 1993.  I had almost forgotten what a formidable talent he is, and/… Read full post »

...this scene from A Hard Day's Night, in which John, Paul, George and Ringo attend a press conference in a swanky hotel.

It becomes obvious after a short time that the journalists and photographers there are more interested in each other (not to mention the free food and alcohol) than in… Read full post »

He's the guy I've known for almost 28 years (since I was 19!).

He's the guy who knew we were meant to be together - even when I didn't. 

He's the guy who dragged me away from my hometown to the wilds of Nashville.

He's the guy who taught himself everything… Read full post »

NOTE:  I had originally intended to write a blog addressing both the issues of diversity and political correctness in the Hasan case, but my thoughts on diversity turned into a pretty long piece.  I hope to post Part 2:  Nidal Hasan and Political Correctness at a later date.

__________… Read full post »

There were some truly outstanding posts made for Veterans Day/Remembrance Day yesterday, and many OSers believe that the cover did not reflect the significance of the day.  Here are links to as many of those posts as I could gather.  Please feel free to add any that I've missed in your… Read full post »

This past week, Bill Moyers devoted the entire hour of the Journal to showing an edited-for-time version of the new documentary The Good Soldier, which is opening in limited theatrical release today.  The official website of the film can be found here, and you can also link t/… Read full post »

Everywhere I look these days, I see people extolling the virtues of hot (as in spicy) food.  Rachael Ray and the Neelys on the Food Network are always adding hot sauce or cayenne pepper to foods that seem perfectly fine without it, claiming with a giggle or a shake of the hips&nbs… Read full post »

And, yes, Olbermann too.

In an extraordinary interview on Friday night, Bill Moyers taught us all a lesson on how to have a dialogue with those whose political views contrast sharply with our own.  Extraordinary not necessarily in terms of subject matter or memorability, but rather, in term… Read full post »