Opinions

Life is like a video game, almost

From time to time I find it necessary, if not essential, to pay homage to those younger and geekier roots of mine. Those that, in some regards, never truly left. This weekend,...


Opinions

How 'disabled' railroad retirees got their groove back

Would chronic back problems and arthritic joints in your extremities stop you from going 18 holes several times a week? Simple logic dictates it would, but for 11 retired Long Island Rail...


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I've heard enough

It’s a fact: College students are fascinated by loud music. They simply can’t get enough. They listen to it when they want to party, study or interrupt others from studying. They especially...


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Do-it-yourself cooking

Sometime last year, probably in September, I was bitten by the culinary bug. While I wasn’t endowed with Spiderman-esque powers, I’ve had the urge since then to cook and bake rather frequently....


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The racist world we live in

Am I racist? Are my friends racist? When a stranger from another race looks at me, do they see me, or what they have been taught to see? I never considered investigating...


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Learning to cripple your child's dreams

Hey Mom and Dad — remember when you framed that story I wrote in the first grade, while praising my talent and stressing the importance of always following my dreams? Well, congratulations....


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You're a man now, Baxter

Dearest Baxter, Last night you became a Bear Mitzvah. In one night — and in only two hours — you said goodbye to years of innocence as a cub-kitten and became the...


Opinions

Into the Lions' den

The fallout from the ordeal at Penn State is unprecedented, and every conspirator in the Jerry Sandusky scandal deserves the punishment they got. And whatever's coming. ...


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Learning to give the gift of education

There has been much discussion recently about whether higher education should be considered a right or a privilege. Does higher education mean an undergraduate college degree? What, then, is the point of...


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A case of the fast food blues

It’s no secret that fast food isn’t exactly good for you. The media routinely sheds light on the dangers of the fast food industry, switching between the horrific products that go into...