Back in the 1950s, public school English classes were buttoned-up affairs: grammar drills, vocabulary lists, the occasional expository essay, and writing poems about Thanksgiving turkeys. Imagination and creativity were something you practiced after class, not during. Creative writing—when it was offered—was squeezed through the narrow pipes of patriotic prompts and copycat assignments: “Write about George Washington’s childhood, but make it…
-
-
The Medieval TV Guide Special Fall Program
Wednesday4:30 Channel 5 WNBQ Leave It to Beaver—Comedy Beaver Cleaver and his pal Larry Mondello ditch class for a day of fun and mischief. A lighthearted look at childhood hijinks and 1950s family values through the wide-eyed wonder of young “Beaver” Cleaver. In the hamlet of Stillmere-upon-Figwort, young Theobald “Beaver” Clæver, second son of Goodman Wyllyam and Dame Heneretta of…
-
The Agony of Appointment #2 This time it's personal
There’s something uniquely sinister about the second doctor’s appointment. Something dark, cold, and vaguely antiseptic that sets it apart from the friendly handshake of the first and the resigned acceptance of the third and fourth. The first appointment is often a warm-up, a meet-and-greet with a stethoscope. You show up as a mystery, an unopened file, a symptom in a…
-
Frankly, My Dear I Don’t Give a Hoot When classic movie lines invade everyday life
Have you ever delivered a beloved movie quote with the kind of misplaced gravitas typically reserved for funerals and Oscar speeches? If so, congratulations! You, are the living embodiment of an unscripted, caffeine-fueled film festival playing exclusively inside your own head. You drop lines like, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” to the pharmacist at Walgreens and whisper…
-
From DMV to Your Couch America’s Most Dreaded Bureaucracy Has Finally Gone Digital
Ah, the Department of Motor Vehicles. Society’s favorite reminder that despite our drones, AI assistants, and phones smarter than the Apollo missions, bureaucracy remains blissfully entrenched in the Stone Age. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if Dante rewrote Inferno as a choose-your-own-adventure set in a strip mall, well, the Department of Motor Vehicles is the place for you.…
