Recent plans to clean plastics from the five massive ocean garbage patches could do more damage to the environment than leaving the plastic right where it is. There is no doubt that the focus on cleaning up those garbage patches is admirable. They are a disgrace. Each is hundreds to thousands of kilometres across and […] … learn more→

A long, tough week has ended — more or less — in Boston. I grew up in Boston’s suburbs and spent twenty-five years away to return recently from grand adventures. Like millions of Boston expatriates living abroad – that is, west of Worcester – I always wanted to come back home someday. In these years, […] … learn more→

My older daughter has wanted to see Jekyll and Hyde, the musical, on Broadway from the time that the announcement was made that the show as coming back to Broadway. She has not yet read the book but has seen an animated version and was fascinated by the story. I had read the book by […] … learn more→

The Impact of Immigration In the first post in this series, I attempted to counter the claim that the population shift from the “Rust Belt” to the “Sun Belt” has reflected a preference for living in “right-to-work” rather than in “pro-labor” states. I can both summarize that argument and extend it by pointing out that […] … learn more→

How strongly wedded are people to their political preferences? The received wisdom amongst political journalists and pollsters is that most people can be counted on to vote for one major party or another, and only a relatively small percentage of people swing elections. It is these people – swinging voters, as they called in Australia […] … learn more→

Oscar-winning actress and self-styled lifestyle adviser Gwyneth Paltrow has featured in the press recently, coinciding with the launch of her second book It’s All Good: Delicious, Easy Recipes that Will Make You Look Good and Feel Great. The book reportedly presents a range of healthy recipes from Gwyneth’s own kitchen, accompanied by salubrious photos of […] … learn more→

Question (from \”Edwina\”): Why, oh why, do faculty members and instructors of all stripes have to put our e-mail addresses on our syllabi? In the past, students could contact us in class, before and after class, and during office hours. But now, with smartphones, we\’ve somehow become 24/7 personal assistants. In any week, I average […] … learn more→

Over the last few weeks, the authors of several posts have sought to address recent outrageous assertions made by Rush Limbaugh. A little more than a year ago, I wrote the following post for Oxymoronic Nation, a personal, progressive blog that I started on Google. I was trying to place Limbaugh’s offensive characterization of Sandra […] … learn more→

“Follow your passion” is the stupidest career advice I’ve ever heard. Why? Because my passion in life is for singing bad karaoke. My friend Dodgy Dave’s passion is for dealing crack cocaine. Some of my friends have many passions. Most of my friends have none. “Do what you’re good at” is better, but still stupid. […] … learn more→

Memories, we know, are fallible, and in the case of acts such as this week’s horrific bombings in Boston, this presents particular problems. How can those charged with gathering eyewitness accounts – and those charged with giving them – be sure of what they’re hearing and saying? In a couple of words, they can’t. Last […] … learn more→