Air travel used to be a real Event with a capital “E,” something that you would dream about and count down to. The old-time airlines like TWA boasted wide aisles, big seats, attractive stewardesses, and complete meals with real silverware for everyone (even the plebs in coach).

It’s an interesting characteristic of Western culture (and maybe of cultures in general) that, over time, we tend to forget exactly why we do the things we do. Of course this is to be expected, as behaviors and preferences become institutionalized over time, making it less important to remember who was the first person to do or say something, and under what authority this was done.

To the males who inhabit my building, I pose the following question: Seriously? When I arrived in the good old 08540 so many months ago, I had long since learned what I understand to be the laws–facts, perhaps, is a better word. Call them what you like–of life ...

Regardless of what Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama tell you, it looks like the race for the White House is turning out to be quite the familiar affair. Of course, the fact that the Democratic nominee will either be a woman or an African American is ‘history-making,’ as is the ...

My father did consulting for years. Whenever he—or my uncle, also a consultant—began talking about work, I thought about their offices. They were small, poorly-lit rooms with terrible furniture, located in commercial parks off county roads. They were depressing.
My father’s company was named Source Atlantic, and ...

Driving through the backwater mountain towns of West Virginia can be a taxing experience for anyone—especially if you’re a pudgy pseudo-intellectual from New Mexico whose only point of Appalachian cultural reference consists of the oft-spotted McDonalds-Texaco-Pizza Hut triple-threat rest stop. Adding to an ever-growing feeling of bemusement was ...