Now's the time of year when kids across America start heading back to school. New kindergartners eagerly don their snazziest big-kid outfits to pose for smiles and pictures. (The tears come after they get dropped off. We're talking the mom and dad, of course.) New...
For awhile there, it looked like the just-concluded Rio Olympics would be a carnival of chaos. Golfers boycotting to avoid the Zika virus? Check. Swimmers making their way through raw sewage? Check. And those were just the disasters we anticipated before the opening...
The Mafia. The Mob. La Cosa Nostra. Call it what you will, this "certain Italian-American subculture" has a long and storied history. Mobsters like Al Capone, Henry Hill, and John Gotti have become folk heroes of a certain sociopathic sort. Fictional mobsters make...
Americans can't seem to get enough of reality television. Most critics think that's because reality TV presents us as we all aspire to be. Something about the camera seems to bring out the best in people, whether they're bachelorettes, drag queens, or cake chefs....
If you're like most Facebook users, you get plenty of friend requests from people who aren't really friends. Co-workers you never respected from your last job; classmates you never really liked 30 years ago; annoying blowhards you meet at your in-laws' anniversary...
Americans love peeking into the wallets of the rich and famous. Just how much are they really worth? How did they get there? And who's on top of the pile? For years, Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($76 billion) has been the king of that particular gilded hill, with...
Let's say the IRS decides they don't like your tax return from a couple of years ago. They audit you, and send you a "deficiency notice" for, say, $10,000. You appeal it, and they say "nope, sorry, it's $10,000." If you're still not happy (and why would you be happy...
The dog days are here, and multiplexes across America are delighting audiences with the usual summer fare. Down to the left in Theatre Three, a motley crew of undersea chums are busy finding their friend Dory. Across the hall in Theatre Five, Universal Studios has...
Harry Potter's sidekick Ron Weasley has challenged opponents from a mountain troll to the Horcruxes to the Death Eaters. Now the actor who plays him, 27-year-old Rupert Grint, is taking on a foe as powerful as Voldemort himself. Last month, he challenged a squad of...
This Too Shall PassFiling your tax return usually isn't much of a chore. If you're like most people, you e-file it and call it a day. (Maybe you cross your fingers in hope that teenage Russian hackers don't steal your identity.) If you're old-school, you trudge down...
