The following is my column for the December 2010 edition of monthly newsletter of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Earlier this week I woke up presuming I could start this month’s column with, “Hello, I have a story to tell,” and wing it. I didn’t have a clue where to go from there, though. It’s […]
Author: Ben S. Pollock
Why write more when my home page
will distract you from the real me.
E-mail me here: (written out to reduce spam) ben(at-sign)benpollock(dot)com
Lightening Up
On my most recent big trip, I was struck by lightening. Right, not lightning. I walked hours through a city I did not know with my trusty laptop carrier. It was after a daylong conference. Compared to most briefcases, day packs or messenger bags, the canvas Domke Reporter’s Satchel is lightweight. After years of refining, […]
Thank You for Your Coverage
The defenders of our country — Thank you for your service — must be made of tough stuff. That’s what military service means. Yet elements of the media worry, presume service personnel and veterans have thin skins. “Garfield” on Veterans Day ran a routine cat comic strip. Many comics just did their daily gag, though […]
Taking a Constitutional
What happens when a blogger, columnist or occasional writer dawdles is the the topic either gets away, gets old or gets stolen. Hats off to colleague John Brummett. As of Nov. 2, Arkansas has three fresh amendments to the Arkansas Constitution. That will make the 88th Amendment, 89th Amendment and 90th Amendment. I am bound […]
Over and Under
Columnist Stu Bykofsky of the Philadelphia Daily News, despite being quite the extrovert, rarely finds himself a news subject. It’s because he’s first a journalist, although with his in-your-face style, that might seem surprising. This week, however, Bykofsky has landed in the cable yaks war, “yaks” being those chat-show hosts on the 24/7 news/comment channels, […]
Third Quarter II, Into the Fourth
The Brick book list with sketchy reviews, continued. Book List through October 2010 September 2010 Solar by Ian McEwan. Book on CD. The novel by the polished McEwan got mixed reviews but I liked it. It’s a successful comic novel whose hero is brilliant but a buffoon, who wages a cynical war against global warming. […]