Categories
News, Spin

Frank Broyles, American Idol

Copyright 2007 Ben S. Pollock The athletic department of the University of Arkansas has become its own reality series, one where everyone is trapped in a house or on a desert island, or maybe at the same time one of those talent shows, the one with dancers or the one with singers. Athletic directors moving […]

Categories
American Culture

Old Is the New New

I wish the Toyota Prius wasn’t so ugly. I wish it wasn’t so expensive, either. Some cars are ugly-fun, like the old Beetle and the new Beetle. The PT Cruiser has the charm of a friendly bull terrier. Yet in another year or two I’ll be forced to buy a Prius; my car will have […]

Categories
News, Spin

Mean Teen Average

The medical science report of the hour talks about how many teenagers are teenagers. It’s not a happy statistic, that the number of teenage mothers has increased in the United States. The Associated Press article, though, has an interesting touch on the facts: The teen increase was based on the 15-19 age group, which accounted […]

Categories
Life Lessons

A Hawkeye on Values

Copyright 2007 Ben S. Pollock Alan Alda is not necessarily a genius, though he’s been a documentary host on PBS. Nor is he a hero, though he played one in M*A*S*H. He even may have had co-writing (aka ghosting) or close editing (aka ghosting) with either or both of his memoir volumes, the second of […]

Categories
The Course of Words

One-third short

Hats off to the organizers of National Novel Writing Month. This group began in 1999 with 21 participants who challenged one another to write 50,000 words of a novel (which makes for a short but complete novel, Gatsby length) in 30 days. The month chosen is November. The word count is conducted electronically via the […]

Categories
Education, Coarsely

Pig Skinned

As all Arkansans who keep up with the news know, Razorback Coach Houston Nutt received a golden football to resign this past Monday. Reports indicate he received more than $3 million to end his contract. Essentially all of the payout comes from the athletic foundation, not tax or otherwise educational dollars. Hours later, or hours […]