The “SportsCenter Effect” on American life is seductive and, in the view of many observers, insidious. “SportsCenter,” which showcases highlights of the day’s action in professional and amateur sports, is the signature program of the cable television sports network ESPN. Many of the plays that are spotlighted are stunningly violent. Helmet-to-helmet collisions, savage bodychecks into […]
Showing Archived Posts
Flickertailing
Posted October 1st, 2010 at 5:05 pm (UTC-4)
Even Americans who travel a lot often manage to miss one or two U.S. states. Perhaps distant but unforgettable Alaska or Hawaii, but not usually both. Quite often one of the last states on our wish list is North Dakota, our uppermost Plains state, hard by two equally obscure Canadian prairie provinces. It could […]
Tags: American Indians, Enchanted Highway (N.D.), Fargo, North Dakota, Highways, Immigration, Native Americans, North Dakota, Rural population loss, State Book Series (1930s), Steinbeck, John, Sven and Ole jokes, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Winter Posted in American Cities and Towns, American Culture, Character and Values, American History, American States and Territories, Geography, Travel and Tourism, Miscellany and Whimsy, People (historical figures), Social Issues
Happy Birthday, Whatsyourname
Posted August 26th, 2010 at 12:48 pm (UTC-4)
Years ago, the late U.S. senator from Wisconsin, William Proxmire — well, he wasn’t the late senator back then — got good political mileage out of presenting his annual “Golden Fleece” awards to public officials who, in his view, wasted taxpayer money. Winners included the United States Army for funding a study about how to […]
IX at 37
Posted June 26th, 2009 at 1:10 pm (UTC-4)
“Time will show that this is the most important law in our culture over the last 40 years,” USA Today columnist Christine Brennan wrote recently. The most important? That must be some kind of law! Brennan is a sports columnist specifically, and like it or not — and there are plenty in both camps — […]
Hatred and Tranquility
Posted June 19th, 2009 at 7:39 pm (UTC-4)
A week or so ago, when I heard that an 88-year-old virulent white supremacist had shot and killed a security guard at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum a few blocks away, my thoughts drifted to a serene spot — an almost eerily peaceful, contemplative patch of green — 2,200 kilometers (1,340 miles) away in […]
The (Condo) Good Life
Posted June 5th, 2009 at 3:53 pm (UTC-4)
I was going to write about Carol’s and my recent visit to Monument Valley, in sweeping Navajo tribal land on the Arizona-Utah border. But I need to spend a tad more time “studying up” on Navajo history and culture in order to put this awesome terrain in context. Next posting, I’ll show you some of […]
San Francisco Treat
Posted May 8th, 2009 at 4:24 pm (UTC-4)
In Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck, the great American novelist, wrote, “San Francisco put on a show for me.” And it is still true much of the time, though perhaps a little less predictably, for the countless visitors to California’s “City by the Bay” today. There are still plenty of geological and meteorological curiosities, examples […]
Tags: American, Americans, Earthquakes, Golden Gate Bridge, Homelessness, Homosexuals, San Francisco, Sedona, Ariz., Ted, West Posted in America, American Cities and Towns, American History, American Regions, Geography, Travel and Tourism, Life, Lifestyles and Trends, Social Issues, Ted Landphair, Voice of America
Little of This, Little of That
Posted April 1st, 2009 at 2:31 pm (UTC-4)
Less than a year ago, I was privileged to interview John Hope Franklin, who was 93 but retained the sharp mind and sunny outlook that had marked his entire bountiful life. He was the distinguished scholar and pioneer of African-American studies who helped Americans rediscover, and rethink, the impact of slavery on the nation’s history. […]
Tags: American, Americans, Civil Rights, Franklin, John Hope, Hockey, Journalists, Risk Addicts, South, Ted, USA Posted in America, American Regions, Communications, Media and Journalism, Entertainment and Sports, Life, Lifestyles and Trends, People (living), Social Issues, Ted Landphair, Voice of America
Real America
Posted October 31st, 2008 at 3:00 pm (UTC-4)
This fellow’s All-American. Wonder where he lives? Suppose you could come to this country and spend a day or two somewhere – one single place – that would fairly represent “Real America” a community that’s a microcosm of the whole, complex nation. Where might that be? The notion of a “Real America” has been in […]
