ARCHIVE UPDATE Thanksgiving is the Rodney Dangerfield of holidays. It gets no respect, no respect. That the celebration is relegated to a turkey dinner says a lot about our culture. We’ve become more interested in tricks and treats and crass…
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By Cheryl Brown and Stuart Greenbaum Does Hollywood lead or follow when it comes to important social causes? Judging by recent concerns -- of equality, equity and diversity -- it mostly follows. The bottom line, that is: the money, the…
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Hypocrisy is dead. Good riddance, right? Except … the loss is exposing a hazardous void, like a sewer manhole without a cover. So, how did this happen: the passing of hypocrisy, which served with such distinction as the universally scorned…
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Time will tell how our actions now will impact our descendants’ future. In such hindsight, there’s a good chance that when now becomes then, the story of this period of American history will, literally, not be too flattering. The Roman…
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“I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.” -Lemony Snicket She looked like a bag lady, sitting alone on the bench in Central Park. Oblivious to her surroundings, most conspicuously a Hitchcock-like mass…
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Deniers control the climate change debate. Not because they’re right. Any sentient human being knows they’re dead wrong. Rather it’s because deniers have established the debate ground rules. Labeling scientific reports as hoaxes, they alternately argue that regulations and costs…
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By Stuart Greenbaum and Kathryn Cherkas Who better to judge whether art accurately imitates life than those with plenty of experience? So, when Hollywood attempts to fictionalize aging-related storylines, it would make sense -- practically and experientially -- for creative…
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Imagine the scene, comfortable and familiar -- a group of friends gathered in a cozy apartment, tasty snacks spread about, in one room a turntable is spinning classic rock, from another room comes successive bursts of uproarious laughter from those…
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By Stuart Greenbaum and Kathryn Cherkas What happens when two-dozen adult day center participants, ages 68-98, come together to critique a feature film -- “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” for instance? Well … a handful walked out mid-screening, some fell…
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Humankind has forever struggled to answer the existential question of whether we’re inherently good or evil, humane or selfish. It’s become an even tougher call in these disgruntled and divisive times. Like calling a batter’s check-swing, it depends on where…
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