By Mitchell We know from Parson Weems that young George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and, when confronted by the fact, bravely said to his father, “I cannot tell a lie.� History does not tell us what happened to the unfortunate piece of wood that young George cut down, but of this we ca...

By Steve America ’s Comedians Lash Out At Obama Presidential Goofs “Make Things Hard For Us� (New York City, March 2) – America ’s top stand-up comics, late-night talk show hosts, and other entertainers lashed out at President Barack Obama today, accusing him of sabotaging their efforts to...

By Terry of Abbey-Roads We're pleased to introduce a new addition to our stellar collection of guest contributors: Terry Nelson of Abbey-Roads. I've admired Terry's writing for a long time, and I'm very happy he's agreed to do some pieces for us. Enjoy him here, and be sure to check him out at Abbey...

By Mitchell One doesn’t normally think of opera as adversarial sport, but there it is: oftentimes, the audience is pitted against the director, and there can be only one winner. Either the audience leaves happy with a production that is pleasing, lyrical and traditional (and, say some, hopelessly ...

By BobbyOver the years, I've read commentaries by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler, Jr., of Louisville, KY. about morality, theology, and even music. A commentary made a few years ago on music came back to me today in light of a few incidents. (Note that the South Car...

By BobbyI can admit this now; after noticing how patriotic songs were sung in the Obama Inauguration, standards no longer matter, just like the new government's attitude on values. They must be broken to appease the lowest common denominator. I have had the opportunity to take classical voice with a...

By Bobby While in college, I had the opportunity to work with the South Carolina Citizens for Life's Holly Gatling, something which I still do some volunteer time. I mourn today on the thirty-sixth anniversary of one of America's biggest travesties, created by a liberal court system which has slaugh...

By MitchellStephen Crane (1871-1900) is best remembered for the Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage. Less well-known are his poems, which were remarkable for the day in that they were written in free verse, with neither rhyme nor meter. They are often dark and tightly wound, not poems one would...

By Drew I don't know how many of you have seen the new Pepsi ads. You know, the ones with the logo that looks suspiciously like that of the President-Elect, being used in place of an O. The other night I saw one that had the kind of urban ghetto-speak so popular in advertising nowadays. "Fo Sho," it...

By Mitchell Terry Teachout has a terrific piece on snark. Read the whole thing here, but I particularly liked this quote: I just don't like snarkiness. It's a cultural trend, I think, driven by the Web, where snarkiness is considered a virtue. It's legitimate to be funny in a review, but there's a c...