I don’t know how we can call this good news, but it’s news, nonetheless. The population on earth hit eight-billion people last November — eight billion. In April, if didn’t happen earlier, China handed the baton to India as the most-populous country on the planet. Relatively speaking, the United States has grown at a turtle’s […]
Two of my closest friends are world travelers. Their passports look like a bulletin board at Tri-C — stickers plastered everywhere.Now, I’ve lapped my friends in the number of countries visited, but they remain ahead of me in miles logged on trains. I plan to catch them. When I do, it won’t be because I […]
Few things are worse than a white elephant, particularly when the elephant comes with a $6.3 million price on its backside.That is the initial money that went into League Park, a historic ballpark in the heart of a Black neighborhood.League Park spent almost 40 years in decline, and it might have collapsed altogether were it […]
I’m jealous. Yep, yep … I know we’re not supposed to admit that jealousy is an emotion we pack into our lives. But I must be honest here.Why am I jealous?Simple question to answer: My best friend is about to go on a trip to Colombia. Nick and several buddies are flying to Cartagena, and […]
I suspect cultural anthropologists of a certain age look back now and swear something awful happened to their music. They probably say their tastes got hijacked between the early 1970s and the millennium. But I can tell them precisely what was taken: real voices, real instruments and, well, real talent. At the turn of the ’70s, […]
“Coffy” came on the scene at the right time. It was a movie that reversed the roles Black women played in “blaxploitation” movies. It also catapulted Pam Grier into stardom.Grier was all that Black (and white) moviegoers could ask for. They longed for a heroine to counter Ron O’Neal, Jim Brown and Fred Williamson, who […]
I can’t recall ever using the word “landlubber” in anything I’ve written, and I have good reasons why. I had no need to use it. But as I use it now, allow me to put some context together for you. Six months ago, a cousin asked me to go on a trip with her. She […]
I wasn’t sure I heard Bill Maher right when he sat on his HBO stage and veered off into Trump-style craziness. I’ve always thought craziness was contagious, and Maher proved it. He has made a handsome living weaving political satire into his comedic performances. He’s been a steadfast critic of Donald Trump, and Maher has […]
Almost a score of judicial positions are on the November ballot in Cleveland, and most of the races see incumbents go unopposed. Now, I can’t force people to run for public office, although I regret I can’t. I just wish judges had competition, because most who serve on the bench don’t deserve what amounts to […]
In my return to The States earlier this week, I wondered where the Delta Sky Club was in the Copenhagen Airport. I read it was just after Passport Control at the top of Pier C, and it was where it was supposed to be, which I can never be certain with Delta Air Lines. So […]