Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
I have to say the news hasn’t been good lately. In fact, it’s been so bad that only one thing can help. That thing is Auto-Tune. Auto-Tune is software that can correct anyone’s singing voice to give it perfect pitch. Music producers use it on a large percentage of pop and especially R&B singers, many of whom would seem rather … >>
So far, Barack Obama has been one of our best Republican presidents — which is fine, except that he claims to be a Democrat. Despite his promise of “change”, some things haven’t changed at all since the days of George W. Bush. We’ve seen unrepentant bankers get big bonuses, government advisers be recruited from Wall Street and corporations, and nearly … >>
There’s a problem to be solved, and we keep putting off a solution. Let me tell you: life is just going to get more complicated if we don’t do anything. I’m not talking about climate change or peak oil or teenage alcoholism. There’s something else that really affects every one of us. We need to decide how to refer to … >>
My sister and I didn’t have much in common as kids, but somehow we always managed to spend Thursday nights together. That’s when The Waltons was on. Most of you are probably familiar with the series about the family living in the mountains of Virginia during the Great Depression. The show had 221 episodes, and I think we watched them … >>
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Barack Obama is making a mistake. He has this strange tendency to get involved in fights that don’t concern him. This started when Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested (leading to Obama’s famous “beer summit”). Then Obama stepped too far into the health-care debate (leading some to believe he was dictating … >>
It’s been said that every American trend arrives in Germany about five years later. But there’s at least one that’s gone in the opposite direction: digital television. While Europeans are already used to its advantages and disadvantages, Americans are still coming to terms with them. Analog reception didn’t end until June 12, 2009. TV is not important, you say? Try … >>
The first snow of the year fell in Munich on Monday — a month late — and road traffic came to a standstill. How humbling it is that forces of nature can still put a stop to normal human activity! And how much it says about the human spirit that we always try to fight these forces. The bus was … >>
Everyone in America loves this weekend, and everyone dreads it. To us, Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) is the biggest family holiday there is. Christmas is for the nuclear family, but Thanksgiving is for the extended family, from Grandma and Grandpa on down through the aunts and uncles to the children who have to sit at an extra table … >>
Our hero has crash-landed on an alien planet! Spaceman Spiff crawls from the smoking wreckage of his ship, but he is soon captured by hideous creatures. Their leader — an octopus with the head of an insect — tells him, “You have knowledge we need. Cooperate, and we’ll kill you rather painlessly.” “What is it you want from me?” Spiff … >>
The 1950s were a great time for conspiracy theories. Communists had infiltrated the Senate, aliens were watching us from space, and a mysterious chemical was being added to our drinking water. The first two theories were false. The third has given three generations of Americans their famously healthy teeth. The chemical was fluoride, but to skeptics who felt it was … >>