Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
This column was originally written for Spotlight Online. Today, November 20, is a German holiday that doesn’t really exist, but that still affects us at Spotlight. Buß- und Bettag (Day of Repentance and Prayer) is a Protestant holiday observed in only two parts of the country: in the state of Saxony and in Bavarian schools. Because our offices are located … >>
This past Monday, October 14, was Columbus Day — the federal holiday in the US that commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Notice I did not say “the discovery by Christopher Columbus of the New World”. Political correctness has put an end to that phrasing. I would, however, take the unpopular position that … >>
My grandmother was the healthiest person alive. This came, she said, from living in the countryside, breathing clean air, and cooking her own food, which was fresh from nearby farms or her own garden. She kept noise and stress out of her life. Her career was her home, and she was the queen of her castle — an image reinforced … >>
Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb. It’s shocking to see how so many people still believe that he did. The real inventor was in fact James Bowman Lindsay, almost 50 years earlier. Edison is generally thought of as the inventor because he experimented and found a longer-lasting filament. And Edison, it must be said, invented or developed all … >>
Each month in Spotlight magazine, I write about the anniversary of a historical event, such as the birth or death of an important person. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about an anniversary that came and went this year. The important person was my grandfather. Next Wednesday, two days after Halloween, is All Souls’ Day. The occasion is hardly celebrated now, … >>
You can’t get any more American than this: a sport that was long considered our “national pastime” and whose yearly championship — played only between US teams — is rather pretentiously called the World Series. Although baseball had its heyday from 1900 to about 1950, it’s still popular: 19 million people watched last year’s championship between the New York Yankees … >>
Parents never have an easy time. Children are always asking questions that demand scientific answers — questions like “Why is the sky blue?” But for the past 100 years, American parents have had an easy alternative when small children ask complex questions about geology, like “How was the Grand Canyon formed?” and “Where do the Great Lakes come from?” Instead … >>
Last Sunday, March 14, a friend called me from Boston. It was Pi Day. David happily reported that the local bakeries and pizza parlors were openly celebrating the occasion — something the two of us had started after math class 30 years ago as a kind of joke. Our phone call, which we’d scheduled for 3:14 p.m., almost didn’t happen, … >>
Do you know what will happen this February 7? Every American does. To many, the date is as big as Thanksgiving, as important as any birthday, and as bombastic as the Fourth of July. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, the day of the championship game in American football. This year’s contest brings back the winners from three years ago, the Indianapolis … >>
Ask any American to name a cultural event in Germany, and you’ll get a quick answer: Oktoberfest. If five to seven million people are going somewhere to drink beer, word’ll get around. But this has, I think, a lot to do with the fact that America itself is a beer-drinking country. Sure, fine wines are produced along the West Coast … >>