Column

Interview with St. Vincent

Annie Clark is a girl on the cusp of transmutation.

Sleepy Annie Clark calls from a noisy place in New York (but aren’t they all?) to be interviewed, and she is entitled to be sleepy, for it surely keeps one up nights staring at all that destiny ahead.

Column

Afghanistan war promises a victory so glorious we never shall win

There will be debate over war in Afghanistan, waged by those struggling for political advantage, while those who wage the actual war in the hard place on our behalf do so in abysmal circumstances.

By Courtney Haden

The old joke says that since 2003, U.S. soldiers have been between Iraq and a hard place. With a sanctioned Iraqi withdrawal underway at last, our troops are now in the hard place. It’s no joke. It

Column

Radio waves & anthropological havoc

People buy champagne for the bubbles. In radio, the fizz comes from an on-air attitude that reflects the interests of its listenership.

By Courtney Haden

In times like these and those, it’s good to have science around to keep things in perspective. Just when you thought we had the evolutionary timeline squared away so the Texas Board of Education would

Column

Shaping stories at regional history museum

By Courtney Haden

Jerry Desmond was 13 years old when he first heard about Birmingham, Alabama. Throwing papers for the Bangor Daily News 46 years ago this month, he scanned a headline he still remembers: Church bombed

Column

So What WOULD Jesus Do about health care reform?

Think Barack Obama’s a socialist? He’s practically Calvin Coolidge if you compare his ideas on health care to those of Jesus.

By Courtney Haden

You think Barack Obama’s a radical socialist? He’s practically Calvin Coolidge if you compare his ideas on providing health care to those of Jesus Christ. Two thousand years later, the mandate that we

Column

The meaning of Moon Pies

By Courtney Haden

The Moon Pie is a distinctive pastry treat dating back to the First World War, predating Chattanooga’s other contribution to snacking, the Krystal burger, by about 15 years. Part of what makes the Mo

Column

Cracker’s David Lowery on Sunrise in the Land of Milk & Honey

By Courtney Haden

We are rarely visited anymore by rock greatness. When it happens, it’s usually while decent folk slumber and usually at the Nick. Nevertheless, Saturday night at a respectable hour, for a Humane Socie

Column

Counting the days until the return of Mad Men

By Courtney Haden

I’ve been thinking about turning off the cable again. The last time was 1988, after NBC cancelled Crime Story, arguably the greatest TV show Michael Mann ever produced. Oh, sure, Miami Vice had the

Column

Why the Birmingham Barons still matter

By Courtney Haden

As though people weren’t cantankerous enough in August, now we have to have a health care reform debate. Actually, if the folks subsidized by the shadowy organization called Freedom Works get their wa

Column

Information in formation – coping with news overload

By Courtney Haden

I see the guy sitting on Highland Avenue every day, and when I say “sitting on Highland,” I mean he’s doing practically that. He and his laptop are hunkered down parkside next to the sidewalk,