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The Pleasantest Prattler
On May 1, 2019 by ElysePolitics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. – Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911 Ambrose Bierce—author, Civil War veteran and pre-muckraker—was one of the most influential journalists of his day, no doubt thanks in part to wit “so keen that it pierces
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You’ve Got Mail
On February 6, 2019 by ElyseHope your National Thank a Mail Carrier Day celebrations were first class! If you didn’t know this was a thing, perhaps your invitation was lost in the mail. In honor of this underrated holiday, I have for your reading pleasure an anecdote about a dead—that is to say, undeliverable—letter belonging to Henry Ward Beecher. If
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‘Til Death Do Us Part
On October 31, 2018 by ElyseMuch has been written about the divorce rate in the Western world, and psychologists and nosy relatives alike have spent many hours pondering its causes. Although science tells us criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling are the most reliable harbingers of a relationship’s end, not all doomed marriages die of natural causes. In fact, if the
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Seven Signs You’re Living the 19th Century Version of “The Hangover”
On August 22, 2018 by Elyse“I did what last night?” Most of us have asked this question after waking up, heads pounding and stomachs churning, following a night out. No judgement here. Thankfully, few have stories quite as epic as that portrayed in the popular 2009 film “The Hangover.” However, more than a century before four guys walked into a