I can't think of a better way to start a new week than with a good laugh.

Permit me to share a wonderful piece by legendary writer-producer-director Bill Persky on modern technology. It appears in the today's edition of USA...

It is now nearly one week since LettermanGate first burst onto TV screens, front pages and BlackBerrys nationwide, and the media remain in unapologetic full-throttle. Having already wrung every drop of dirty dishwater from this odd tale of sex, checks and affections, reporters continue to survey the outer fringes...

So the kids are officially back in school, and like most parents, I'm delighted to know that my daughters have returned to their familiar routine, and to a place that is dedicated to enriching their minds.

Still, I'm no dummy. I also know...

Who said the voting ended last November?

Entrepreneur Magazine has just announced the five finalists for its prestigious Entrepreneur of 2009 Award, which recognizes those individuals in the small business community whose work is consistently "passionate, ambitious and downright genius."

Please excuse the...

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's unfinished stories.

I never bail in the middle of a book; I listen to songs all the way through; I've even sat through entire Adam Sandler movies. That's hard.

And so it is especially frustrating to...

It's always rewarding to have one's efforts recognized. But I was especially touched to read an essay in this morning's Daily Kos, in which writer Michael Raysses gave a warm nod to my new book (co-authored with David Tabatsky), Dear President Obama:...

Will Rogers once noted, ""We can't all be heroes, because somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by."

To that end, I found myself doing some seriously attentive curb-sitting--and applauding--when I read writer Michael Raysees' latest column...

A few weeks ago I posted here about my new book, Dear President Obama: Letters of Hope from Children Across America (Beckham). Co-authored with my friend and colleague, David Tabatsky, the book includes nearly 200 letters and drawings to President Barack...

According to Wikipedia, a zombie bank is "a financial institution with an economic net worth that is less than zero, but which continues to operate because its ability to repay its debts is shored up by implicit or explicit government credit support. "

On April 14th, I was thrilled to witness the publication of my new book, Dear President Obama: Letters of Hope from Children Across America (Beckham). Conceived, compiled and released in just four months, the book was the brainchild of my friend and...

When Taylor Gettinger, a high school junior from Dwight, Illinois, learned that she had brain cancer, it seemed as if the entire community showed up to support her and her family. Small-town America can be like that.

Barry Katz of Sudbury, Massachusetts, had...

For all the Maalox moments of this raucous roller-coaster of a campaign season, one thing can be said of the American people: We sure know how to make each other laugh.

While I certainly won't miss those daily emails that came streaming into my exploding in-box over the past...

And now for something completely different.

Click the image below to see a music video from award-winning composer-lyricist David Yazbek, from his new album, Evil Monkey Man. The song is called "Steps of Another Man's House," and the remarkable animation was done by filmmaker Onur Tukel.

Will watching the...

Their names were Denise, Carole, Cynthia and Addie Mae, and 45 years ago next month, on an overcast morning in Birmingham, Alabama, their lives were taken as they prepared for a Sunday school program. A dynamite bomb, planted by local thugs from...

Their names were Denise, Carole, Cynthia and Addie Mae, and 45 years ago next month, on an overcast morning in Birmingham, Alabama, their lives were taken as they prepared for a Sunday school program. A dynamite bomb, planted by local thugs from...

In discussing the 2008 election last week, Jon Stewart cracked jokes about orphans, Viagra and prehistoric monsters.

God, I love politics.

As someone who moonlights as a satirist, I'm often intrigued by the ever-merging traffic on the election news highway, as the campaign bus...

As the 2008 Olympics in Beijing grow closer, global protests continue to swell. Decrying China's policies on Darfur and Tibet, as well as its notorious oppression of human rights, activists worldwide are keeping up the pressure on the Games' sponsors, most recently holding rallies...

I've always liked Canada. Its health care system apparently works; its comedians are consistently a hoot; and, with the exception of that tired old bickering over Quebecois sovereignty that seems to erupt every few years, the gentle behemoth just upstairs from us always manages...

Amid the endless rattle and noisy clatter of the popular music industry, sometimes you run across a song that you just have to pass along. This is one of those moments.
Now playing on iTunes--and available for purchase on, among others,...