Harvard’s Harvey Mansfield explains why women need men. Strong, masculine men. Though apparently a tenured government professor who “has hardly left Harvard since his first arrival in 1949,” but who can lift furniture on occasion, when such an act is requested, will suffice. Meanwhile, New York Times columnist John Tierney wonders why all the fuss about [...]

So there were no “bitches” after all in Three 6 Mafia’s live rendition of the Oscar-winning original song, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” from Hustle & Flow. Much to the surprise of viewers at the Oscar party I attended, Taraji P. Henson sang “witches” instead. Hmmm. Say it here and it comes out [...]

And it looks like Americans are finally on the same page. According to the AP, Hallmark Cards Inc., analyzed buying data for the top-sellling Valentines and found surprising results: Researchers at the Kansas City-based company expected the choices of customers to be as different as the cities they call home. But it turned out V330-5, one [...]

A Google news alert from Saturday included this BeliefNet story about a campaign by Vatican scholars to promote a more sympathetic view of Judas Iscariot, aka Jesus’ betrayer. After looking around for more coverage, I came across several bloggers, including Relapsed Catholic, who noted that The Times (London) incorrectly translated the words of Monsignor Walter Brandmuller, [...]

I’ve just returned from lunch with a former priest from Chicago who marched in Selma and Montgomery with Martin Luther King Jr. He vividly recalled the hoof marks embedded in the Capitol lawn from police horses brought in to scare the marchers. He spoke of receiving King’s blessing before kneeling on the first two steps [...]

The only thing more frustrating than the Alito hearings is a clunky website. We?re moving the magazine archives to a new server and reinstalling MT this month, which should soon make downtime a thing of the past. Without further ado, a mix of old and new stories to share: Is 24 too graphic? ?Maybe once upon [...]

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, movies were frequently referenced to provide some comprehensible cultural context for the unbelievable. Now, as Hollywood begins to face the events of 9/11 head-on, realism is the favored method. According to The New York Times, Oliver Stone is working on a movie starring Nicholas Cage about the last two men [...]

I’m in the midst of a 1,300-mile drive, which has left me with ample time to read the Sunday New York Times cover to cover. Here are a few favorites, with links accessible to all readers. Independent filmmaker David Sutherland, whose previous documentary The Farmer’s Wife looked at the struggle of a Nebraska couple to save [...]

The Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.) notes that America’s idealists are entering their retirement years — the oldest baby boomers turn 60 this year. The oldest of an estimated 78.2 million baby boomers will turn 60 at the rate of roughly 7,900 birthday parties a day in 2006. The list of soon-to-be sexagenarians includes: President George [...]

The final weeks of 2005 marked a period of fervent reading, if not fervent posting. Time to honor the resolution of writing more frequently in 2006. But first, a brief review of bits of culture that came to an end. A moment of silence, please, for the death of ?the old Mainstream Mass Culture,? which gave [...]

Rebecca Traister at Salon provides an excellent analysis of The New York Times story on Spike TV’s survey that found male viewers identify with strong, messy, complicated protagonists — think Sawyer from Lost, Jack Bauer of 24, Vic Mackey of The Shield and their patron saint, Tony Soprano. Interestingly, Michael Scofield of Prison Break is also [...]

Sorry to steal from Paris Hilton, but nothing else describes the thrill of seeing pal Cinnamon, a true craftivist, featured as nominee of the week on The Real Hot 100. Sounds sexist? Think again. Sponsored by Feministing.com, the Younger Women?s Task Force and Girls in Government, the Real Hot 100 spotlights young political and social activists in [...]

Via AlterNet comes news of a new FX reality TV series sure to warm hearts everywhere: Black, White Laura Barcella describes it as such: The show puts a new, mildly bizarre spin on a tried-and-true ratings-lovin’ formula: members of two very different families “trade places” for two months (see the creepily-named “Wife Swap” and “Trading Spouses”). But in [...]

Registration is now open for WAM!2006 — the annual women, action and media conference presented by the Center for New Words in Cambridge. What are you waiting for? Co-sponsored by the MIT Program in Women’s Studies, the three-day event (March 31 - April 2) will once again be held at the Gehry-designed Stata Center at MIT. And [...]

You may have had your fill of pie already, but we’ve got a few links to share that dig beneath the crust without adding calories. First is NPR’s interview with Anne Dimock, author of Humble Pie: Musings on what lies beneath the crust. Dimock talked with Michele Norris this week about the meaning of pie [...]