July 1–8, 1999 loose canon Hard-Fisted Truth by Bruce Schimmel It’s a tough time for liars. And it’s getting tougher. Used to be, if you told a lie often enough, you could keep the truth from coming out. It also…

April 22–29, 1999 loose canon The Fuck-Up Fairy by Bruce Schimmel My newest favorite one-liner arrived last week by e-mail, under the heading “Useful Phrases for Work.” “Ahhh… I see the fuck-up fairy has visited us again… ” This is…

January 28–February 4, 1999 loose canon Delete: “Homosexual” by Bruce Schimmel The fat tome on my desk, the Webster’s New Complete Thesaurus, is about to become a rare edition. And future editions of this “complete” thesaurus promise to be somewhat…

December 26, 1996–January 2, 1997 loose canon Feathers By Bruce Schimmel A couple of stories above 36th Street, just west of Fifth Avenue in the heart of New York’s garment district, is a tiny, overheated room, home of Gettinger Feather…

November 6–13, 1997 loose canon Can White Boys Play the Blues?   Can White Boys Play the Blues? By Bruce Schimmel   Samuel Johnson, the 18th-century literary critic, once remarked that a woman preaching is like a dog standing on…

March 6–13, 1997 loose canon Urster Eatin’ By Bruce Schimmel Now that the Signs of Spring have arrived, it’s time to witness the Rites of the Season, including those related to Mating. I decided this year, in honor of Dolly,…

March 14–21, 1996 publisher’s clearinghouse The Mind Is A Muscle By Bruce Schimmel When I first heard about the connection between linguistic ability and Alzheimer’s Disease, I immediately thought of the title of Yvonne Rainer’s most popular dance, The Mind…

March 14–21, 1996 publisher’s clearinghouse The Mind Is A Muscle By Bruce Schimmel When I first heard about the connection between linguistic ability and Alzheimer’s Disease, I immediately thought of the title of Yvonne Rainer’s most popular dance, The Mind…