Articles written by Ken Braiterman

A woman deserved $2.7 million for spilling McDonald's coffee in her lap, lawyer websites say; ludicrous on its face, a miscarriage of justice, others say.

Sep 17, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Linguist George Lakoff says conservatives win political arguments and elections by "framing" the issues in words that strike our deepest values.

Sep 17, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Spiro Agnew resigned as vice-president in 1973 when he was indicted for income tax evasion. How he got to be vice-president is stranger than how he fell.

Sep 11, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

"Moneyball" is a baseball underdog story of poor kids outsmarting wealthy bullies. The back story is an underdog story of nerds beating arrogant jocks.

Sep 6, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Many of the first African Americans in baseball became stars on the field, but faced racism in minor leagues, spring training, and their teams' front office

Aug 24, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

On the Chesapeake Bay, eating Maryland crab cakes in summer is a religious ritual more important than Biblical commandments against eating shellfish.

Aug 22, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

An unconventional reading of Genesis:22 in the original Hebrew suggests that an impostor, not the One God, told Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac.

Aug 14, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

A 35-year-old saw "Saturday Night Fever" for the first time and wants to wear the clothes and dance to that music at a disco. Is it time for a revival?

Aug 4, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Jews' love for Chinese food is rooted in history and sociology, not religion, rabbi says

Aug 3, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Why doesn't Hollywood make romantic comedies like they used to? Big studios, musicals, and censorship are gone. Good supporting actors need steady work.

Jul 30, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

George Will's political commentary reveals what he thinks. His two well-regarded baseball books reveal who he is: a smart, romantic, but unsentimental fan.

Jul 19, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

For a movie to be really silly, the filmmakers have to take it very seriously. By that standard, "The Cardinal," directed by Otto Preminger, is really silly

Jul 4, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

An award-winning book says long-term use of psychiatric drugs does more harm than good for most people, though it helps many people in the short-term.

Jun 27, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Essentials, Jr, a TCM series showing family films, makes a great choice with "Singin' in the Rain."

Jun 27, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Henry Clay pushed for war with Britain as leader of the War Hawks, starting in 1810. Then he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent to end the war.

Jun 22, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

A new book says listening helps troubled vets heal. Clinical training is unnecessary. Labeling vets with a "disorder" harms them, one psychologist says.

Jun 17, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Stan Musial played as well as Ted Williams or Joe DiMaggio, and was a much nicer person. Why is he forgotten except by fans over 60, or in St. Louis?

Jun 4, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Many liberals still dislike John Wayne's movies because of his outspoken conservative political opinions. His work is too important dismiss for that alone.

Jun 1, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

William Boyd bought his old Hopalong Cassidy movies from the studios before TV began. TV turned the old movies and has-been actor into a world-wide craze.

May 27, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

An unusual Panamanian molas (cloth sculpture) is tied to the overthrow of Chile's Salvadore Allende in 1973, and a coup d'etat by a brutal, repressive junta

May 24, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

In Jimmy Breslin's book "Branch Rickey," the master's writing and story-telling ability are still there, but everything in it has been written before.

May 20, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

The Hays Code, which kept frank sexuality out of Hollywood movies, made Joan Crawford's 1945 Mildred Pierce better than HBO's remake in at least one way.

Apr 2, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

Mickey Mantle lived long enough to regret being a bad husband and father. He thought he could have played better for longer if he had taken care of himself.

Apr 2, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

A new guide to basic sentence-building requires less prior knowledge than similar books, including the classic "Strunk and White." It is almost jargon-free.

Mar 8, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

It takes an excellent writer and actor to make a long, literary speech work on film. They are unrealistic, but are expected, and more acceptable on stage

Mar 6, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

To sell the original "Star Trek" to TV networks, Gene Roddenberry had to present it in terms TV executives understood. He compared it to "Wagon Train."

Mar 5, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

In "Limelight," Charles Chaplin's moving, dramatic 1952 talkie, he plays Calvero, a tramp comedian on the skids, who is not his famous Little Tramp

Feb 23, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

"Romper Room" was a worldwide phenomenon because it was local, with local personalities. Commercials by the local hostesses killed live local kids' TV.

Feb 10, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

"The Producers" (1968) was the first film Mel Brooks directed, made Gene Wilder a star, and let blacklisted stage comedian Zero Mostel shine in a movie.

Jan 9, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

"Here's Another Fine Mess" is a history of U.S. film comedy from Charlie Chaplin to Renee Zellweger, 100 profiles in 475 pages, including John Wayne.

Jan 7, 2011 - Ken Braiterman

A new oral history examines all the folk revivals of the 1900's, not just Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Joan Baez.

Dec 15, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Author Josh Wilker's tells his moving coming-of-age story through brief reflections on the "Cardboard Gods" in his childhood baseball card collection.

Dec 10, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

William Wyler directed "The Big Country", and Gregory Peck played the male lead. Burl Ives stole the movie from Peck, Charlton Heston and an all-star cast.

Nov 15, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Collection of sports writing from "The New Yorker" showcases great athletes, events, and the best non-fiction writers of our time.

Nov 12, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Dayn Perry's new biography of Reggie Jackson states assumptions about his psychological make-up as fact, though author Perry never interviewed him.

Oct 2, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Kasha Varniskes, or kasha with noodles, sticks to the ribs like oatmeal and tastes like supper. With a couple of substituions, it also works for vegans.

Jul 28, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Before Andy Griffith became TV's sheriff of Mayberry, he played two roles that are considered classics: "A Face in the Crowd" and "No Time for Sergeants,

Jun 28, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Bill Veeck was one of the most innovative, colorful owners in baseball history, but he's remembered for sending a midget to bat in a real, official game.

Jun 26, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Thurman Munson's biography has the whole story of his fatal plane crash, the demons he fought all his life, and a humanity only his friends and family saw.

Jun 26, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Henry Aaron felt disrespected by reporters and baseball executives until mid-life, his new biography says. He's now a respected, beloved, heroic figure.

Jun 13, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Laura Bush, in her new memoir, sounds sweet as saccharine, phony. But many women her age from her part of the country are really like that. Maybe she is.

May 20, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox, contained manic mood swings, and an immortal finish, a new book reminds us.

May 3, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

George Gershwin called Irving Berlin the "greatest American composer." Isaac Stern said, "American music was born at his piano."

Apr 8, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

The New England Patriots created the first NFL dynasty in the era of free agents, salary caps, and balanced scheduling - rules made to prevent dynasties.

Apr 6, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

The new biography of Willie Mays reveals his inner feelings on his great plays, other people, his own legend, race, other controversies, and what others said about him.

Mar 26, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

The brutally frank sexuality, negative portrayal of Jews, and the dislikable, womanizing main character in Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth overshadowed the book.

Mar 13, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Cheestnut Bark Disease and Duch Elm Blight wiped out all the chestnut and elm trees. Gypsy moths ate all the leaves of all the trees for miles, and starved them

Mar 10, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Om 2010, New Hampshire residents are enjoying the warmest March in recent memory. That's bad, potentially disastrous news for maple syrup lovers and producers.

Mar 9, 2010 - Ken Braiterman

Were Joe DiMaggio and Hank Greenberg "mobbed up?" Was Lefty Grove a "sociopath?" Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker were racists, once accused of throwing a game.

Mar 3, 2010 - Ken Braiterman