Andrew T. Durham
Articles by Andrew T. Durham
July 27, 2011
A resident of Norway talks about the impact of the recent terrorist acts, the death of kids on a peaceful camp, Glenn Beck and more.
March 23, 2011
If it Was None of Your Business to Start With, Guess What it is Still.
November 21, 2010
Living is more than touch,
But reality escapes us as we think
And feel,
So everyone must reach
For something that means what life means;
Breathes what life breathes…
Yet, is it always through the face
And through the eyes
Of another
That we see the Corridor
To the rest of the world?
A...
October 23, 2010
[DISCLAIMER: The author wishes to convey his deepest apologies that this article is not about gardening, arts and crafts, carpentry or puppies. He is genuinely regretful for any inconvenience.]
What´s left of the American media love to classify people into demeaning terms, such as "birthers...
September 25, 2010
I´ve grown more than a little tired over the past months with the talk about (rather, the fear of) socialism. Talk radio is replete with references to socialism virtually every 30 seconds, especially as it relates to President Barack Obama. First I am certainly no supporter of Obama. I want nothing more than to see him gone in 2012. And while I understand, to an extent, this neurosis, it ignores certain realities that, sooner or later, this nation has to face.
June 07, 2010
"The planet is fine. The planet isn't going anywhere...WE are." - George Carlin
Not that it matters, but I thought I´d chime in on this whole business of the BP oil spill. Now, most of you reading this will know what I´m talking about. If you don´t, Google it. I´m not a re...
May 13, 2010
The following is a meticulously compiled list of certain things that should never be said when on a date, most importantly your first date. You´ll notice immediately that many of these words and phrases should also not be used in numerous other situations.
March 26, 2010
All my life I´ve had to deal with something that many would see as a good thing. Growing up as someone who was termed "gifted" sounds grand, almost magical, but it´s not.
February 25, 2010
While I´m aware that the term "Hollywood mentality" is somewhat of an oxymoron, I continue to be amazed at what passes for "hits" currently – or, indeed, at any time – on television. Personally, I watch television shows online so I can prevent myself from being brainwashed by Madison Ave...
January 20, 2010
I try – I really do – to not get into the New Year retrospective frame of mind around this time of year. Usually it´s terminally infected with opinions of meaningless things, or major events tainted with spin. I generally despise anyone who writes about "The Best of.." or "The Worst of…" v...
January 02, 2010
I just saw the second half of The End of Time, which marks the end of the David Tennant era of the famous British science fiction show Doctor Who. It goes without saying that I saw the first half last week.
I´m not going to do a synopsis. If you want to see it, see it. I have, however, had ...
November 22, 2009
Though it may be an unpopular sentiment to some, I really do find myself missing George W. Bush. There is no sarcasm in that statement; no hidden slander. I genuinely find a vacancy in the world where President Bush used to be, and for very specific reasons.
August 07, 2009
I have to admit I expected to hate this show. I really did. And I rarely establish expectations about anything coming out of Hollywood. I thought the commercials for the opening were vacuous, but then look who we´re dealing with: Hollywood inbreeds. Originality is a pestilence to be wiped out; remak...
August 05, 2009
From the time we are all tiny, by anyone's standards, we are told that we should obey the Golden Rule, that we are to treat others as we expect to be treated. But recently I have been thinking: What if I hate myself and want to die? How would I treat others in that event? The knee-jerk response is that we would be cruel to others or try to physically harm them. That makes sense. But, unfortunately, people do not always make sense. And the way someone would treat another with that self-world can be remarkably different, seemingly quite the opposite, yet with the same result.
July 10, 2009
I have waited to write this after the hoopla of the opening of J.J. Abrams´ Star Trek, because it would just get lost in the frenzy. I absolutely loved this movie and, as a Star Trek fan for over 35 years I can honestly say this: aside from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this is the only real Star T...
June 17, 2009
There is a lot of railing against the current administration going on, primarily from the direction of Conservative talk radio and other right-wing pundits. You can hear it daily with the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. All day long you can hear the frenzied alarms and the pleas for action. It all sounds very passionate, but what I can guarantee you is this: absolutely no one will do anything about it.
April 20, 2009
I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing an online interview with actors Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto who are currently starring in the new Star Trek film scheduled for release in the United States on May 8th. I have to say I have never seen such humility and genuine humor and enthusiasm in actors, especially when being interviewed. It helped that the New Zealand interviewer was something that we don´t have in the States: a professional. She actually knew how to LISTEN. Imagine that.
April 07, 2009
Eminem is back. And not a moment too soon. After I viewed his new video "We Made You" yesterday, I felt the stale air drain from the industry. As a musician, I have always liked Eminem because he actually uses MUSIC in his rap recordings. His sense of humor and irony, along with what appears to be a keen sense of what I can only describe as "disdain for trend whores", makes his music actual music.
March 02, 2009
Matt Smith is the next Doctor Who. I have to admit, I have never seen any of Matt Smith´s acting. But when I saw the video interview with him when they announced he was to be the next Doctor Who, I was immediately sold.
February 12, 2009
There are so many ways that we are being trained to lie to ourselves. Make no mistake, political correctness is the AIDS to our Constitution. In a world where the person who is offended by something is the one with power, you know something is wrong. Here´s the deal: if you are offended by something someone says, you need therapy. You don´t take away the speaker´s freedom of speech. Or, you get the backbone to confront this person. You don´t weasel around behind the scenes to hurt this individual. But with the advent of a new "Fairness Doctrine", the vigilance of the thinking public needs to be jolted. Social discourse is about to be intercoursed by the worst Congress in American History. And this can´t be allowed to happen.
January 10, 2009
There is a wind blowing in so-called paranormal circles, postulating that President-elect Obama will be the "President of Disclosure". What this refers to is the recent trend for some foreign countries – namely Britain – to release long-classified UFO data from their files. For some reason there are those that believe our new, completely inexperienced president will be the one to disclose over half a century of cover-up in this area. And there are those who will be gravely disappointed.
December 12, 2008
The latest travesty to infect the entertainment industry is the "fanboy" phenomenon. To those unfamiliar with the term, "fanboy" refers to geeks who are movie fans who, in this case, have their own websites and pretend to be legitimate critics. These are primarily sci-fi or torture porn fans.
November 26, 2008
It is literally a crime that apparently President Bush is not granting pardons to immorally imprisoned border control agents Ramos and Compean.
November 21, 2008
This guy is amazing to listen to. There are very few callers, and he talks about stuff for a couple hours…with almost no "Um´s, Uh´s," or stuff like that. He´s amusing, laid back and I can literally smell the fireplace in the background (even in the summer) and the gas fumes from the pickup truck.
November 13, 2008
I´ve grown more than a little tired over the past months with the talk about (rather, the fear of) socialism. Talk radio is replete with references to socialism virtually every 30 seconds, especially as it relates to President-elect Barack Obama. While I understand, to an extent, this neurosis, it ignores certain realities that, sooner or later, this nation has to face.
November 11, 2008
There should be no amazement on the part of Conservatives as to how this election came out. After all, they did their best to see to it that it did turn out this way. It was a truly astonishing thing to watch.
September 29, 2008
Many of us go through a time in our lives when we lose our identities in our work, opting to place all of our self-worth in our jobs. While most sane people understand that when you place the validity of your self-image entirely in one activity, person or idea you are, for all intents and purposes, ...
September 19, 2008
One historical name has not entered the current political debate, and it is surprising. One of the greatest champions of American civil rights and women´s suffrage had a mountain of published material; however, none of the candidates on either side of the valley have evoked his name or tremendous intellect with any significant frequency.
September 12, 2008
s the political debate turns to the issue of America at war in a foreign land, one concept needs to be addressed. Why does our President head the Armed Forces, and should military experience be a criterion for our highest elected office? The President is not the final voice on economic policy, and for this reason, we have a Federal Reserve Board Chairman. Why is the President, regardless of military experience, or lack thereof, given the added responsibility to manage our military forces?
September 01, 2008
It´s interesting that there has been much talk in this presidential campaign about the qualifications for actually becoming President of the United States. In fact, it is quite easy to fall into that rhetoric when taken at face value. That so much emphasis is placed on the importance of the of...
August 03, 2008
Many years ago, Newt Gingrich discussed the need to re-parent a new generation of younger workers. What he didn´t address in detail was the root cause: Controlling parents who do not allow their children to develop their own sense of independence. Today, there is apparently an over-compensation resp...
July 22, 2008
Once I was afraid of the dark. Then I learned the feeling was mutual.
The Bible mentions in Revelations that famine will strike the world in the end days, among other things. While this is universally taken as meaning a nutritional famine, it is clear that there is a spiritual famine of equal d...