Understanding Poetry, the Hard Way
There are two types of people–those who “get” poetry, and those who don’t. My immediate family and all of my close friends are proud to be included in the latter group. I’m a member of […]
Author: Con Chapman
I'm a Boston-area writer, author of The Year of the Gerbil, a history of the 1978 Red Sox-Yankees pennant race, and 50 books of humor including "Scooter & Skipper Blow Things Up!" by HumorOutcasts Press. My work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Christian Science Monitor and The Boston Globe among print outlets. "Rabbit's Blues," my biography of Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington's long-time alto sax player, will be published by Oxford University Press in September.
Test Your Bailout Bill IQ
We were all so innocent back in 2008–we thought Congress could bail the country out of a crisis with just a 219-page bill. We were young and foolish, what did we know? To do the job […]
Math Profs Race to Win Prestigious Hooters Prize
PRINCETON, New Jersey. Carl Schorz, a professor at Princeton University, was a math prodigy whose intellect was apparent when he was still in diapers. “My mom tells me my dad tossed a Rubik’s Cube into […]
As Gyms Remain Closed, Officials Fear Second Plague of Muffin Tops
NEEDHAM, Mass. Cindi Swarthmore is a young mother of two who maintains the slim, girlish figure of her college days by an assiduous devotion to exercise. “Sunday is spinning, Monday is cardio kick-boxing, Tuesday is […]
In Bid to Halt Virus, Newspapers Limit Op-Ed Authors to Groups of Two
BOSTON. Over the past several years Eloise Mangel-Wurzel, Theodore Koopernick and Freda Altschweiss have developed a successful track record co-writing hand-wringing “op-eds” on a variety of topics that at least two out of three of […]
As Virus Spreads, Some Return to Church With Unclean Hands
EAST BOSTON, Mass. It is 6:15 on a Sunday morning in this ethnic neighborhood of Boston, and an early riser will see an unlikely sight on the steps leading up to Our Lady of Perpetual […]
For One Senior, Historic Tip Meant More Than He Thought
NEEDHAM, Mass. On Monday night Massachusetts restaurants were still open for table service, but storm clouds in the form of a looming social distancing order were gathering on the horizon. “We heard there might be […]
Plastic Brain Surgery Latest Hollywood Enhancement
HOLLYWOOD. Amanda Griffin is an ambitious young actress who’s starting to garner attention beyond the small circle of slasher-flick aficionados who formed her first fan base. “‘Nightmare Scream II’ was my first big break,” she recalls, “but my agent […]
As Virus Spreads, Many Act Concerned Over Plight of Others
WORCESTER, Mass. In non-descript office space that would overlook a winding river below if it had windows, the employees of Blackstone Adjustment Bureau are spread out more than they were last week as fears of […]
Loss of Brady Puts Death by Coronavirus in Perspective for Boston
She had been so distracted by trivial stuff–death, quarantine, widespread panic–that she’d completely lost sight of the looming possibility that threatened to bring an end to the lives we’d been living for the past twenty […]