Potheads Declare Victory in War on Drugs
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. Todd Schepper is a 55-year-old man who still lives in his parents’ basement in this suburb of Chicago, but today he’s on top of the world. “We won,” he repeats quietly to […]
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, was published by Oxford University Press in 2019, and was named Book of the Year by Hot Club de France. My young adult novel, "Kimiko Chou, Girl Samurai," was published by Atmosphere Press in 2021.
Users Say Medical Pot Helps Them Endure Avant-Garde Films
WORCESTER, Mass. Mike Andruzzioni had always thought of himself as a healthy young man until he met Justine Thibodeaux, a student at Clark University in the Main South neighborhood here. “She had every thing I […]
Jack Kerouac, Republican Party Animal
Despite the ‘beatnik’ stereotype, Kerouac was a political conservative. He supported the Vietnam War and became friendly with William F. Buckley. Levi Asher, beatmuseum.org It’s Republican Party caucus night across Massachusetts and I’m picking […]
The Venomous Swish of Her Skirt
North Korea blamed rising tension with South Korea on Park Geun Hye, the latter nation’s first female president, citing her “venomous swish of skirt.” New York Times “Y-M-C-A!” Dear Diary– Why Park Geun […]
For One Tech Exec, Networking is a Subhuman Chore
WALTHAM, Mass. This city on the Charles River has been known as a technology incubator since the 19th century, and it remains a favored home for start-ups such as eRobotics and its founder Dash Farber. […]
Ask the Love Shark
Bitten by hopeless infatuation? Hungry for red-blooded romance? Ask Love Shark for help–it’s winter, things are kind of slow. Dear Love Shark: I am head cheerleader at Grain Valley Consolidated Regional High School (Go Polecats!) […]
Start the New Year Right With Do-It-Yourself HAZMAT Training!
As you turn the page on 2015 and look ahead to the coming year, you may be asking yourself–what exactly do I get for all the taxes I’m going to owe come April 15th? Where […]
Upfaked Out of My Love Shoes
It was a New Year’s Eve in the ’90′s and I was at loose ends. I decided to skip the midnight show and go to a party with friends. After the obligatory dance with my […]
My Year in Blogging–More Than Just Sonny Tufts
As I look back on 2015 and prepare the Gerbil Interactive Media Group (Gerbil News Network, Gerbil Sports Network, Gerbil Entertainment!) for an initial public offering, it is appropriate that I give potential investors a candid […]
A Day in the Life of a Hip-Hop Grants Administrator
The chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts said he would be open to funding rap artists. The Wall Street Journal I was sitting at my desk, tapping out rejection letters to the poets, community […]