Essays: the Collection

I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter An H.B.O. Documentary H.B.O.'s Haunting Documentary  Director Erin Lee Carr Quick Assessment: This is must see viewing. A review by Kurt von Behrmann On July 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy completed suicide.   It took placed in his truck. The vehicle was parked at a Kmart parking lot in Fairhaven, Mass.    What happened afterwards would have sweeping ramifications. What transformed this tragedy into a media feeding frenzy was a series of text messages exchanged between Conrad Roy and his girlfriend Michelle Carter.   In a series of feverish, even hectoring, text messages, she was imploring him to kill himself. Two lives forever changed when thy met and began a constant stream of text messages.    Director Erin Lee Carr has constructed a documentary that delves into the critical details were missed in   the wide spread media coverage.   The na...

What have we learned from this "Food Fight" Part P.T. Barnum and Baily to several parts serious political discourse, one thing did come from all of this.  Past the novelty of having too many candidates with far too little to say on one stage, a star was born.  A few also happened to burn out, one in comic glory, of a sort. The first night of debates lacked any drama at all, good or bad.  The clear and undisputed winner was Elizabeth Warren.  While many see her elect-ability factor as a down side, she was the only person on the stage that left an impression.  She had a clear idea of what she was going to do and how to do it.  Everyone else, sadly, was one great big snooze fest.   There was no energy, no electricity.  There was no “ah” moment that made you feel strongly about anyone.  It was simply dry. No one seemed to grasp the idea that political life is part entertainment.  The only one who seemed to get that point w...