Euphemania

The softest slurs. Why Human beings have always needed to avoid saying what they have to say. Read it here.

Consumer Products

On celebrity as world religion. Read it here.

Is Jamie Oliver the Biggest Loser of All?

He understands everything about America's public health crisis -- except why he can never fix it. Read it here.

Why Can't Kanye West Shut the Hell Up?

Whether he's mouthing off about George W. Bush or Taylor Swift, the rapper is rewarded for acting outrageously -- in his public life and in his art. Now it's getting harder to tell the two apart. Read it here.

Why Is Clint Eastwood Still the Man?

Because no other man's come along to unseat him. And even though he's eighty, we could use someone like him as the epitome of masculinity right now. Read it here.

Fudging the Truth: A Tradition as Old as Uncle Tom

Read it here.

Kim III meet Hank Cinq: Shakespeare on North Korean Succession.

Read it here.

Just How Crazy is Oliver Stone?

He doesn't make smart, sensible films about smart sensible people, because that's not who he is. And neither are we. Read it here.

When words go up in flames

In threatening to burn the Koran, that obscure Florida pastor evoked a horrible tradition with deep roots. Read it here.

The battle is over. Trouble begins

What should we expect with combat concluded in Iraq? Read it here.

Tales of Confinement

The story of the trapped Chilean miners taps into our primal fears of being buried alive. Read it here.

Might as well deal me in, Dalton. We're all gamblers, now

Gambling, like porn, has been completely normalized. Maybe not the thing to talk about at Sunday lunch, but not exactly a vice either. Read it here.

What's with all the secrets and lies?

Leading a double life used to make you pretty interesting -- until we all got one. Read it here.

The Conrad Black-black bloc connection

Some news stories transcend their mere information to become aesthetic performances, and the trial of Conrad Black long ago left its news value behind and transformed into expensive, elaborate public ritual. Read it here.

How a team loses actually matters

Unlike the French, the Germans and Italians owned up to their losses. They will be champions again one day. Read it here.

Have we all gone completely nuts?

If you think Mel Gibson is the worst of it, just turn on your television, which is making us all think we're crazy and, worse, that we can't be healed. Read it here.

In defence of the vuvuzela

The vuvuzela is a gift, drowning out the real auditory garbage. Read it here.

Byrd and the Bard

American politics loses more than just its greatest quoter of Shakespeare. Read it here.

Writing Here, Now

Canadian writers, poised on the edge of the world, have the best view. Read it here.

When Giants Stumble

Five of the world’s biggest soccer salaries are paid to English players—and now they’re eliminated? The answer may lie in the tension between club and national teams. Read it here.

When Ancient Grievances Are Played Out on the Soccer Pitch

When the U.S. tied England, it was as good as a victory. Read it here.

(N)O Canada!

Is our national anthem worthy of true patriot love? Read it here.

The Messi-ah

Lionel Messi is the most feared and most admired man in the tournament. Could he be the best ever? Read it here.

Why in Hell Are We Back in the Eighties?

Obama's hope-and-change gap has yet to be filled with anything better than Gaga and The Karate Kid. An exhausted battle cry for finally talking about our generation. Read it here.

A Few Acres of Snow

Read it here.

Welcome to Soccer Town

Where is the best place on the planet to watch the World Cup--even better than South Africa? Read it here.

Pastiche Unleashed

How Prim Victorian ladies invented our mash-up culture. Read it here.

The United States of Apocalypse

Finally the natural world is catching up with pop culture. Read it here.

The Return of Private Todd

Other wars saw tributes to the Unknown Soldier. In this war, the crowd along the Highway of Heroes knows each name. Read it here.

Why the Canadian Mosaic is in Crisis

Read it here.

The Beauty of Birding on the Leslie Street Spit

In praise of the city's prettiest dump. Read it here.

Re-emerge from a sex scandal stronger

The rules for recovery from a sex scandal. Read it here.

How Jersey Shore Transformed America

In the age of The Situation, Tracy Jordan, and Ari Gold, stereotypes have become meaningless. Read it here.

What would Buddha think?

On the genius of fictional columnists. Read it here.

The Hollowness of 3-D

Tim Burton's wretched adaptation of Alice in Wonderland shows Hollywood's new emperor has no clothes. Read it here.

The Ridiculously Sexy Winter Olympics

There were so many beautiful athletes at the Vancouver games, it's no wonder they had to send in extra condoms. Read it here.

A Tour of Junk Food's Ground Zero

Deep-fried Pepsi anyone? Or would doughnut upside down cake hit the culinary G-spot. Read it here.

The New Expo

For the first time since Expo 67, we're showing the world a different face. Read it here.

Which War Are You Watching?

If Afghanistan and Iraq are so terrible, then why does Hollywood keep taking us through hell? The solution may lie in the Hurt Locker's battle for the first Best Picture to honor gamers everywhere. Read it here.

Why You Can't Knock John Mayer's Hustle

The whole race thing aside, Mayer whined his way into bed with the woman he's now scandalizing. But in America's obsession with wimpy rich men just like him, are we letting them all off the hook. Read it here.

Are the Olympics Ruining Everything?

What's the problem with Vancouver that no one's talking about? The spectacle of the Winter Games isn't just ruining sports — it's killing our chance to be happy. Read it here.

In Defence of Mexican Gangster Polka

The Narcocorrido. Read it here.

The Age of Precariousness

The 21st Century and its inhabitants have been deformed by catastrophe. Read it here.

How Much Do We Owe Simon Cowell?

Everything. Because we are all judges now. And even if he's leaving the most popular TV show in the history of pretty much ever, he brought us together more than Obama could. Read it here.