Horrid habits, farewell forever ... or at least for a week
Zane: Hope springs momentarily in the dead of winter. Each Jan. 1, we pledge that this is the year we're going to do it: Quit smoking and start exercising, lose weight, gain confidence, read more, watch less TV.
The stuff of life is just too much
Zane: I'm no Chicken Little. I scorn the apostles of pessimism who warn that America's best days are behind us.
Feeling all righteous
Zane: I'm no eco-saint. But since the drought, my motto has become "it's the least I can do -- so I do it."
Hiding from the silence of the mind
Zane:Wolf Blitzer here. Wolf Blitzer there. Wolf Blitzer everywhere.
Must we be very afraid
J. Peder Zane:The sun is shining and the birds are winging as my Mazda purrs down Capital Boulevard. Suddenly, the candy-colored music on the radio stops.
Campus puts value on exploring values
J. Peder Zane:Growing up in Canada five decades ago, Blair H. Sheppard never dreamed of leading Duke's Fuqua School of Business. But when Queen Elizabeth II visited his country, he imagined what it would be like to be a prince.
Calling on the Bard
Zane:In these stridently partisan times, the right poster child is pure gold.
In search of a city's spark and soul
J. Peder Zane:As Raleigh has prospered beyond our wildest imagination, some people have wondered if the price for that growth has been the city's soul.
Reading loses in this war
J. Peder Zane:I can still hear my old history teacher proclaiming: What's past is prologue; those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Bounty from the land of ideas
J. Peder Zane:When I was The N&O's book review editor, I often heard bibliophiles mutter: So many books, so little time.
For men, 'straight' label is inflexible
J. Peder Zane:Can a man seem to seek sex with another man and not be gay?
Rhetoric heats up; reality fogs up
J. Peder Zane:I'm not so sure.
Kimble, nation went on the run
J. Peder Zane:Dr. Richard Kimble is bound for the death house -- not to care for prisoners but to await execution for his wife's murder.
When our culture was all shook up
J. Peder Zane:Slap on some aviator sunglasses? Don a sequin jumpsuit? Curl my lip? Swivel my pelvis? Wolf down a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich?
Though our goodness grows, cruelty thrives
J. Peder Zane:Entertainment news used to be a Camelot of airbrushed perfection. Fan magazines gave us the inside scoop on Elizabeth Taylor's marital bliss, Michael Jackson's charitable work with children and Rock Hudson's lovely new girlfriend. No more.
Some reality may lurk deep within those shallow stories
J. Peder Zane:I admit it. I am a harrumpher. I wring my hands and knit my brow when stupid nonsense degrades and dumbs down the culture.
Drawing the line on foul words
J. Peder Zane:If you think all obscenities are the same, consider the N-word, the F-word and the S-word.
An old-fashioned icon in a fragmented culture
J. Peder Zane:Harry Potter is a throwback freak, the residue of a faded age, the likes of whom we may never see again.
An idea we gladly consume
Every day felt like Christmas during my decade as The N&O's book review editor and books columnist. I began each morning tearing open packages from publishers stuffed with the latest literary offerings.
On the Tube
Looking to keep up with North Carolina writers? Tune in to WUNC-TV's "Bookwatch," hosted by D.G. Martin, Fridays at 9:30 a.m. and rebroadcast at 5 p.m. Sunday.
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