The Future Is Now ... And Then()
December 11, 2009 Commentator Andrei Codrescu remembers writing fortune cookies for $5 a fortune. The last fortune he received said: "You will know the future in time." Now that it IS the future, he offers this insight: time will make truth irrelevant.
As You Age, Time Turns Off The Lights()
November 19, 2009 Commentator Andrei Codrescu says bulbs have been dimming, and he's not talking about flower bulbs. It's more like time has been putting out lights. He says when you're 20, you think the future is so bright you're immortal and you need sunglasses. But when you're 60, he says, you're looking forward to retiring and getting to that martini beach in the neon light you can't see your wrinkles by.
Bombing Moon Gives New Meaning To Lunatics()
October 9, 2009 In response to NASA putting a spent rocket part on a collision course with the moon in search of water, commentator Andrei Codrescu asks whom the moon belong to anyway. They used to call the mentally ill lunatics, but Codrescu says he now wonders who the real lunatics are.
Internet's History As Tracked By Codrescu()
September 2, 2009 Commentator Andrei Codrescu recounts the entire history of the Internet, from 40 years ago, when UCLA made the first connection between two computers, up until now — in places that parallel his own life.
Award The Birther Movement()
August 6, 2009 To the Oscars, the Grammys and the Emmys, you can now add a wonderful new distinction: the Dobbies. Andrei Codrescu says the Southern Poverty Law Center's award, named for CNN's Lou Dobbs, should go to the "birther" movement.
Will Economy Push Californians Back To Midwest?()
July 22, 2009 The Great Depression sent millions of dispossessed Midwesterners toward California's promise. Andrei Codrescu says now that the Golden State is selling off furniture signed by its movie-star governor to raise money, he's sure a reverse migration is on the way.
Issues Are Similar, But Iran And Tiananmen Differ()
June 17, 2009 The streets of Tehran look much like the streets of Tiananmen Square in 1989. Some of the issues are the same, but this is 2009, and the stakes are both different and higher. Now, the whole world is watching, listening and hearing the events unfold.
Pondering Google, Facebook And Wasting Time()
June 2, 2009 Commentator Andrei Codrescu complains about Google and Facebook, and how people ask him things they could look up themselves on Google. He finds Facebook a waste of time — and Google an alien force worthy of fear.
Looking To A Post-Human Future()
May 6, 2009 To Andrei Codrescu, being "post-human" means transitioning to a new kind of animal, a wired, connected and, hopefully, less arrogant creature that might use its successful tools to rejoin the nature humans have nearly eliminated.
Pirates, Real And Phony()
April 23, 2009 With much help from Hollywood, we tend to glorify old-style pirates. Commentator Andrei Codrescu wonders if someday in the distant future we will treat terrorists with similar affection.
About Poet on Call
Poet and novelist Andrei Codrescu is editor of the online literary journal "Exquisite Corpse" and a professor of English at Louisiana State University. He offers a wry twist on news and culture in his commentaries for NPR.
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