Facebook has been in the news a bit lately. As usual, the media seems caught up in a controversy that is, for better or worse, mostly settled. Young people do not care about Internet privacy very much, whatever their parents might hope. Yet while the older generation wonders whether Facebook’s repeated intrusions will ever have consequences, the younger generation is already beginning to treat Facebook differently. This isn’t because Facebook threatens our college or job applications. It’s because Facebook is boring.

Critics like to complain that the rise of these untrained voices is devaluing film, but the real threat is the hesitation of these same critics to truly embrace film as a worthy and high art.

On July 5th, Lieutenant Gordon M. Ambelas of the New York City Fire Department died from smoke inhalation and burns in the line of duty. The same July 4th weekend, 82 people were shot and 16 were killed on the South Side of Chicago.

I tweeted that Iranians living abroad had a right to return home without fear of being arrested. That tweet was retweeted by many, but there was one retweet which I had not expected: the president’s.

AARON:  In an interview you did a couple years ago at Exxxotica, you stated that you always say, “Guys like three things: they like porn, comics and chicks.” Is that why you’re into cosplay now? Or is there something else? … read more →

With the Sochi Olympics over and Russian aggression in Ukraine underway, it’s worth pondering what happened to that cuddly bear waving, tearfully, goodbye to the crowds of useful idiots waving back at him. Recall that the opening and closing ceremonies … read more →

Love Comes Later is the the first novel in English that is set in Qatar. I wrote it. On February 9, I sent the manuscript to the Ministry of Culture so I could get approval for it to be sold … read more →