Marking Your Turf: The Rock Star Tradition of Peeing in Public

As all dog-owners know, male canines urinate in specific outdoor areas to indicate "top dog" status. Are men prone to pee in public to achieve the same goal? And, if so, what tactics do women employ to establish turf? Well, that's a lot more complicated and would take a much longer time to answer. As any guy will tell you, it's a liberating experience to take a whiz in the great outdoors. However, some do actually get busted for it, none more so than male rock stars who tend to be rather indiscreet when it comes to leaving their scent. Here's a look at some famous offenders.

Continue Reading Marking Your Turf: The Rock Star Tradition of Peeing in Public

The Freshwoman

If someone had told me back in 1977 that young men barely past their Clearasil years would be saying “What’s your major” to me at age 40, I‘d have said “No way!” Well..."way!” It was all part of my experience as a student at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where I took some non-credit courses in the summer of 2000. Here's what I wrote at the end of my first day of classes.

Continue Reading The Freshwoman

Phyllis Diller Shares the Spotlight with My Dad, Freddie Baby

"What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day." That's just one of the many funny lines made famous by trailblazing comedian Phyllis Diller, who would have turned 98 today. Did this keen observation of corporate life qualify the flamboyant Phyllis to perform for managers in training? It's debatable. But every year on her birthday I recall the time in 1969 when Westinghouse Electric Corporation sent a group of newly promoted supervisors, including my father, to watch her nightclub act.

Continue Reading Phyllis Diller Shares the Spotlight with My Dad, Freddie Baby

VD is for Everybody — And Other Scary Facts I Learned from Watching PSAs

Ten-year-old kids shouldn't be worrying about the after-effects of unprotected sex, mind-altering drugs, and adult unemployment, but thanks to several artful public service announcements (PSAs) that aired on network television in the early 70s, I once considered pre-booking a room in a nunnery!

Continue Reading VD is for Everybody — And Other Scary Facts I Learned from Watching PSAs

Merry ‘Nice and Naughty’ Christmas Greetings from The Beatles and The Stones

In the early 1960s, The Beatles came off as cute and cheeky, while the Rolling Stones - marketed by manager Andrew Loog Oldham as the anti-Beatles - were perceived as snide and snarky. Here's a look at how these two very different bands greeted the public at Christmas time.

Continue Reading Merry ‘Nice and Naughty’ Christmas Greetings from The Beatles and The Stones