Scott Simon

George Orwell once referred to advertising as "the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket."

But there was some swill for which David Abbott would not rattle a stick. The British adman died this month at the age of 75. He was one of the founders of the agency ...

There's a man whose name is part of millions of lives, but many of us don't know his story. This Memorial Day weekend may be a good time to hear about him.

Butch was the son of a lawyer who worked for Al Capone. The father wound up testifying against ...

If someone is outraged these days, they often blog about it, or post a tweet in righteous indignation. Parents urge children to use their words, and in the news business, we certainly believe in the power of words and information.

But you may wonder these days if some people confuse ...

Brown v. Board of Education became the law of the land when it struck down de jure segregation in Topeka, Kan., on May 17, 1954, saying, "We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate facilities are inherently unequal."

The ...

Major League Baseball and Match.com are trying to hit a bunch of singles.

Organized baseball and the online dating service have formed a partnership that will allow fans to find one another. It's appropriately called SINGLES.

As Match.com says, "Connecting over a shared passion like America's favorite pastime is the ...

In all the talk these days of new media, social media and reaching new audiences, it is sobering to note that one of the best-read publications in America is the catalog slipped into airlines' seat pockets, along with the airsickness bag.

SkyMall has a reported circulation of 19.5 million. That's ...

Need a good laugh? Try Chicago.

The Humor Research Lab at the Leeds School of Business at University of Colorado Boulder (and doesn't that sound like it was created by The Onion?) concocted an algorithm to rate America's funniest cities.

Humor researchers calculated factors like the number of working ...

Some stories can only happen in New York.

At 10:39 Tuesday morning, a Metro-North Hudson Line train left the Bronx for Manhattan when Joseph Delia, the engineer, saw a dog running alongside the track.

A small, frisky, brown-and-black dog, "just running like she didn't have a care in the world," ...

Many of us on a workday fret about when we can break for lunch or what the traffic will be. Men and women who are firefighters might be called upon to risk their lives.

A couple of stories this week remind us of their commitment and their bond.

Scott Hemmelsbach, ...

Would Tennessee whiskey by any other name taste as sweet?

A debate in Tennessee simmers over a legal definition of what makes Tennessee whiskey "Tennessee."

The state legislature passed a bill last year saying whiskey can be labeled "Tennessee" only if it's made in the state from a mash that's ...

Amid all the of necessary analysis of what Russia's move into Crimea means geopolitically and strategically, it might also be good to remember Reshat Ametov.

Mr. Ametov was buried this week. He was 39 years old, married and the father of three young children.

He was last seen at a ...

"If you are squeamish
Don't prod the
beach rubble."

Those wise words from Sappho, the Greek woman lyric poet born around 610 B.C. came to mind this week when the College Board announced it will make the essay on the SAT exam optional.

The association says students ...

Harold Ramis used to call me now and then. Not to promote any project; the man behind Groundhog Day, Analyze This, SCTV and Caddyshack hardly needed to. And he certainly didn't call for my opinion on anything, except the Cubs.

Harold called to ask how he could get hold of ...

Sports are supposed to be separate from politics, but athletes and games can't always be kept separate from life and death.

Scores of people were killed in Ukraine this week, as the security forces of President Viktor Yanukovich opened fire on anti-government protesters in Kiev's Maidan, now called Independence Square.

Shirley Temple really could be as effervescent as a jolt of ginger ale and as cheery as a maraschino cherry in the kid's cocktail that is still ordered by her name. When Shirley Temple Black, the name she used after her marriage to Charles Black, laughed — and she liked ...

The Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, are certifiably the most expensive and allegedly staggeringly corrupt.

Upwards of $50 billion has been spent to turn a place that's been best known as a Black Sea beach resort, where rich Russians could warm themselves under palm trees during long Moscow winters, ...