Articles by Steve Mullen
Steve Mullen: A pop quiz for the first quarter
We’re at the end of the first quarter of 2010, so we’re having a little pop quiz to see if you’ve been paying attention.
Steve Mullen: What would Ulysses do?
It’s worth taking a tour of Mississippi State University’s newly digitized version of “The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant,” a chunk of the president’s writings and other Grant-related items now housed there.
Steve Mullen: When the power goes out
A Titanic clap of thunder jolts me awake with a start. That one must’ve been right on top of us. A second peal a minute later knocks out the power. There’s a moment of darkness before WCBI’s generator kicks on, allowing the building’s sign to throw a little artificial light down Fifth Street.
Steve Mullen: Goodbye Barry, with regrets
A recent New York Times article, “Depression’s upside,” explores something known as rumination, the thought process that defines depression. Some people are more prone to rumination — which essentially is stewing over things — than others.
Steve Mullen: Lessons from Admiral Ackbar
Recent events at Ole Miss make me wonder if someone broke into the marijuana farm and is handing out free samples.
Steve Mullen: Lessons from John Jordan
Lots of Mississippi school districts are in bad shape — 52 out of 152 are either ranked at risk of failing, or failing, according to the state Department of Education. 37 more are on the bubble. And for John Jordan, that means business is a-boomin’.
Steve Mullen: Drew and Whodat: A fish story
A Facebook friend made the comment today that with the New Orleans Saints’ win in the Super Bowl, the name Drew is sure to take off. Expectant moms and dads everywhere will be looking to impart some Drew Brees magic on their offspring.
Steve Mullen: Let them eat cake
Rep. Gary Chism told a story on a talk radio program a couple months ago, shortly after the governor released his proposed budget that called for The W to merge with Mississippi State University.
Steve Mullen: Elected, appointed — or none at all?
We often find ourselves choosing sides. Dogs or cats. Coke or Pepsi. New Orleans or Indianapolis. Jay or Conan.
Steve Mullen: For MUW students, tangible grief in cyberspace
The wildly popular film “Avatar” takes us to the fictional alien planet Pandora, a place where all the plants and animals are bound, synoptically, as if the planet forms a single brain. Essentially, a leaf doesn’t fall off a tree without the rest of the planet knowing about it. When an animal dies, it lives on — or at least its essence does, there for all the other creatures to plug in and relive its presence.
Steve Mullen: So I’m not smarter than a fourth grader. So what?
We crossed another of those parenting milestones this week, and to our credit, we were smart enough to notice.
Steve Mullen: A cold day for The W
It’s fitting that the Legislature is convening on what is predicted to be the coldest week of the year — maybe the coldest week in Mississippi ever.
Steve Mullen: ’Twas the Night before Christmas (in Columbus)
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Columbus,
Not a creature was stirring, not a possum among us.
The stockings were hung by the Severstal stacks with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
Steve Mullen: A ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ to remember
Most of us probably have a single Christmas that stands out.
Steve Mullen: Be thankful, shop local
For many, this long weekend is about family and friends, turkey and football, and most of all, gathering around a table and giving thanks. It’s also about shopping.
Steve Mullen: Keeping Uncle Haley out of the kitchen
We thought, over the past several years with two elementary-age kids, that we’d seen all the cutesy Thanksgiving-themed things students could possibly produce. Of course, there’s the perennial favorite: Drawings and cutouts of turkeys made by tracing their hands. We’ve seen the Indian feathers and headbands from construction paper, and the Pilgrim hats and buckles. We’ve seen turkeys made out of pine cones and Coke cans.
Steve Mullen: Denialism and The W
In his new book “Denialism,” author Michael Specter explores how, on occasion, “an entire segment of society, often struggling with the trauma of change, turns away from reality in favor of a more comfortable lie.”
Denialism is all around us. We often ignore reams of evidence, if it contradicts something we find more comfortable or easier to believe.
Steve Mullen: Burned over Burns Bottom?
Well, at least we could say we got close this time.
This community has talked about building a soccer complex for years. After working to vet several candidate sites over the past several months, the city and county finally struck a deal on locating a soccer complex and community park in Burns Bottom — not just a bunch of fields, but a plan to keep the land’s natural beauty intact. After out-of-town planners and architects showed us the property’s potential, most dissenting voices came around.
Steve Mullen: Amid wrestling over MUW’s name, the 900-pound tag team in the room
As the need to reach a consensus on a new identity for Mississippi University for Women becomes ever more urgent and more dire, I find it pleasing to imagine all the different sides of the debate crowded face to face, in one arena, going at it. I can picture a wrestling ring — or better yet, a cage match.