Society & Culture

Increasingly catchy terminology is used to package government missions and policies. Consider "war on terror" and "no child left behind," for instance. Linguist Geoff Nunberg offers his thoughts on the subject.

Bill Murray and his deadpan delivery star in a Jim Jarmusch film about an aging Don Juan who learns a 19-year-old son he has never met is looking for him. A strong cast offers support.

The film Hustle & Flow follows the story of a Memphis pimp who dreams of becoming a rapper. Relative newcomer Craig Brewer wrote and directed the film, which won the 2005 Audience Award at Sundance. Brewer and star Terrence Howard discuss the gritty movie.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tells why he likes the soundtrack for the Preston Sturges film Unfaithfully Yours, now out on DVD.

Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You, aruges that rather than turning our brains to mush, entertainment options like video games are so complex that our brains rise to the challenge.

Journalist Karl Fleming's new book is Son of the Rough South: An Uncivil Memoir. As a civil rights reporter for Newsweek in the 1960s, he wrote about major events such as the Birmingham church bombing, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the murders of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Miss. While at the 1966 riots in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Fleming was severely beaten.

Wedding Crashers stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two divorce mediators spending their spare time pursuing women at weddings. The comedy features what the reviewer describes as "crackerjack timing" by the co-stars.

Critic-at-large John Powers says that two current blockbusters, Batman Begins and War of the Worlds, are deeply influenced by America's post-Sept. 11 obsession with terrorism.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the use of the phrase "stiff upper lip" when referring to the British, especially in reports of the July 7 London bombings.

Don Roos wrote and directed the new film Happy Endings, starring Tom Arnold, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow and Laura Dern. Roos, who also directed The Opposite of Sex and Bounce, is known for creating dysfunctional characters who bump into one another in unpredictable ways.

Dr. Francis DuFrayne is a gastroenterologist in his 50s at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He is also a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He recently returned from a six-month tour of duty in Iraq, where he was called up to treat wounded soldiers. While he was in Iraq, his son was also serving there in the Marines.

Paul Feig is the creator of the cult classic TV series Freaks and Geeks. His new book Superstud: Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin, is the follow-up to his 2002 book Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence. Feig was an actor before moving on to writing for TV and film.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Me and You and Everyone We Know, starring performance artist Miranda July.

Judas Priest has a new album out, Angel of Retribution, and is on tour this summer. Originally from Birmingham, England, Judas Priest pioneered the heavy metal sound in the 1970s and '80s. Lead singer Halford left the band in 1991, citing internal tension, and in 1998, he disclosed that he is gay during an interview on MTV. Nicknamed the "Metal God," Halford returned to Judas Priest in 2003.

The legendary jazzman turns 87 on July 31, 2005. He and his trio have just released a new CD, For My Father, and he joins John Patitucci and Jack De Johnette for the Great Jazz Trio's upcoming CD, S'Wonderful.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg discusses the "etymythologies" of words, including those used as racial epithets.

Writer, actor, lawyer Edwin John Wintle has written his first book, a memoir about what happened when his 13-year old niece came to live with him. His book is Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir.

As a columnist for The New York Times, Frank Rich writes about the intersection of culture and news. His pieces -- often touching on politics, religion and the arts -- are a fixture of the paper's Sunday editions.