Countdown to Nada

By Katia Bachko   Aug 25, 2008 at 04:52 PM

CNN has a huge countdown to the official gavel banging--"You don't want to miss this," Wolf Blitzer said--and meanwhile, in... More

Cirque du So What

By Katia Bachko   Aug 25, 2008 at 03:34 PM

Is it just me, or does the decor at the Pepsi Center sort of look like a Cirque du Soleil... More

Lunch-Bucket Limbo

By Katia Bachko   Aug 25, 2008 at 01:06 PM

Ah, labels. They’re good for summing up large, complex populations with a snazzy phrase and reducing people’s lives to an... More

John McCain: Man of Mystery

Two columnists. One question. Who is John McCain?

By Katia Bachko   Aug 22, 2008 at 05:53 PM

One day John McCain is a Maverick. The next day he’s an Enigma. (Day Three: He’s a Shapeshifter). In the... More

Cross Words on Crosswords

By Katia Bachko   Aug 21, 2008 at 02:40 PM

Slate's front page story today addresses the all-important cultural question, why Ron Rosenbaum thinks that crossword puzzles are stupid ?... More

Facts Are Fungible, But Character Is Sacred

A strange excuse for Obama’s ad

By Katia Bachko   Aug 20, 2008 at 06:18 PM

Factcheck.org and other outlets point out today that Barack Obama’s recent ad, “Fix the Economy,” uses outdated sound bites out... More

Why Fireworks Matter

Looking back on the opening ceremonies

By Katia Bachko   Aug 19, 2008 at 03:33 PM

Last week, it was reported that during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing games, broadcasters used footage of fireworks that... More

Truth in the Eye of the Beholder

By Katia Bachko   Aug 15, 2008 at 05:50 PM

To be sure, photo manipulation has long done away with the adage, seeing is believing. And it didn’t take the... More

Michael Mania or Phelps Phantasmagoria or…

By Katia Bachko   Aug 15, 2008 at 02:45 PM

The name of this WaPo piece, Entirely Michael Phelps-free Column!, just reminded me about the insane number of Phelps-related stories.... More

The Emperor of Ice Cream

By Katia Bachko   Aug 15, 2008 at 11:41 AM

Much has been made of Obama’s cold feelings toward frozen treats , which is maybe why the senator let himself... More

Medal Math

By Katia Bachko   Aug 15, 2008 at 11:02 AM

Numbers can mislead. That’s the oldie-but-goodie lesson from this week’s Wall Street Journal article which reports that the international media... More

We Ask The Ethicist

Randy Cohen’s take on the Edwards affair

By Katia Bachko   Aug 13, 2008 at 12:12 PM

When you’ve got an ethics question, there’s only one place to turn. We asked Randy Cohen, "The Ethicist" at The... More

Cliché Cornucopia

By Katia Bachko   Aug 8, 2008 at 08:19 PM

The opening ceremonies of the Olympics have been on for all twenty minutes, and I'm already on cliché overload: Here... More

Beware the Cliché

By Katia Bachko   Aug 8, 2008 at 05:58 PM

When dealing with the unknown one is tempted to reach for the familiar. That is why the cliché, deplored as... More

Bad Air = Dead Air

By Katia Bachko   Aug 8, 2008 at 12:44 PM

Right, so it turns out that the polluted air in Beijing is not only bad for the athletes, it's also... More