Heavy stuff: The strange attraction of metal
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
April 30, 2013
With its less-than-subtle sound and shock tactics, metal had an easy time gaining infamy. When rock bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple first decided to crank the amps up to 11, parents and politicians shuddered. Their heavy lyrics and heavier sound were said to promote sex, drugs and... Read More
The Asperger diaries
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
April 23, 2013
In 1944, Hans Asperger, an Austrian pediatrician, noted odd behaviors in some of his young patients. They were clumsy, shy and often ignored the basic rules of conversation: turn-taking, eye contact and inflection. They were also fixated on their favorite hobbies, which inspired long lectures... Read More
Getting graphic: The new comic art
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
April 17, 2013
Comics, along with TV, rock music and artificial sweeteners, have long been blamed for the corruption of world youth. They’ve been routinely dismissed as cheap, disposable entertainment with a target audience made mostly of adolescent boys. The veteran heroes of Marvel and DC – Batman,... Read More
Karaoke, the perfect cure for social anxiety
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
April 10, 2013
Music is all around us. We hear it at home, on TV and in our cars. At work we might hear its lesser cousin, Muzak, and with the advent of the MP3 player, we don’t have to spend a single second in silence. But even when we spend our days surrounded by songs, making music is a completely different... Read More
Too close for comfort: Urban violence hits Springfield schools
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
April 3, 2013
Coming from the Metro East area, I thought I had some perspective on urban crime. My hometown, Belleville, is a half-hour away from East St. Louis, the infamous neighborhood that once made St. Louis the most violent city in America. My high school, Belleville East, is one of the biggest and... Read More
Life lessons: The incredible benefits of studying abroad
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
March 27, 2013
Imagine that you’ve been offered a five month vacation: you’ll make friends from across the globe, earn school credit, and explore skills and interests you never knew you had. You’ll have more fun than freshman and sophomore year put together, and you can include it on your resume. ... Read More
Bugging OUT: Pest controllers profit from ‘insectophobia’
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
March 5, 2013
You heard it all in freshman biology: insects and spiders are an important part of our ecosystem. They’ve been on this planet a lot longer than you and I, and they outnumber us by the millions. You’ll find them underwater and in the air, in sewers, cities and your very own home. Resistance... Read More
Television, the knockout winner
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
February 26, 2013
In the past, films like Casablanca and Star Wars united viewers with different intellectual, cultural and economic backgrounds, defining generations and setting new standards of artistic quality. Television, meanwhile, was an acceptable choice if you had nothing better to do; crude, kitschy,... Read More
Peace, love, and piracy: How filesharing benefits the music community
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
February 20, 2013
Metallica, AC/DC and the U.S. Senate have more in common than you might suspect. They’re both made of aging, privileged white males, and they’re both determined to keep you from pirating, distributing or altering music in any way. With the recent additions to the U.S. Digital Millennium... Read More
Cyberspace disgrace: Reasons I don’t love online dating
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
February 12, 2013
From taxes to telemarketing, mankind has pushed nearly all of its dirty work onto computers. It’s no surprise, then, that they’re helping us with the dirtiest job of all: dating. Computer dating services have been around since the 1970s, pairing up couples based on age, income, hobbies... Read More
Tips on budgeting for college
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
February 6, 2013
A college degree is a necessity in today’s job market, but with tuition rates and student loan payments, it’s priced as a luxury. Between managing full course loads and working part-time jobs, modern college students face a different set of challenges. We’re poor, stressed, and overworked,... Read More
Is underage drinking still the biggest threat to American teens?
Robert Von Nordheim, Columnist
January 29, 2013
Old enough to drive, vote, and die in a war, but not old enough to buy beer. It’s an odd contradiction that many young Americans have struggled with since the National Minimum Drinking Age Act placed the limit at 21. For most teens, the drinking age is more of a suggestion than a rule. Polls... Read More
