Category: Henry’s Head

As an opinion writer for this newspaper, I’ve had the distinct privilege of making readers laugh, confused, upset and moved. Typically, I’m not as serious as I look in the picture above, but The Free Press has done so much for me over the past three years that I can’t help but feel somber talking…

Boston Marathon bombing I’d been trying to write this piece for the last few days, but I kept getting distracted by news coverage of the Boston marathon bombing. I had the document open on my computer, ready to explain how personal and visceral the attack was to New England residents, but the rapidly evolving story…

Unnecessary student censorship of the week Three weeks ago, art students Lydia Brown and Sarah McCullough received an administrative complaint about their mural that was displayed on the top floor of the New Science Building’s Ci2 lab in Portland, a complaint that resulted in the removal of the mural. The mural depicts a bare-breasted woman…

Vague blog of the week USM President Theo Kalikow has started a bi-weekly online blog that she has titled “Theo’s Rants” where she sounds off on a question that “I sense is out there,” as she states in the introduction to her first post from Feb. 26. The bravely worded first question? –– “What the…

Disappointing state political decision of the week Like a kid holding their breath until they get what they want, Governor Paul LePage threatened on Friday to veto all proposed bills that come across his desk until his hospital debt plan is passed by lawmakers. LePage’s plan is to renegotiate the state of Maine’s contracts on…

National controversy of the week Trustworthy, loyal, helpful – but not gay. The Boy Scouts of America have postponed a vote to lift the ban on including gay members. Prospective gay Scouts who would like to join will now have to wait until May, when the next vote will be held. The ban has been…

As someone who is currently experiencing the financial pitfalls of college debt, I can easily understand the anxiety that many students face as a result of that debt. One of the biggest points of contention during the presidential race this year involved financial aid for college students and the increasing amount of debt that college…

Shuan hesitated as he started to talk about the night in Tehran when he was stabbed. He had gone looking for a man who owed him money. He found him. “He treated me like…” he trailed off. Then the man took out a knife and stabbed him in the forearm. Shuan was still living in…

Juicing leads to losing – in baseball This year, not a single MLB player received the required 75 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to be elected into the Hall of Fame. This is only the eighth time this has happened since the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s inception in…

There is nothing in this world that pisses me off more than trolling, bullying or the general lack of decency in conversation both online or in person. I can’t stand people who make comments about other people with the sole intention of making them feel bad. Trolling has become a recent phenomenon with the boom…

Every movie production company has its ups and downs. Warner Brothers, Paramount, The Weinstein Company, you name it; the misses actually outnumber the hits. In all of film history, there has never been a production company that’s been perfectly consistent in putting out high-quality movies. Never, that is, until Pixar came along. For the last…

Every new year is a chance to start over, to wipe off all the figurative grime and gunk clean from life’s slate. We are given a chance to set resolutions to better our lives and, if diligent, the lives of others as well. But not this year. Oh, no. This is our final year. This…