Articles written by Barry Dredze

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What is Helium

About me - Barry Dredze

I approach my life as a sustained and serious attempt to share some laughs and to make some profound contribution to the advance of human civilization in general, and the American democratic experiment in particular.

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Society & Lifestyle > Subcultures The hippie subculture: 1 of 35
There was nothing like a Grateful Dead concert. While the line between audience and performance was a bit more pronounced than the folklore had suggested by the time I came along in the later 1970s, the Grateful Dead's scene was very much the dynamic medicine show caravan it is cracked up to be, complete with its own cultura... More..
Sports & Recreation > Recreational & Youth All time favorite sports: 4 of 27
There are three kinds of softball in America today, each determined by the circumference of the ball. There is 12" softball and there is 14" softball. But the only softball worth discussing in the greater metropolitan Chicagoland area is 16" softball or "mushball." This is the game I grew up with. The game my father grew up ... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Judaism Jewish: Personal identity and roots: 6 of 13

The question of whether or not Jewish identity is dependent upon the religious practice of Judaism is a tradition in itself. Columnist Jay Michaelson recently wrote a piece taking issue with the notion of Jewish peoplehood. In the April 16, 2008, issue of the Forward, Michaelson writes, "peoplehood is better understood negat... More..
Arts & Humanities > 19th Century US History How the Civil War changed America: 11 of 15
In 1848, an unsuccessful rebellion sought to unify the German states. In 1861, rebellion sought to split apart the United States. Suspicion and resentment of immigrants, including but not limited to the influx of German-speaking "Forty-eighters," or refugees from among the defeated rebels for a united and democratic Germanic... More..