OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: On hallucination
I'm sensing a theme here. It's still early days, but thus far with two words of the year announced, artificial intelligence is the through line.
Stories by Brenda Looper
-
![]()
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Still grateful
It's been a rough few years for me, with the deaths of loved ones, huge unexpected expenses that sapped my savings, and creeping depression and anxiety. Still,…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: AI’ll be back
Every so often, I feel like I'm living in the "Terminator" universe. Not so much because life is grim (and no, I don't believe unstoppable cyborgs are after me…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Losing Corey
Two years ago Sunday, I lost my first best friend. My brother Corey was the closest to my age, and I spent probably the first two years of my life being his sh…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Threads of hope
After last week's column about jerks, I feel the need to talk about something good on social media. Mark Zuckerberg/Meta actually did something I like.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Don’t be a jerk
It used to be a safe assumption that pretty much everyone's default setting was "kind" and "polite," except for those people who had hatred and malice seeping …
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Word to the nerd
With an actual chill in the air, I can finally say it's autumn, which is one of my favorite times of year, and not just because of the leaves turning and it be…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Engineered to fail
There are people who will never be happy with anything this or any other responsible newspaper does, and a comment on last week's column was indicative of why.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: We need news
When I was growing up about 20 miles south of Fort Smith, I had multiple newspapers to choose from: the daily Southwest Times Record, plus the weekly Mansfield…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Role of the troll
It's hard sometimes to understand the people who are perpetually ticked off by ... well, let's be honest ... anything that doesn't fit their worldview and/or m…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: A better world
Sometimes you just need a reminder of what life is, or should be, about.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Old and tired
Is anyone else exhausted, or it is just me?
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Good eatin’
Editor's note: Brenda Looper usually writes her columns on Mondays, and since this Monday was Labor Day, she decided to take a little break. The original versi…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Basic respect
Civility seems to be the word of the moment, but I can't blame some for being skeptical of calls from certain quarters to be kind in light of current criminal …
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Art of kindness
In summer, I notice I tend to get stuck on the issue of incivility a lot. I get it, it's hot and we're all cranky (frankly, I worry about some of those people …
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Not irreplaceable?
Longtime readers know I'm often easily amused, especially when it comes to words. Soooo ... imagine my face when I saw on Facebook the other day a screenshot o…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Civility’s right
Sunday afternoon, I headed to the grocery store with a friend so we could get what we each needed for the week. We should have taken what sounded like gunshots…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Definition cloudy
As much as I sometimes decry social media, I admit there are some accounts that are always worth a follow. For the Word Nerd, following the Merriam-Webster dic…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Keep your cool
Friday's storm, while a bit scary at times (it got really dark where I was in midtown Little Rock, so much so that a closet was cleared out and helmets put at …
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Name that tune
It's still hot, and that makes me more easily distracted.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Antisocial media
My opinion on social media has never really been in doubt if you've read me for very long. While it has great capabilities to bring people together and inspire…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: In full sploot
What did I do on the Fourth? Who knows? This was written beforehand and I'm not psychic.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Change is slow
Since summer began (and even before), it has reminded me why it's my least favorite season. The storm Sunday evening, just a few hours after I left a friend's …
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Is it protected?
After my column last week, a friend emailed to let me know I'd left an important word out of an early paragraph when I was talking about rights and responsibil…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: On responsibility
Everyone talks a lot about their rights and what they're entitled to; too few talk about the responsibilities those rights entail.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: It’s my fight too
Any time we head into a month designated for recognition of a specific group (Black History Month, Women's History Month, etc.), there's usually some dissent o…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Its real purpose
People may think I exaggerate the effects of politics on our lives. And yet, it's so hard to find an area where it hasn't stuck its grimy fingers. It's worse t…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Find your people
If you're lucky, you have a lot of friends. If you're very lucky, you have a small group of friends who are more like family than anything else.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Taking a troll
Last Wednesday, a friend (I call him Snek Man) DM'd me, quite concerned with what he was seeing on the newspaper's website.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: It’s just logical
Whataboutism, red herrings, ad hominem attacks and other logical fallacies were alive in the comments that followed my column about recent shootings last week,…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Life on the edge
Friday night, about the time I was settling into bed at a friend's house after having enjoyed a night out at Argenta Community Theater's production of "Cindere…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: The cat’s meow
I could probably easily write about the departures of Tucker Carlson from Fox News and Don Lemon from CNN. However, I don't have cable, and even if I did, I wo…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: On writing better
Everyone needs an editor.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Reality bites
It's hard not to get frustrated with social media when you're firmly grounded in reality.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: To be understood
Despite living out in the country south of Fort Smith for the first 19 years of my life, I've never had much of a Southern accent. That came in handy for what …
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Such scaredy-cats
Spending time with fur-nephew Charlie always puts me in a better mood, especially so as the seasons change (though that's more by the calendar than the actual …
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Time after time
Time is weird. It crawls when you're doing something you don't want to do (especially if it's something you have to do, like register your car at the revenue o…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Women of honor
At a party to celebrate a friend's birthday this past weekend, I was struck by how many strong women were on that balcony.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Losing faith
One of the best ways to lose your faith in humanity is to check social media after a notable public figure has announced a health struggle. Sure, you're free t…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: It’s an outrage!
I didn't watch the Super Bowl. I haven't in a long while, even for the commercials (besides, the EDS "Herding Cats" commercial from 2000 will always be the bes…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Still off-track
What's normal anymore?
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Out of the gutter
Back when I was on the night copy desk, my boss would cringe a bit when I told a green new hire that one of the copy editor's jobs is to "think dirty before th…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Down, not out
That one-two punch really knocked me for a loop, and during my birthday week.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Woulda, coulda
At 11:30 Friday night, I finally was able to turn off my laptop and go to bed.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Gets our GOAT
Eventually I'll submit a word or phrase to be banished by Lake Superior State University and it will actually be picked. Not this time, though.
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Another year gone
The end of the year always brings up thoughts on the previous 12 months and what we hope will be better in the year to come. And, if you're so inclined (I'm no…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: What’s important
A reader recently reminded me of a Christmas column I wrote that she enjoyed, so I thought I'd share an updated version of what was originally published Dec. 2…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Words up
The last couple of columns have been devoted to Words of the Year from the biggies, Merriam-Webster (gaslighting) and Oxford Languages (goblin mode). This week…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Goin’ goblin
Oh, how I would love to take credit for Oxford Languages' announcement of "goblin mode" as its Word of the Year. Alas, my pointing people to the site last week…
-
![]()
OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Word of honor
I really don't like getting political; I'm cranky enough on my own, but add politics as now practiced? Yeesh.
