The Washington Post
May 25, 2003

I recently spent half an hour watching a teenage boy play the current No. 1-selling video game in the world. As I looked on, he cheerfully killed six police officers by shooting them in the stomach with a shotgun, broke the necks of four others, stabbed two people with a stake and participated in several drive-by shootings.   Read More

The Washington Post
July 26, 1995

I NEVER really understood fairy tales. Even as a child, I knew that wolves and princes were not what they appeared to be: Their true meaning was always hidden, veiled, just beyond my grasp. But now, curled up on a window seat in a white room filled with wicker furniture, I am finally getting the straight scoop on the symbolism of stories.   Read More

The Washington Post
January 31, 1996

Nothing is quite expected about Staunton Hill, one of the few castles within driving distance of Washington. One does not expect a castle on this side of the Atlantic, but there it is — an antebellum Gothic revival fantasy built by the heir to what was then the third largest fortune in America. Read More