Michael Farrell

This past Sunday, displaced Buffalonians in cities such as Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Charlotte, Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, Washington, D.C., and Manhattan gathered at tavern tables, stared at flat screen television sets, and engaged in a pastime that’s become as comforting as a Bills win (albeit amid a Bills loss). Over an afternoon full  Read More 

(Author's note: This is a holiday-themed piece from my old site, so just pretend the published date doesn't matter. Other than that, carry on.)

Black Friday is over. Cyber Monday has passed.

Both have come to stand as the holiday season’s starting pistol. Now, we’re knee-deep in the December action, full of  Read More 

The job of freelance writer sounds pretty sexy, right? The vocational title alone generates an aura of apparent mystery and nonconformity, and it’s also an occupation that generates commotion amongst people who have never freelanced anything.

If you spout the line “I’m a freelance writer” within mixed company, you’ll easily pique  Read More 

What does ‘Bona’ mean?

It’s a question a lot of now out-of-state St. Bonaventure graduates have had to answer. The letters adorn baseball caps and hooded sweatshirts, bumper stickers and coffee mugs. Back in the summer of 2009, my North Carolina-born graduate professor stopped his lecture mid-sentence when he was distracted by these confusing  Read More 

If I was a 13-year-old kid right now, I’d think U2’s Bono was a complete asshole.

He perpetually presents himself with messianic pomp. He wears studded-leather coats that have sleeves too long for his arms. He’s always wearing racing glasses, yet he’s never running anywhere. He wears boots with five-inch-thick  Read More