» Maddie Shannon

I know that many Americans, especially those of us who live on the West coast, don’t particularly care about “The Firm,” but as we approach the first wedding anniversary of Prince William of Wales and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, let me explain to you why the most famous family in the world is worth caring about (no matter which side of the pond you live on).

I have four dollars in my wallet, just one dollar short of getting tofu at Panda Express. While this is a frustrating situation (because I am quite hungry as I’m writing this), I realize that I spent most of my money on Saturday when I was out with friends. And while I was spending this money, I knew that I might be a little hungry on Tuesday afternoon when I’m writing my next column. C’est la vie.

There is one day out of the entire year I look forward to most. It’s not Christmas, not my birthday, not Arbor Day (you see, I’m vegan). My favorite day of the entire year is Oscar Day.

Last year was a great year for the commonwealth.

Since the nuptials between Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, last April, Americans have not been able to get enough of movies depicting the royal family.

Bridesmaids is a terrible movie. Despite my being an SNL fan, I thoroughly disliked Kristin Wiig’s screenplay — I thought it was one of the most obnoxious movies I’ve ever seen.

Let me ask you a question, Carrie Bradshaw-style: Is America the greatest country in the world? If someone were to ask me that question today, I wouldn’t be able to give them a straight answer. I don’t know if it is or not, simply because I haven’t been to every country in the world.

God help us Twilighters. If you think about it, Twilight is actually a screwed-up mess that, if you’re sensitive, can be interpreted to condone adultery, murder and illegal immigration. Besides the possibly political issues these books represent, some of the more off-topic ideas are surely things that we can all agree are really, really big no-nos.

As a columnist and a reporter, I’ve gotten a lot of backlash for things I’ve written. Dissent and criticism are always a part of writing, no matter what the medium is. I respect the criticism I’ve received from readers because it has helped me to understand the difference between an opinion column and a legitimate news story.

A little over a month ago, Professor X, an education columnist for Newsweek magazine’s website dailybeast.com, evaluated a study recently released by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.