The other day, as I was browsing my cookbook shelf, looking for something that didn’t actually require cooking, it occurred to me that I have a lot of books there that deserve a review.  I’m a big fan of cookbooks — I like serious, gourmet recipes, ethnic choices, theme cookbooks — all kinds of cookbooks!

Rock & Roll Diner (Menus and Music) by Sharon O’Connor is an older book, but diner food is always in style.  The cookbook came as a box set with diner music!  Mustang Sally, Blueberry Hill, and Where Did Our Love Go? all remind me of those little jukeboxes you find on diner tables.  The only problem: it’s a cassette tape.  I don’t even own a tape player anymore. [Read more →]

Tags: Lisa Reads, books & writing // Add Comment »

July 5, 2010
I dream I am working at a paramilitary version of a university at which there are many regulations. I have used the mustard wrong, so I am pulled from duty and forced to take a shower. I am given 36 seconds, but I’m told that the time started before I had my clothes off. I am then placed on “line duty.” My job is to herd people through the line of the local dinner theater. I have subordinates who are required to keep people moving through three sets of turnstiles in an orderly manner.

[Read more →]

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By now, this article has been completely ripped apart, picked apart, debated, agreed with and utterly denounced. At this point I’ve read “All Joy And No Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting,” and I have to say — what a total piece of shit.

I don’t know anything about the writer and to be honest I made no attempt at learning a thing about her because I wouldn’t waste my time.

Listen — you don’t want to have kids? More power to you. But those of you who go out there, get married and have kids — and then blame all of your problems on the fact that you had kids — are total assholes. You’re selfish, ego-maniacal douchebags. And deep down, I think you know it. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, going parental, trusted media & news // 3 Comments »

A wonderful cast, an intelligent and funny screenplay and fine direction more than compensate for a few implausible plot twists in The Kids Are All Right. I found the characters compelling and parts of this film made me laugh harder than I expected. This film is not perfect, but it is very good. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies // Add Comment »

Bristol, Bristol, Bristol. The story of your charmed teenage years could have been taken right off the cover of a dog-eared Sweet Valley High paperback. You met a guy you liked, you had unprotected sex because condoms make Jesus cry, your mother forced you and your swollen belly to make an appearance at the RNC, and then your baby daddy abandoned you, trashed your family in Vanity Fair, and came crawling back with a diamond ring and five pounds of freshly-killed moose meat. I mean, really, what little girl hasn’t dreamt of a future like that? I get it, honey, you fell in love with the dream. And now I’m going to wake you up. Come crawl into Auntie Meg’s lap, Bristol Palin; it’s time for some tough love. [Read more →]

Tags: Meg gives advice to famous people, politics & government // 3 Comments »

I love short stories and I truly love short stories about crime.     

Back in May I wrote a column about a collection of short stories called Boston Noir. At the end of my column I asked why there was no Philly noir collection and an editor at Akashic Books subsequently informed me that a collection of Philly crime noir stories would soon be published.

So while I wait for the Philly collection, I read another one of Akashic’s noir series, Manhattan Noir 2, The Classics.

[Read more →]

Tags: on thrillers and crime // Add Comment »

Man v. Dignity

Audience v. Stomach

Man v. Reputation

[Read more →]

Tags: recipes & food, television // 1 Comment »

Guess why the rock band Kings of Leon abandoned their gig in St. Louis after three songs. Bloody mosh pit? Misfiring dragon-shaped fireballs? Dragged off stage for lewd behavior involving honeybees and a flowering dogwood?

Nope. It was pigeons. Pooping pigeons.

[Read more →]

Tags: music // 2 Comments »

Bryant Simon, author of Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks, is a history professor at Temple University in Philadelphia and has spent years researching the coffee chain and drinking coffee at Starbucks. His book focuses on just how carefully Starbucks manages its image and in-store environment.

Anyone laboring under the delusion that Starbucks exists to feed the hungry and solve the world’s problems will learn from Simon’s book that Starbucks is just a company, out to make as much money as it can by providing customers with what they want.  [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, recipes & food // 4 Comments »

Athletes make loads of money. Most of the rest of us do not. These are basic facts. It is natural to envy what we don’t have, and even to resent those who seem more fortunate than ourselves. Despite this, most sports fans are okay with the fact that many of the athletes for whom we root are millionaires many times over. We take so much enjoyment from sports, we have not only made peace with this inequity, but we often actually support it, advocating that the teams we love spend even more than they already spend. There is an assumed contract with the fans, though, that goes along with the gigantic contracts the players sign. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports // 2 Comments »

10. “It’s so hot, I just killed a guy for asking, ‘Hot enough for ya?’.”

9. “It’s so hot, Mel Gibson actually appreciates the cold shoulder his ex-girlfriend is giving him.”

8. “It’s so hot, the cows are giving evaporated milk.”
[Read more →]

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, ends & odd, environment & nature // Add Comment »

The last Comic-Con I attended was way back in 2007, when I still had a comic book writing gig, a fairly big one, actually, and when I went to the bars and parties after hours I could say, “Hi, I’m Ricky and I write _____,” and people actually knew what I was talking about. I admit I felt like a big man. It was a fun time.

I mean, it was fun going to the bars and parties after Comic-Con had closed. Comic-Con itself had become the opposite of fun.

[Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, ends & odd // 3 Comments »

Buckle up kids, this is from ICE’s own website, discussing the Federal program designed to train State and local officers in immigration enforcement.  The authorization for this was given in 1996. 

Sort of an FYI to those of you claiming that Arizona does not have the liberty to enforce its new immigration law.

[Read more →]

Tags: politics & government // 2 Comments »

When Falls the Coliseum is looking for bloggers to post commentaries, essays, rants, satire, and reviews about current events, politics, entertainment, culture, and many other topics from a broad range of personal and political perspectives. We appreciate both serious discussion and merciless mockery. We like humor — the funny kind. If you’re interested in being a regular contributor, visit our submissions page and tour our site (see FAQ, Welcome, and History). We don’t care if you are libertarian, liberal, conservative, other, or don’t pay attention to politics. As long as you can write posts that interest readers and you want to do so regularly, we’d like to hear from you. We’re looking to increase our coverage of movies, books, TV, video games, celebrity news, pop culture, politics, current events, social issues, online oddities.

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I admit it: I miss the World Cup. Partly this is because it enabled me to go to a bar at 10am on a weekday without it being seen as proof I have a problem. In part it’s the absence of commercials and timeouts — once a half starts, it goes on for at least 45 minutes — which is not the case with any American sport, with the worst offender being an NBA game in the 4th quarter (new Popes are elected in less time). And finally, I genuinely came to enjoy watching it. Here are the things I came to cherish most about the beautiful game: [Read more →]

Tags: sports // 1 Comment »

Proust’s Overcoat: The True Story of One Man’s Passion for All Things Proust is an interesting little read — a case study in obsession.  It is the story of a book lover, his connections to the Proust family, and his obsession with preserving the author’s writings and possessions.  Author Lorenza Foschini does an excellent job of pulling the threads of this story together into a fascinating — if short — read. [Read more →]

Tags: Lisa Reads, books & writing // Add Comment »

A man has been convicted of rape by deception. Let’s leave aside the specifics of this case. It’s from Israel. A Jewish woman had sex with a man who had ”introduced himself as a Jewish bachelor seeking a serious relationship.” Introducing himself this way caused them to have “consensual sex in a nearby building.” It turns out that the man was Palestinian. Not so much Jewish. He’ll now spend 18 months in prison. The issue of rape by deception in this particular case can’t be separated from Israeli politics and the unique situation there, so let’s put this particular case aside and consider rape by deception generally.

The judges in the Israeli case said that the sex was “obtained under false pretenses.” We might wonder how often it is obtained any other way. [Read more →]

Tags: his & hers, on the law // 5 Comments »

July 9, 2010
I dream there is a gathering at my very mod home, and a friend of my mother’s who sees herself as a nature lover is playing too aggressively with a pet snake. The snake bites her in the mouth and leaves fangs in her tongue. We beg this woman to go to the emergency room, but she just pulls the fangs out of her tongue and goes on with her day. The snake is left without teeth, and it keeps trying to bite the head off of a chicken. The chicken seems to be enjoying having its head in the snake’s mouth and repeatedly pulling it out.

[Read more →]

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When it comes to talking books, I’d be hard-pressed to find a better correspondent than regular WFTC contributor Frank Wilson, who was Book Editor for the Phildelphia Inquirer for eight years … I’m looking forward to Frank’s review of these books.

“How to get boys to read?” asks this report from AP’s Leanne Italie. “Try a book on farts.”

The article goes on to report that parents — and some teachers — hope gross-out humor can close a gender gap in reading achievement. It focuses upon teacher and author Ray Sabini, who self-published SweetFarts in 2008 under the name Raymond Bean, and is set to release Sweet Farts, Rippin’ it Old-School, next month.
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Tags: books & writing // 2 Comments »

The world moves on a woman’s hips, says David Byrne, or maybe it was the Weymouths but we know what they are talking about. That taper, swell and taper is hypnotic, notoriously it is used in advertising and product design to subliminally trip primordial triggers. Is it no more than vestigal reproductive instincts? Science seems to demonstrate this geometric construct to be nearly a bedrock of reality; not quite as solid as the speed of light but close enough to earn the name Normal or Standard Deviation.

And it isn’t just solar intensity or SAT scores that follow this template. Like so many other aspects of finance and economics, a Standard Deviation is historically demonstrated in the relationship between tax rates and tax revenues. [Read more →]

Tags: money, politics & government // 4 Comments »

Becoming a mother was a life-changing experience for me. And not in the super fake, “parenthood is magical, it is a gift, a miracle and yes, I am over the moon and my child is the most beautiful, sweet, magical baby in the world” kind of way. (Yes, I’m talking to you, Bethenny Frankel, even though I love you and the housewives.) Rather, motherhood changed my life in that it completely shifted the way I perceived other women.

[Read more →]

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I like the idea behind Inception more than I like the film itself. Considering its box office success and positive word of mouth, perhaps I am in the minority. Inception maintained a high level of excitement throughout and the action sequences and effects are first rate. I enjoyed the film while I watched it, but found it eminently forgettable. Why all the fuss? [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies // 2 Comments »

Most Web sites have “morning links” or some variation thereof.

That’s not my bag, though.

I prefer a “link cage.” The cage is frequently occupied by high-ranking members of the Internet. Typically, Paul Krugman is there, having his thicket of back hair deforested by Eric Boehlert. Other times I spot Tariq Ramadan, subsumed in the oaken arms of sensitive street poet Henry Rollins. (FYI: The cage tends to be filled with gorgeous members of the fairer sex, many of whom are Not Safe For Work.)

Anyway, the great thing about links is that listing them requires zero effort. It’s the easiest way to blog — a laughable, lazy undertaking.

Here’s my latest batch.

[Read more →]

Tags: ends & odd // 2 Comments »

A few months ago, I discussed the ineptitude of modern-day journalism. Specifically, I picked on some blowhards and relics from the Columbia Journalism Review.

Well, the latest issue of CJR arrived in my mailbox the other day, and in addition to the obligatory tear-stained “obits” for downsized reporters, it has an inexcusably lazy piece of writing by Alissa Quart.

In a story called “The Trouble With Experts,” Quart begins by excoriating Jenny McCarthy, the brain-dead figurehead of the anti-vaccine movement. Now, I’m fine with that. McCarthy deserves all the criticism she gets. She’s a menace to public health.

But Quart’s next move is to make the sort of moronic comparison that only a “fair-minded” journalist can in providing “balanced” and “objective” reporting.  She characterizes the acclaimed medical blogger “Orac” as the pro-vaccine equivalent of McCarthy. In verbose, pompous fashion, she suggests that Orac is no more qualified to speak on medical issues than McCarthy is. [Read more →]

Tags: health & medical, trusted media & news // 4 Comments »

In the July 14 issue of the Times Literary Supplement, David Wheatley begins his review of Letters of Louis MacNeice by noting that “the Greeks thought of the past as stretching out before them while the future waited behind their backs.”

I am not sure if I ever knew this, and had long since forgotten it, but I do know that I have often thought this way. It has long seemed to me that when we are born we get in line behind all those who are already here, and those who come after get in line behind those of us who have already arrived.

This is but one of a number of odd ways I have of looking at time. [Read more →]

Tags: getting older, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson // Add Comment »

Professional baseball players are generally great athletes. Sure, there have been a few major league players that look less than athletic. Fernando Valenzuela, from way back in the Eighties, comes to mind, although he was actually a much better athlete than his appearance suggested. Most of them, though, look the part. They play a difficult game at the highest level, and are generally pretty fit. Sure, injuries are part of the game, as these guys are exerting themselves, running, diving, sliding, throwing, and swinging with great abandon. We expect these players to be supermen. This week, several players proved to be  much less than extraordinary, injuring themselves in a variety of unusual and somewhat comical ways. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports // Add Comment »

10. Your locker mate in the Minors was Ty Cobb.

9. Your seeing-eye dog won’t stop barking at the catcher.

8. Instead of using pine tar on your bat, you’re using Super Poligrip.
[Read more →]

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, sports // Add Comment »

The recent financial reform bill that passed the House and Senate was so important that even the people who created it don’t know exactly what it will do. And we can debate all day what’s the most important part of the bill, but I’d like to suggest that it’s the ban on the despicable practice known as “Movie Futures Trading” (MFT) that will have the most positive affect on the country.

MFT is the process by which people bet on how much money a work of art — a film — will “earn” at the box office. Much as the stock market speculators nearly caused the collapse of our entire financial system, so to does this crass gambling enterprise threaten the very foundation of an industry that is vital to our economy and to our standing in the world. Interim MPAA president Bob Pisano put it best when he said:

“After proposals for these speculative gaming platforms came to light, our industry came together to oppose these plans with an unprecedented coalition that included entertainment industry workers, creators, independent producers and distributors, studios and theater owners. We are pleased with final passage of this important legislation. Congress has acted decisively to ban proposed trading in box office futures and to make important reforms in the country’s financial regulatory system. We applaud the work the bill’s authors have done, and of course, the many Senators and Members who supported the provisions to prevent movie futures trading.”

Essentially, it encourages people to “root against” certain films — films produced by studios that already have a hard time ensuring their products make money.

[Read more →]

Tags: movies, politics & government // 9 Comments »

I understand the nature of a changing economy enough to appreciate that some people are thrown out of work and have a difficult time getting back on their feet. The government doesn’t make it any easier no matter what they say because Washington only encourages continued unemployment by effectively paying people not to work. Therefore, I thought about an alternative system, one that would provide a cushion and yet not be a drag on the taxpayer. In fact, my idea provides greater flexibility and much greater potential for those who behave responsibly. No, it’s not perfect but it’s better than what we have. [Read more →]

Tags: money, politics & government // Add Comment »

According to Nancy Pelosi and plenty of other Democrats who get their paychecks signed by Tim Geithner, the source of all this consternation, or at least that which pulsates within their own party, is due to the glacial slowness the Progressive Reform Agenda has taken. Why, we have gone nearly a week without an unread thirty-pound piece of legislation being passed without debate so they do have a point. But when you consult the tea leaves, meaning the polls, there is scant interest in what the Dems are actually proposing. Their hoped for hot buttons have cooled, even among their own electoral base. The time is ripe then to toss a hand grenade, an incendiary, into their tent. I propose here a program based on stated Republican principles addressing the thorny topic of cash reparations to our african-american citizens for slavery. [Read more →]

Tags: money, on the law // 3 Comments »