At the end of my last column, I asked whether the “variable” would prove to be an event that could change everything. The one thing that could have a domino effect on the outcomes of every event that followed. I wondered if this changeable event is what Ben and Widmore have been fighting for control of. After watching “The Variable,” I have to say “yes,” this is what the term is referring to. However, I’m still not so sure whether the variable will actually vary anything according to the mythology of the show.

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Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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In my first column here I noted that as a teenager in the 1960s I devoured crime fiction and thrillers. I bought hardbacks from the book clubs and I purchased a good number of paperbacks books.

I recall a second-hand bookstore where I picked up scores of vintage pulp paperbacks dating back to the 1940s and 1950s. With their lurid covers depicting guns, gore and girls, the novel’s atmosphere was established well before you turned to page one. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, on thrillers and crime by Paul Davis
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When you’re a parent, life seems only to be an endless line of “how do I tell my kids about this” and “how do I make my kid’s life better” and “when is it all going to end.” With the recent outbreak of swine flu, I’m sure many of you out there are wondering how to answer some of your children’s important swine flu related questions, like “why are you wearing that mask” and “why can’t we go to Mexico anymore” and “how will daddy get his medicine.” I know it can be stressful, so I’ve put together a few tips on how to break the news and help keep your kids safe. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, Kelly Conaboy saves the world by Kelly Conaboy
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As the fascinating new documentary Tyson reminds us, Iron Mike refuses to have a happy ending. He earned 100 million dollars…and squandered 100 million dollars…and earned another 100 million dollars…and wasted it again. (When he complains about Don King stealing tens of millions from him, one sympathizes but can’t help thinking, “So with your spending habits and general knack for shrewd decision making, that would have kept you out of the red for, what, another month?”) He keenly understands his mistakes, but keeps making them. [Read more →]

Tags: movies, sports by Sean Cunningham
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April 19, 2009
I dream I am watching an avant garde production of Fiddler on the Roof. The leading role of Tevye, played by an actor who resembles Santa Claus, is an out gay man who is having affairs with various characters. Furthermore, he wears a turban and no shirt, so obviously the characters are not Jewish. This production, set in the Middle East, contradicts every aspect of the original. [Read more →]

Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
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I had never read anything by Mickey Spillane, so a while back I decided to get The Mike Hammer Collection, which contains the first three Mike Hammer novels. I decided this because the book was only one dollar (as part of a book club offer), because I was looking for an entertaining page-turner of a diversion, and because I was curious. After all, the Mike Hammer novels have sold millions of copies over the last sixty years, were made into movies and television shows, and have loyal fans even today. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing by Scott Stein
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 Megan Holley heard a story on NPR about two women who started a crime scene cleaning business. By the time Holley arrived at work, she knew this story had to be a movie, and wrote her first screenplay. After winning a local screenwriting contest, she earned a trip to Sundance and a movie deal. Some political pundits say that the public’s optimism and hope during these bleak economic times may actually lead to better economic times. Fortunately for all of us, optimism and hope paved the way to a new career for Holley, and for Sunshine Cleaning’s lead character Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams). [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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This is a foolproof guide to the best roasted chicken you’ve ever made. Go out and buy the best whole chicken you can afford (yes! it really does make a difference), then:

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Tags: recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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My bookshelves are not terribly political. A biography or two, a bit of humor about our political system, but not much else — I figure it’s bad enough I have to see politicians on the news every day, I have no desire to read about them in my leisure time. I accepted The Obama Revolution for review primarily because it came out so close on the heels of the November elections. I thought it would be more interesting to read about a very recent election, one I was very excited about, than to rehash a political contest I barely remembered.  For the most part, I was right. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads, politics & government by Lisa Hura
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The mind often works better on its own, without any prodding or guidance from us. Think of all those ideas that just occurred to you out of the blue, or that problem you solved upon waking up one morning after giving up on it the night before and going to bed.

I was reminded of this recently when my wife and I went to see the exhibition of late still lifes and interiors by Pierre Bonnard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
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