For most non-Teutons the idea of German rock is not very appealing. The fatherland of Bach and Beethoven may well have produced many interesting experimental groups (Kraftwerk, Einstürzende Neubauten etc) but on a global, top 40 level it’s an entirely different matter. Consider:
1) The Scorpions- hair metal popular in the 80s, approximately as good as Winger. [Read more →]
So You Think You Can Dance (Tuesday, 8PM, FOX) — I was definitely not ready for another season of SYTYCD. The hours you have to put in to this reality dance competition makes it the perfect summer series, so having it on in the fall made me feel anxious and overwhelmed. With the abundance of fall television, I knew I wasn’t tuning in until at least Vegas week. I never even made it to Vegas which put me at a distinct disadvantage… I knew no one in the top 20. I thought for sure that this season was not in the cards for me… and then they did something brilliant. [Read more →]
Jacob Sullum’s article “The Perils of Palatability” in Reason magazine is about the efforts of David A. Kessler to tell the rest of us how to eat and to define restaurants as malicious and deceitful because they make delicious food and then have the nerve to tell us about it. In 2007, Sullum interviewed me about my novel Mean Martin Manning, which has a character Kessler might admire: Caseworker Alice Pitney. In the interview, Sullum asked, “Is it hard to write satire in a world that gets sillier every day?” The answer is yes.
For a lot of years, I was a big fan of Allen Iverson. To me, no one in the NBA was more exciting to watch. The Sixers didn’t always win, but Iverson rarely failed to excite. It was always clear, though, that he was a selfish player who cared more for his own statistics than he did about winning. Now, at 34 years old, his skills have eroded, but his attitude has not. That makes for a bad combination. [Read more →]
10. Visit more cities than you ever expected!
9. We’ll make sure you have time to watch the whole in-flight movie!
8. Up, up, and a way over there!
7. We go the extra distance for you!
6. Some people just know how to fly! Then there’s our pilots!
5. Who knows which flight will turn out to be our Secret Mystery Flight?!
4. Fly the distracted skies of Northwest!
3. Northwest Airlines: We love to overfly, and it shows!
2. Earn extra frequent flier miles!
1. Our planes are so comfy, even the pilots can’t stay awake!
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
Indeed she does. Ladies and Gentleman, allow me to present Totally Stylin Tattoo Barbie! Thanks Mattel. My three-year-old definitely needs this toy. It’s an awesome idea — giving her ways to express herself creatively via mock-mutilating herself and Barbie? Genius. [Read more →]
I think 30 Rock is the funniest show on TV. At least, I did until this season. I was disappointed with the premiere and found each new episode worse than the previous one, to the point last week I was fastforwarding through the second chunk of commercials and I thought, “You know, I really don’t care what nutty adventures Jack and Liz have visiting Kenneth’s hometown” and switched over to The Office. This leads to the question: how much patience do you show a show before it’s time to move on?
November 1, 2009
I dream I have won a tiny fish at a carnival, and I keep him alive in a drinking glass by feeding him the crumbs of a saltine cracker. After various scrapes with death, the fish winds up in a tank in my kitchen, but I don’t know how the tank got there. Furthermore, it seems as if this fish had a baby fish. Then, when I wake up a subsequent morning, there is a huge tank with two enormous fish, two small fish, plus a large octopus. It becomes clear later that the octopus is really a guy who admonishes me for not taking care of my fish.
Phillies @ Yankees. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania versus New York, New York.
The world fuckin’ champions with their backs to the wall as greedy Gotham gloats. The wisest minds in the universe of baseball expect the coronation of a new emperor tonight, a title seen as inevitable as a birthright, like a Charlamagne succeeding the occasional Pippen.
The odds are long and the venue is hostile and the smart money is on the most monied team on earth. [Read more →]
The zombies in Zombieland are seriously frightening, and the film provides a few laughs. While not as clever or as scary as the underrated Jennifer’s Body, the strong lead performances make this diverting film enjoyable. Zombieland is lightweight and fun, but instantly forgettable. [Read more →]
Polenta is a ground yellow maize, meant to be cooked slowly over low heat, with lots of stirring. In this dish I combine rich vegetables and cheeses with a soft, creamy polenta to create a hearty vegetarian meal.
I swear, this is the last Jane Austen mash-up I’m going to read.
I also swear that I will not break out into Dear Jane letters, as Elizabeth is inclined to do at critical junctures of the book. The Postal Service could not be terribly reliable in Europe in her day, but the letters provide an easy way for Elizabeth to share her deepest secrets with us, as well as with Jane, and so she keeps writing.
I found Mr. Darcy, Vampyre to be a breezier read than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. It’s not written to be funny, although it is occasionally ridiculous; it seems a more serious attempt to extend the romance of Elizabeth Bennett and her beloved Mr Darcy. From the glorious morning of their wedding day to the novel’s final sunrise, they stay true to the world Austen created. [Read more →]
What St. Augustine says of time could just as well be said of love, that we know what it is until we try saying what it is. Nevertheless, a lot has certainly been said about love. Poets, prophets and philosophers have all weighed in on the subject. Songwriters have made a cliché of it. [Read more →]
I am a big NASCAR fan. I may have mentioned that here before. The season is nearly over, and Jimmie Johnson has dominated the Chase, which means he looks likely to win his 4th consecutive Cup championship, which is something that has never before been done. You would think that Sunday’s race, with so much on the line, would have been exciting. Au contraire, mes amis. Four times a year, at Daytona and Talladega, NASCAR foists a wildly inferior product on us, the fans. Sunday’s race was a complete waste of time. One of these days, I may have to listen to my wife and just not watch, rather than sit and complain for four hours. [Read more →]
10. Good N’ Porky
9. Bit-O-Runny
8. Gutterfinger
7. Nazi Rolls
6. Smelly Belly
5. Gecko Wafers
4. Almond Soy
3. Crummi Bears
2. Feces’ Peanut Butter Cups
1. I Can’t Believe They’re Not Raisinets
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.
Robert: Tom Friedman has a great column out in Sunday’s Times that identifies Obama’s main problem so far as his failure to construct a unifying patriotic narrative out of all the policies and positions he has put forth so far.
Friedman is onto something. [Read more →]
