A recent yahoo article takes the lede, buries it under about 50 pounds of dirt, then poops all over it by reporting that president Barack Obama has resorted to quoting Jimi Hendrix lyrics in his attempts to counter his “powerful” critics.

“Some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time — and they’re not always happy with me — they talk about me like a dog. That’s not in my prepared remarks, but it’s true,” Obama said during a speech at Wisconsin’s Laborfest on Monday.

Though Obama didn’t acknowledge it, the line was a verbatim quote from “Stone Free,” the first song Hendrix wrote after moving to England in 1966. “They talk about me like a dog,” the song says. “Talkin about the clothes I wear. But they don’t realize they’re the ones who’s square.”

It’s unclear if Obama consciously or unconsciously cited the lyric.

Once again, the main stream media — or, as I prefer to call it, the lame stream media, because they’re lame, [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, trusted media & news by Ricky Sprague
1 Comment »

We continue in our explorations with Dr. Guenther Spiegelvogel of the Performance Therapy Institute in Vienna. First, I read and he interprets one of my dreams:

Then, Spiegelvogel and I discuss: [Read more →]

Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
No Comments »

Today is my daughter’s first day of Pre-K. I can’t even really call it her first day because she goes for an hour and I have to stay with her. When the hell did this become my first day of school? This is horse shit. My kid’s been going to some sort of all day progam/nursery school since she was two. She doesn’t need me hanging around watching her introduce herself to the all the nanny-bred kids who have never spent a day away from home. It’s not my fault that she’s going to walk right in there stoked and good to go. She’s already annoyed that I’m not just dropping her off and picking her up in the afternoon. Even she thinks this is stupid [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, going parental by Jaclyn Roth
2 Comments »

The first half of this film seemed funny and promising.  When Kevin Kline appeared, the film got funnier. But at the halfway point of this 105 minute film, the plot began to unravel and by the end of The Extra Man, I no longer cared about these characters. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
2 Comments »

After an abnormally cheerful take-off announcement and a smooth landing on an early morning flight from Knoxville to Chicago, I couldn’t help but wonder: why do we tip certain professions and not others? Why hairdressers and not auto mechanics? Why appliance delivery and not UPS? Why tour guides, bellhops, valet parking, bathroom attendants, and not grocery baggers, librarians, bank tellers, or movie store clerks? [Read more →]

Tags: diatribes, money by Tyler Samien
4 Comments »

We don’t normally acknowledge famous birthdays here at When Falls, but we should. And today we do. September 7th is the late Eazy E’s birthday. Eazy E (given name Eric Wright) was the founder of the seminal rap group NWA, and subsequently, the founder of gangster rap music.

[Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, music by Robert O'Hara
No Comments »

The headline on CNN.com’s home page is “Bush to be stripped of Heisman.” I know that some people really hate the former president, but can’t the guy keep his Heisman? I assume he earned it fair and square, through hard work, just like he earned the jersey pictured below — there aren’t hanging chads in the Heisman voting, are there? It seems wrong to me that people would mix sports and politics like this.

Tags: politics & government, sports by Scott Stein
2 Comments »

Do you remember the indie horror film “The Blair Witch Project”? Remember how frustrating it was to watch the three victims make stupid mistake after stupid mistake? And remember the end of the film when they found that abandoned house in the woods and, exercising no common sense whatsoever, actually went inside? Remember how by that point you were so annoyed with the whole thing that instead of shouting “Girl, don’t go in there!” you shook your head and said “They deserve whatever they’re going to get.”? If you do remember, well, then you know exactly how I feel about Kat Von D dating Jesse James. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, Meg gives advice to famous people by Meg Boyle
No Comments »

I’ve been reading Frederick Forsyth since his classic thriller The Day of the Jackal came out in 1971.  

I like that Forsyth uses his skills as a journalist to infuse his thrillers with true facts and details about crime, espionage, terrorism and war. Forsyth also offers a good, thrilling and suspenseful story. 

His new thriller, The Cobra (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), continues in that fine tradition.

[Read more →]

Tags: on thrillers and crime by Paul Davis
1 Comment »

Reuters has a hilarious story about the hapless German communist party’s attempts to curry favor with schoolchildren by offering them pens that project pornographic images.

To sweeten their first day at primary school German children are normally given a cardboard cone filled with sweets, but schoolchildren in Essen this year opened their cones to find pens which project erotic images.

Wait a minute.

German children are usually given candy at the beginning of the school year? German children? German children are given candy?

Typical German child enjoying sweets. [Read more →]

Tags: health & medical, travel & foreign lands by Ricky Sprague
No Comments »

Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Blowup constitutes the extent of my acquaintance with the work of the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar. But recently I posted on my blog this quote from Cortázar: “And do you accept the idea that there is no explanation?” [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
12 Comments »

I consider myself an honest person. I like to think that I would never accept an award or a trophy for something that I earned in a dishonest fashion. Even so, I think that it would be extremely difficult to be in the position in which 14-yer-old Zach Nash found himself after a recent Junior PGA golf tournament in Wisconsin. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

10. You mentally divide your summer into two parts: pre and post firecracker incident

9. You have gills and you live in the Gulf

8. The only action you got at the beach all summer was when a horsefly flew into your trunks

7. First name “Tony.” Last name “Hayward”

6. Most of the phone calls you received all summer long were from Mel Gibson

5. The only summer job you could find was as a suntan lotion applier for the cast of Jersey Shore

4. You have no idea who Pedro is, but you woke up with his name tattooed on your back

3. The closest you got to a summer fling was kissing Grandma at the Labor Day barbecue

2. What everyone else thinks is a sunburn is actually a rash

1. The highlight of your summer: Reading this top ten list

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: all work, Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, ends & odd by Bob Sullivan
No Comments »

Some survivors of the plane crash that was the basis of the movie Alive — the one with Ethan Hawke about the rugby team stranded on a mountain who eat their dead teammates — have communicated with the trapped Chilean miners to encourage them to not give up. I didn’t want to make a cheap joke about the dietary advice the Alive folks provided, considering the horrifying circumstances of their ordeal years ago and the ordeal the Chilean miners face now. But the below image is what CNN.com’s home page looked like this morning.

Tags: recipes & food, trusted media & news by Scott Stein
1 Comment »

Last month I wrote a piece here about John le Carre’s disparaging remarks about Ian Fleming’s iconic character James Bond. The piece generated some interesting responses.

Although I attempted to offer a spirited defense of Ian Fleming and James Bond (the character from the novels not the films), I did note that I also liked le Carre’s novels, especially Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.    

This is perhaps le Carre’s year as a film is being made of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy  (the TV miniseries based on the novel was outstanding), and he has a new novel coming out called Our Kind of Traitor.

To promote his new book, the 79-year-old author gave an interesting interview to the British newspaper the Sunday Telegraph.

[Read more →]

Tags: on thrillers and crime by Paul Davis
No Comments »

As Dan Sterlace pointed out a few days ago, a Mississippi public school was barring black students from running for class president and other offices. When I first heard about this story, I was saddened, outraged, and annoyed, so I dealt with it in the most mature way I could: I prank called them.

The image below is a copy of the election rules for Nettleton Middle School’s class officers. [Read more →]

Tags: education, race & culture by Kevin R. Breen
3 Comments »

Hurricane Earl made some good waves. My friend Mooger, who lives on the Outer Banks or Cape Hatteras or something like that, sent me this shot of the waves he was surfing the day before the storm.

Picture from Surfline. Dave Lusk, surfer; Bryan Harvey, photographer.

Tags: environment & nature by Scott Stein
No Comments »

Ok, I am going to admit, I’ve been a naughty blogger. So I want to start by apologizing for my lack of posts.  But this summer I achieved a dream I never thought possible — I had every Friday off! But now, as we savor the last tasty tidbits of summer, I am back — and armed with a summer’s worth of material. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, Marty digs, recipes & food, television by Marty O'Connor
1 Comment »

You have been warned. This will contain spoilers, but beyond those I plan to discuss a plot hole so massive I’ve continually tried to find ways to rationalize it, thinking, “There’s no way Stieg could have missed this.” I still have not. I have discussed it with other people — it hasn’t always destroyed the experience for them, but it certainly has damaged it.  Still with me?  Let’s forge ahead. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, movies by Sean Cunningham
2 Comments »

I watched the below video without the sound on after reading about the scuffle at the U.S. Open. I had the sound off because I didn’t feel like reaching to turn on my computer speakers, not because I was afraid to hear some cursing, if it can be heard. Even with the sound off you can see this punk saying “fuck” dozens of times. His body language and facial expressions say “punk” more clearly than any words could. I’ve been known to use bad words on occasion and realize that we can’t shelter ourselves, or our children forever, but you should be able to walk down the street or take your kids to a tennis match without hearing a stream of “fuck” coming out of the dickwads next to you. People who can’t control their mouths in public should be told to shut the fuck up.

Tags: language & grammar, sports by Scott Stein
8 Comments »

The number-crunchers in Washington, D.C. might want to put down their abaci and direct their attention to the wisdom of Alexei Kudrin.

Mr. Kudrin, Russia’s finance minister, wants his fellow countrymen to chain smoke and drink to excess.

Those were not his words, exactly. But one can read between the lines.

[Read more →]

Tags: money, politics & government by David A. Brensilver
1 Comment »

It’s been a long, hot summer — the longest, hottest summer I can remember. Thankfully, it is coming to an end. One of the few memories I have of this summer is reading a relentless stream of Facebook status updates telling me how much fun my friends are having. Am I the only one who isn’t having an amazing summer, or am I the only one who isn’t lying? [Read more →]

Tags: diatribes by Nancy DeGregorio
2 Comments »

Welcome back to another edition of “Audio Files,” where blind eyes look into the vapid maw of Jennifer Lopez and see greatness. There’s lots happening this week, so let’s teleport to Elysium, where fields of asphodel await our rumpled back-parts. Chin up, fellow travelers.

[Read more →]

Tags: Michael Cade's audio files by Michael Cade
No Comments »

I have to admit that I requested this book based on the title. Angels, Vampires and Douche Bags is a title with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

The book separates the people in our lives into three categories. Angels are the people who love you and take care of you. Vampires are the people who are sexy and seductive but ultimately bad for you, and Douche Bags are the people who make your life more difficult. Things can also be in these categories. The whole prospect is kind of muddled and unfocused. It just didn’t quite work. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads by Lisa Hura
No Comments »

My friend and colleague (and occasional When Falls the Coliseum contributor) Paula Marantz Cohen has a piece in the Huffington Post about her new novel, What Alice Knew: A Most Curious Tale of Henry James & Jack the Ripper. I just started reading the novel today. It’s good fun so far, with the first chapter containing a dinner scene that includes a drunk, bloated (he prefers “corpulent”), distracted Henry James having to put up with Oscar Wilde’s quips. I look forward to reading more and hope our readers will give Paula’s novel a look.

Tags: announcements, books & writing by Scott Stein
No Comments »

The hostage situation at the Discovery Channel headquarters today was tragic. I’m not talking about the demise of the gunman, James Lee, who was shot dead by police. And I’m not talking about the three hostages, who made it out unharmed. I’m talking about the kids who had been in a day care program in the building when the whole thing went down:

A day care inside One Discovery Place was successfully evacuated, and the children were moved to a McDonald’s restaurant, authorities said. Witnesses said some of the children were in cribs on wheels, and that people pushed the cribs out of the building to safety.

[Read more →]

Tags: environment & nature, trusted media & news by Scott Stein
No Comments »

Hello, all. Once again, I’ll take advantage of Dr. Spiegelvogel and offer a dream interpretation in two parts. First, I read and Spiegelvogel mimes:

Second, we have a brief therapy session: [Read more →]

Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
No Comments »

“Here we believe in fate,” Tareq (Alexander Siddig) tells Juliette (Patricia Clarkson). In this film, what is fate, what is circumstance and what is choice is debatable, and is left to the audience to decide.  This is a small and quiet film, but the two compelling lead actors kept me interested in the fate of the characters. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
No Comments »