I’m late on this. I admit it. But after having seen Toy Story 3 with my kids the other night, I need to weigh in. If you are even more behind than I am, I must warn you — some semi-spoilers are coming . . .

I’m not a movie critic, but I do write fiction. From that perspective, I think that films for kids might be losing their way — that is, if they follow the Toy Story 3 model. The people at Pixar are brilliant. I’ve been a fan for a long time and I very much liked Toy Story 3, but I don’t think the movie is quite right, in terms of its storytelling, for kids — definitely not for my kids, who I’m hoping are not completely different from everyone else’s children. [Read more →]

Tags: artistic unknowns by Chris Matarazzo, movies by Chris Matarazzo
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I never miss an opportunity to display the true patriotism that beats within my heart. You can tell a true patriot, like me, because we are in favor of everything that helps America achieve its goals of being good and doing great things for everyone, all over the world. The problem is that there are too many people who aren’t patriotic. The WikiLeaks story has shown that most Americans refuse to let their “American flag” fly.

In case you haven’t heard, WikiLeaks is a terrorist organization that is run by a terrorist who hates America, and is helping terrorists. It helps terrorists by revealing secret government documents that undermine the goals of the politicians and bureaucrats that we elect to run our government. Our government, if you remember, is comprised of our employees (they work for us, because it’s a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” as no less an authority than the Constitution states). If someone is doing something that harms your employees, don’t you think that person should be put in prison? Don’t you think that’s the patriotic thing to do?

How ironic is it, then, that the most patriotic person in the world is a person in Sweden, where they have finally issued an arrest warrant for the WikiLeaks terrorist leader, Julian Assange (or, as I prefer to call him, Julian ASSange, because he is an ass and also an ange [actually, he is more of an "ass ange"]). [Read more →]

Tags: terror & war, trusted media & news by Ricky Sprague
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Last night I went by one of my best friend’s parent’s house and saw that his dad decorated the house. The decorations have been roughly the same my entire life, and always instantly put me in the Christmas spirit. So I thought I would devote this week’s entry to the things I love about Christmas since I am brimming with holiday cheer! [Read more →]

Tags: Marty digs, music by Marty O'Connor
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I love baseball, but baseball has problems. As a Phillies fan, it has been easier, in recent years, to overlook the fact that the league has no salary cap, as the Phillies have one of the league’s highest payrolls. Still, I am able to look past that and see how difficult it must be to be a fan of one of the have-nots, going into each season knowing that only a tremendous amount of luck will get your favorite team to the playoffs. I have long thought that if those low-payroll teams were forced to spend a league-specified minimum amount on their players, it would be a step in the right direction. What I was forgetting, of course, was that those bottom-feeder teams might not spend their money in the wisest way if they were to actually spend it. The Washington Nationals demonstrated this very possibility on Sunday, signing outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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10. refudiate

9. handinotes

8. hypocriticizer

7. evoludiculous

6. governoresigner

5. tea-parfection

4. mamagrizzly-fication

3. abstinonsense

2. Obomination

1. youbetcha-rific
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, books & writing, politics & government by Bob Sullivan
1 Comment »

CNN reports that “[t]wo Senate procedural votes on Democratic measures to extend George W. Bush-era tax cuts for people who are not super wealthy failed on Saturday, preventing the measures from moving forward.”

When did a family making $250,000 a year become “super wealthy”? That’s a very nice living. But super wealthy? I know people making about that much, and they live well, but they aren’t riding in yachts and private jets.

Leaving aside what one thinks tax rates should be, CNN referring to families earning $250,000 a year as “super wealthy” is a clear example of media bias. CNN simply adopts the way the Democrats have framed the debate over taxes and presents that perspective to its audience as if it’s neutral and factual.

Tags: money, trusted media & news by Scott Stein
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Tags: getting older, movies by Alexander Thorburn Hoffman
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So a month ago my wife, in one of those heroic moves toward permanent marital stability, bought us tickets to the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience. The show tapped directly into my untouchable love of Zeppelin. I was awed not just by the talent of Bonham and his band but the emotion driving this tribute. Meandering home afterward, thinking about the grainy videos of Jason as a child that were part of the show, I wondered what if Zeppelin had tried to launch today, in the age of helicopter parents. [Read more →]

Tags: music, virtual children by Scott Warnock by Scott Warnock
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One of my daily traditions involves laying down for a late morning nap.  It is not only energizing, but also a pleasant way to “skip over” a few hours of the day which would be spent in debilitating anxiety.  Normally, upon waking up from these naps, I go about my usual business of watching Wife Swap and waiting until the sun goes down so I can go to sleep again.  Yesterday, however, I clicked over to one of my favorite television news outlets, and was immediately guilt stricken.

As it turns out, NASA had discovered an entirely new form of life.  Much to my dismay, this life was found in Mono Lake, California. Okay, NASA.  I admit it.  I am responsible for this new life form you have discovered.  I’m sorry. [Read more →]

Tags: mostly kidding by Matt Scottoline, science by Matt Scottoline
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Not all of my Broadway experiences have been in midtown theaters. Between 1988 and 1993 I did my graduate work at 721 Broadway in lower Manhattan, the sixth floor of which housed (and still houses) the NYU Department of Performance Studies. There I learned to think of performance as something broader and more diverse than what happened on so-called legitimate stages. I had friend who was into Japanese Rakugo, another into shamanic rituals involving trance states, another into queer theory, and still others who studied downtown dance in which the women lifted the men. My area was American popular performance, especially vaudeville with a concentration in magic–the entertaining deception kind, not the raising the dead kind. Today, I sometimes teach a course with a deception theme, but back then I was still learning the basics.

[Read more →]

Tags: Broadway Fred by Fred Siegel
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Last Friday, after witnessing Jason Bonham’s Led-Zeppelin Experience, pal Rob and I had a big discussion about music, eventually getting to the brilliance of 1980s pop. (We were unaware that, earlier, a jihadist had tried to vaporize us. It was a strange night.)

Recall that 80s pop — even at its most putrid  – had a remarkable and rarely discussed quality. For instance, beneath the noxious pep of Wham! was a foundation of extremely high-caliber musicianship.

[Read more →]

Tags: Michael Cade's audio files by Michael Cade
3 Comments »

Is  Burlesque a “good” movie? No, but I do not think it is trying to be that. Did I love it? Yes. It has a predictably stupid plot, but it looks gorgeous. The performance numbers are big, bright and dazzling and for the most part, the cast is terrific. I sat like a mindless zombie for 100 minutes, eyes glued to the screen, and it felt great. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie by Gail D. Rosen
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