Let’s do the whole combination, facing away from the mirror. From the top! Five, six, seven, eight! If these words resonate for you, you should finish reading this and then immediately step, kick, kick, leap your way to the closest theater showing Every Little Step. At a time when no career choice seems safe, even those who are not fans of musical theater will marvel at the passion and commitment of those in this documentary, as they pursue careers that are never a safe choice. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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There is a a certain poetic justice in the travails of the Democratic Speaker of the House. She joined her partisan colleagues in the zeal to prosecute Bush Administration officials for what the MSM has labeled “torture memos.” And now it seems her grandstanding may cost her her job, possibly hurting her party’s standing with the general public.

No one seems to believe Nancy Pelosi. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government by B. Daniel Blatt
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Baked ziti is a pretty universal family favorite. Here I give it a little twist with sharper cheeses and crisp guanciale (similar to bacon, just a little fancier). [Read more →]

Tags: recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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About a year ago, I read Christopher Meeks’ collection of short stories, Months and Seasons, and I found myself swept up in the stories. When I got the opportunity to read his first novel, The Brightest Moon of the Century, I knew I was in for a treat. Edward is a pretty typical guy, but he manages to turn very ordinary experiences into an extraordinary story. The writing is exceptional, with interesting turns of phrase that left me laughing but nodding my head in agreement or commisseration.

This is how a life together ends. With a pork chop and then a click.

[Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads by Lisa Hura
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In a must-read post on how leading Democrats cannot escape the goddess of retributive justice, Nemesis (“related to the Greek word meaning ‘to give what is due’“), Victor Davis Hanson gets at the essence of the coming fall of the Democratic Speaker of the House:

A Nancy Pelosi, hellbent on releasing once-classified memos for partisan advantage, and eager to begin ‘Truth” hearings, suddenly believes such an inquisition will not apply to herself, despite the fact that she, like so many Democrats from Senator Schumer to Senator Rockefeller, in that dark period in 2001, spoke of the need for, or was complicit in, approving enhanced interrogation techniques.

[Read more →]

Tags: politics & government by B. Daniel Blatt
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Jiddu Krishnamurti was a strange dude.

For more than half a century he told anyone who wanted to listen that the only way to find the truth is to look for it yourself. Subscribing to doctrines, performing rituals, practicing disciplines, obeying authorities were all a waste of time, because truth, he said, is “a pathless realm.” [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
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A rattlesnake recently crashed my cousin Greg’s wedding in Sacramento.

Just before friends and family arrived, the uninvited, poisonous guest made her appearance. Greg told me that the snake, a baby, had been tossed over the edge of the property. He promised that she would return. [Read more →]

Tags: animals, environment & nature by David A. Brensilver
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Grey’s Anatomy (Thursday, ABC, 9PM) — I didn’t see it coming. I usually see it coming. Not this time. How did I not see it coming?! It’s so obvious now. But, I’m so glad I didn’t. That was the most shocking thing to happen on TV since JR got shot (yes, I remember that). But talk about a cliffhanger. We have to wait all summer to know if George and Izzie live or die. Certainly a “who shot JR?” moment (or for those who pined throughout the summer of ’99 dying to know if Felicity chose Ben or Noel, you get my point). [Read more →]

Tags: television by Lauren LaBumbard
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Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire is more fun to read than just about any book I know. By “fun” I mean that it’s a lot more than funny, but, being a poem, plus a critical appraisal of a book (with copious footnotes), and a novel, all combined, it engages the reader — as one flips back and forth through its pages — in the same way a really great puzzle or a game does. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, now read this! by Christopher Guerin
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Baseball is a hard game. They say that hitting a pitched ball may be the hardest thing to do in sports. Fielding a hit ball can’t be a piece of cake either. Major League Baseball players have reached the pinnacle of this difficult sport, and they often make it look easy. On occasion, though, outside influences conspire to make it even more difficult for them. Consider the Marlins game against the Dodgers in Miami yesterday. The geniuses who run the Florida franchise decided to give away thousands of silver pompoms to the fans who came to the game. The pompoms promptly came apart, and most of the silvery strands found their way into the playing field. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Alan Spoll
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10. He’s wearing a disabled electronic ankle bracelet

9. The title of his talk: “Your Future at Hamburger U.”

8. His entire speech is in the dits and dahs of Morse Code

7. His speech is half over, and he’s already mentioned Scientology 63 times

6. First name: Rod. Last name: Blagojevich.

5. After introducing his imaginary friend Pedro, he sits by while Pedro delivers a 90-minute address

4. You recognize him from when he sold you a Slurpee last night at your local 7-Eleven

3. He keeps referring to Barack Obama as the “leader of the Great Satan”

2. His ultimate uplifting message: “If life hands you shit, make shit sandwiches”

1. He spends two hours talking about the superiority of Amway products

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, education by Bob Sullivan
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The poverty-stricken urban malcontent Marcovaldo, in Italo Calvino’s suite of stories, Marcovaldo, or The Seasons in the City, “possessed an eye ill-suited to city life: billboards, traffic-lights, shop-windows, neon signs, posters, no matter how carefully devised to catch the attention, never arrested his gaze…Instead, he would never miss a leaf yellowing on a branch, a feather trapped by a roof-tile; there was no horsefly on a horse’s back, no worm-home in a plank, or fig-peel squashed on the sidewalk that Marcovaldo didn’t remark and ponder over, discovering the changes of season, the yearnings of his heart, and the woes of his existence.”  Though I myself love illuminated signs and the urban energy behind them, I have a certain sympathy for that Italian dreamer [Read more →]

Tags: animals, environment & nature by Michael Antman
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Just as how the Others blindly follow Jacob, we Lost fans have invested five years of our lives blindly following a TV show that has become increasingly intricate. Will our commitment be worth it in the end? Those of us who have faith have stuck with it, but we’ve lost a lot of former believers along the way. What if the series finale is a disappointment and leaves many of the major questions unanswered? Will we question our blind faith to a show that we hoped would give us answers to [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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I saw an early screening of the new Sam Raimi movie, Drag Me To Hell. It’s a movie that Raimi fans have been dying to see, since Raimi has taken a break from the Horror genre for a few years, working on movies such as The Quick And The Dead  with Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, A Simple Plan starring Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thorton, For The Love Of The Game with Kevin Costner, and of course, most recently and profitably, Spiderman 1-3. But Raimi has a core of dedicated fans from his Evil Dead series, as well as movies like Darkman and Army Of Darkness. For those dedicated fans, Drag Me To Hell is a fun, scary, funny thrillride. For those who are not fans of Raimi’s mix of slapstick and horror, Drag Me To Hell absolutely, unequivocably sucks ass! [Read more →]

Tags: movies by David Alfreds
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The Pack A.D. (yes, the A.D. is for After Death) is not a blues band. Sure, they probably listen to blues music (don’t a lot of people?), and they met at a gas station, but they are not a blues band. How do I know? Because I hear them rocking out my ipod right now. I think I am supposed to call them garage rock. I wish I had a garage and some money because they are coming to a show in my town and I would pay whatever for them to show up the day before, plug their equipment into my washer/dryer outlet and play a while. [Read more →]

Tags: music by Van McO
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Dear Ruby,

I’m graduating from college this spring. My dad has always said that he would buy me a car when I graduated from college and he’s really excited about it and wants to go looking at cars with me. The problem is that I plan to move to a non-car-friendly city after graduation and I’d much rather have the money than the car. But he’s talked about this for so long and he’s so excited about it that I can’t say no. I kind of brought it up with my mom and she just said to make sure it’s a car I like. Any advice?

Bad Daughter in Boston

[Read more →]

Tags: advice, family & parenting by Ruby Mac
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Robert Leuci, the former New York City detective who was the subject of the book and film Prince of the City, is a crime writer who lives in Rhode Island, far from the mean streets of New York.

Robert Daley’s Prince of the City  was a first-rate true crime book and Sidney Lumet’s film based on the book with Treat Williams portraying Leuci when he was a young detective and a member of the elite narcotics Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was brilliant and haunting. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, on thrillers and crime by Paul Davis
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Today, I saw my first flu mask. A fellow wearing one stopped next to me on a downtown Boston street corner to wait for the sign to say “Walk.” I’d heard masks were useless against the Swine Flu unless they prevent air from getting in around the sides. His mask didn’t do that. It was too lose fitting. I was tempted to say something, but I just thought, “another victim of bad information.”

After the light changed and we went our separate ways, I was momentarily gripped by doubt. What did he know that I didn’t? Was there an outbreak hereabouts? Should I think about wearing one? Not the inadequate one he was wearing, but a good, close-fitting mask? Maybe, at that very moment I was breathing it in. [Read more →]

Tags: health & medical, trusted media & news by Mark Guerin
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One of America’s great qualities is our willingness to give a second chance, but the universal celebration of Kobe Bryant is weird. Yes, he was acquitted of rape, but it wasn’t like the case of fellow NBA player Juwan Howard. After a grand jury rejected even indicting him — an impressive feat considering grand juries are known for their willingness to indict ham sandwiches — he sued his accuser for defamation, seeking only $1. When the judge found the charges to be so flagrantly false that he awarded him $100,000, Howard pledged it to the D.C. Rape Center. The married father Kobe ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement with his 20-year-old accuser. Did he do anything criminal? Probably not. Really frickin’ sleazy? Hell, yeah. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Sean Cunningham
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March 16, 2009
I dream I am still in graduate school and living in a boarding house. Elderly people start hanging out in my room during the day. They are all around and in my bed. This annoys me. I call the landlord’s office to complain and a man I can barely understand says “Blah Blah Blah three seventy-five.” I say, “I can’t understand you,” and he talks more slowly. I complain and complain and then, when I can’t complain any longer I ask “By the way, what did you say about three seventy-five?” He says “This conversation is $3.75 a minute.” I hang up and vow to get these people. [Read more →]

Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
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