You would think that a film about a prostitute played by a twenty-one year old porn star (Sasha Grey) who can claim over one hundred and sixty-five porn films would be mildly interesting, or at least contain some racy scenes. You would be wrong on both fronts. I am not sure why the two elderly couples walked out of the theater the night that I saw the film, but I suspect it had more to do with boredom than shock. [Read more →]
I decided to write about “Wipeout” (Wednesdays at 8 pm, ABC) because I couldn’t understand why I enjoyed it. I’m not a big laugher, “The Office” and “30 Rock” excepted. So what was it about seeing the human body being twisted and contorted like a rag-doll that made me giggle with delight?
In retrospect, it shouldn’t be that funny. [Read more →]
I am a recovering Catholic. I attended a Catholic grade school, high school and even a Catholic University for a while. To say that I was not amused would be an understatement. It really didn’t take me very long to realize that there were some glaring inconsistencies in church doctrine. Once I was old enough to start thinking on my own, what I call “The age of reason”, the hypocrisy became much too burdensome. [Read more →]
I love broccoli. Sautéed, roasted, steamed, mashed, broccoli in all its forms is fine with me. This weekend at my local Farmers Market I was giddy to buy the first broccoli of the season, and it seemed like my farmer friend was pretty giddy to be selling it to me. I went home and made a delicious broccoli soup. Filling, nutritious, and so easy to make, what else could you ask for!? [Read more →]
The Bachelorette
My husband can’t watch this show with me. And it’s not because he can’t stand the idea of 30 men throwing themselves at one chick and humiliating themselves on national television, because he hasn’t had the same problem watching with me in the past (though in his defense, he’s not that interested… like he is in So You Think You Can Dance and The Hills). It’s because he thinks Jillian is the worst kisser. And he’s right. He totally brought it to my attention last night and now I find it horrifying to watch her make out with practically everyone. No wonder Jason didn’t pick her. He was over the sensation of being pecked at. [Read more →]
I honestly thought that nothing — nothing — could get me to read Jane Austen again. I know that she has some devoted fans, but those Victorian manners-and-money romances were really not my thing. I was frustrated, even as a teenager, by female characters who seemed completely powerless. Elizabeth Bennet, her life ruined because some man she doesn’t even like doesn’t want to dance with her? How ridiculous! But in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, she has some recourse… [Read more →]
Among the many pleasures reading fiction can afford, perhaps the greatest and most lasting has to do with the people one encounters there. Ever since I first met them during my teens, I have thought of D’Artagnan and his fellow musketeers — Athos, Porthos and Aramis — as friends. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Anna Karenina and Prince Hamlet can seem more real than the people one meets in the street, perhaps because, through the exercise of our imagination, we have helped bring them to life.
But how like the people we meet in real life are they really? [Read more →]
With the summer drought officially in full swing, I thought I’d take this time to pay tribute to some of my favorite shows which never made it past a single season and let you know how you can still watch them. These two shows not only should have never been cancelled, but they should’ve won awards. It’s hard to say why some great shows don’t make it (the WB might be one reason), but I do know that it hurts… badly… when they don’t. Fortunately, the Internet and Netflix help us remember. [Read more →]
I won’t often devote this column to poetry. Since much of the best poetry is written in shorter forms, it doesn’t really fall within the scope of a “great books” column. (Though, even as I write this, it occurs to me that I may have to write about handfuls of poems by Stevens, Wilbur, and others, someday.) But, I could not long put off writing about T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, for me the best long poem of the English language of the 20th century. [Read more →]
Only an individual with the most daft understanding of poetics would fail to appreciate the tragic irony of Dr. George Tiller, famed late-term abortionist, being murdered by a “pro-life” advocate in the lobby of his Lutheran church as he served as an usher.
[Read more →]
I generally write about the negative side of sports. I guess it’s easier to criticize than to praise. Comes with the territory, when you are in quality assurance, I guess. Sometimes, though, a positive story just jumps out at you, and you want to make sure as many people as possible know about it. Myron Rolle has one of those stories.
10. He leaves early so he can catch the new Star Trek movie – again
9. When he rented his tux, he couldn’t afford the pants
8. He keeps calling you “Mommy”
7. The “corsage” he brings you has a sash across it reading “Rest In Peace”
6. He keeps saying, “Who’d a thunk?! Me! At a prom!!”
5. He can’t stop talking about Hannah Montana
4. He says his parents expect him home by 9:30
3. He’s pinned a carnation to his chest, and he’s not wearing a jacket or shirt
2. When he takes you to McDonald’s afterwards, before you order he whispers, “Remember, I ain’t Mr. Moneybags!”
1. He shows up wearing the same dress
