If you would have asked me just a few months ago if the healthcare system in this country needed fixing, my immediate answer would have been, “hell yes.” Like most Americans, I hated high deductibles, costly procedures, tiresome claims, ambiguous benefits, dysfunctional emergency rooms, etc, etc. Unlike most Americans, I had a chronic condition, so for me the madness was amplified. But now there is a president and congress committed to helping. So why am I not excited? [Read more →]

Tags: health & medical, politics & government by Robert O'Hara
10 Comments »

This year we will have 10 Best Picture nominations. 10. Off the top of my head, here are the films I can think of deserving them:

–The Hurt Locker

–Up (primarily for the montage; anyone who’s seen the movie knows what I’m talking about)

That is all. [Read more →]

Tags: movies by Sean Cunningham
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October 9, 2009
I dream Dan Rather is working on a report in which he evaluates coffee and bananas. There is a dog who rates bananas at the Fred Siegel Rest Stop, which is located in Bucks County, PA, about an hour outside of New York. This rest stop is dedicated to “The Psychiatrists,” and the dog evaluates four bananas and one banana soup. Rather explains that the dog is a connoisseur, and has extensive knowledge of bananas.

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Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
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The first image in A Serious Man is a quote from Rashi: “Accept with simplicity everything that happens to you.” At the end of the credits, among the usual boilerplate, we see that “No Jews were harmed in the making of this motion picture.” In between is one of the most riveting films I have seen this year. [Read more →]

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

Pico de gallo (or “Rooster’s Beak”) is a raw Mexican salsa of finely chopped tomato, onion, chile, lime, cilantro, and usually some type of fruit such as mango or papaya. I use it on everything and I always have some in my fridge. It will stay fresh in the fridge, in an airtight container, for several days.

Fried Catfish with Pico de gallo: Serves 4

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Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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Green Eyes in the Amazon is a very timely book — almost too timely.  Fundamentalist religious groups are conspiring to control society and stifle scientific advances by any means necessary, including violence.  It is set in a hazy but not-too-distant future.  No more cellphones and SUVs, now we all have vidcoms and autopiloted cars.  Central America is a Dead Zone, university professors and students have to swear loyalty oaths and religion is on the rise.  In this contentious climate, a brilliant young biologist may have ushered in the next step in human evolution — but what will the religious zealots do to stop him? [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads by Lisa Hura
1 Comment »

“Everything comes in time to those who can wait.” I thought this was a French proverb, but I have seen it attributed to Rabelais. Maybe it’s just a proverb Rabelais quoted. Like Cervantes, Rabelais knew his proverbs.

Whatever its origin, its purport is clear enough. It’s a pitch for patience, which is a virtue I doubt any of us is born with. If the behavior of babies is any evidence, our wish to have what we want when we want it comes naturally to us. [Read more →]

Tags: that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
2 Comments »

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford had a magical redshirt sophomore year. He led the Sooners to a 12-2 record, winning the Heisman Trophy in the process. The NFL scouts loved him, and he was projected by most to be a high pick in the draft, if not the first overall. Instead, he chose to return to school, hoping to lead the team to a National Championship. Instead, his junior year has turned into a nightmare for him. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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10. The jack-o-lantern is an orange balloon with a Magic Marker Happy Face.

9. The Wolfman is just a shirtless hairy guy.

8. The scariest movie they could find to show is Mariah Carey’s Glitter.

7. It’s February.

6. Sexiest Costume goes to an Ed Asner lookalike.

5. Bobbing for Apples segues into Hunting for Uncle Sid’s Contact Lens.

4. Most of the guests are dressed as their favorite Certified Public Accountants.

3. All the decorations say “HAPPY,” then “BIRTHDAY” is crossed out and “HALLOWEEN” is written above it.

2. Best Costume goes to a guy in a sheet.

1. Instead of candy: leftover meatloaf.
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: art & entertainment, Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, ends & odd by Bob Sullivan
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Vampires were scary at one point in time. I remember watching the 1931 version of Dracula starring Bela Legosi and feeling shiver go down my spine from time to time based on nothing more than solid acting. But let’s face it the vampire scene has changed and not in a good way. [Read more →]

Tags: fan boy says, movies by Steve Mazzeo
2 Comments »

A couple in Louisiana was refused a marriage license by a justice of the peace due to the fact that they were an interracial couple. My favorite part of this story is this quote:

“I’m not a racist. I just don’t believe in mixing the races that way,” Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. “I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else.” [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, race & culture by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »

Until tonight, I hadn’t watched the news in months.

After work, I ducked into a bar to have something to eat and drink. A veggie burger and Maker’s Mark on the rocks, if you must know.

Unfortunately, a TV set was mounted over the bar directly across from me. I had little choice but to watch Hardball with Chris Matthews. [Read more →]

Tags: diatribes by David A. Brensilver
6 Comments »

I don’t know why the Heene family had a balloon large enough to float people high up in the air tied to their house. I guess there are people who actually own hot air balloons. Who knew? I always just assumed you went to big fields and rented a ride when proposing to a girlfriend or something. But when a kid possibly floats away, maybe it’s time to reevaluate a balloon’s usefulness around the house!  [Read more →]

Tags: ends & odd, family & parenting by Amy Boshnack
1 Comment »

I’m not going to sit here and reiterate the blog I wrote back in July about kids watching TV, specifically Noggin, which for the record is no longer Noggin. Now it’s Nick Jr., for real. What the hell? They can just drop the name of a network overnight? A little warning would have been nice. I nearly had a panic attack searching for Noggin on September 28, 2009 — a Monday, no less. Like I don’t have enough problems on Monday morning, now I had to deal with this shit? Not a very nice way to start the week. [Read more →]

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

David Letterman has been much in the news lately due to his fondness for the flesh of young female staffers, and the alleged blackmail plot regarding his exploits in that direction. It seems that old Dave is a bit of a lech who- like many powerful and wealthy individuals– uses his high social status to gain access to the sexual organs of women who would not look at him twice were he not so illustrious a figure. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, television by Daniel Kalder
16 Comments »

So what is it about science fiction that causes “literary” types to look down upon it? Like any genre, SF has its bad and good. No scratch that, like any writing, there is both bad and good. I’ve read plenty of unreadable “literary” fiction. But SF seems to get more derision than other forms of genre writing, perhaps unfairly. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing by Mark A. Rayner
3 Comments »

We get it Nobel Prize Committee: you didn’t like Bush Jr. You really didn’t. You have demonstrated this by giving Nobel Peace Prizes to Jimmy Carter in 2002, Al Gore in 2007, and — apparently having failed to notice that a Republican is no longer in office — Barack Obama in 2009 (John Kerry is expecting his any day now). You have also demonstrated how little you understand the American public. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government by Sean Cunningham
1 Comment »

Like any halfway sentient member of the human race I reacted to the news of Obama’s Nobel win last week with disbelief, a response which soon gave way to scorn and ridicule, before finally settling into a nasty sinking feeling. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, trusted media & news by Daniel Kalder
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Andrei Chikatilo is not as well known as his fellow serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, and if the Soviets had their way, no one would have ever heard of him.

According to the Soviets, crime did not exist in their worker’s paradise. But as the dead bodies piled up, the killer who came to be known as The Rostov Ripper  was finally caught and convicted of brutally murdering 52 women and children between the years 1978 and 1990.

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Tags: books & writing, on thrillers and crime by Paul Davis
1 Comment »

August 22, 2009
I dream I am attending a party at KennyB’s house. Karen wants to sing “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” with me, but I don’t know the words. She has a copy of the lyrics, but she refuses to let me see it. In frustration, I take a bath in the kitchen tub. I shampoo my hair and everything, but when I get out of the tub I realize I am still wearing my underwear and, furthermore, I am not wet. I overhear interesting and sensational talk between KennyB and his roommates.

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Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
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