Philadelphia is known for its soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, but as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today , an alleged arms dealer for the terrorist organization Hezbollah believed he could also pick up a couple of stinger missiles and a few machine guns here.

For nearly two years an FBI undercover operation sucked in the alleged arms dealer and a baker’s dozen of cohorts by selling them stolen cell phones, PlayStation 2 systems (training aid for terrorists?) and counterfeit Nike shoes (why buy real Nike shoes if you are only going to blow yourself up?)

Then came the sting with the offer of stinger missiles and machine guns, which led to the arrests here in Philadelphia.

Congratulations to the FBI undercover agent and the FBI team.     

Tags: terror & war by Paul Davis
No Comments »

If you are like me and can’t get enough of the troubled Gosselin family, you tuned in to the series finale of Jon and Kate Plus Eight last night on TLC. The series came to a close quietly, the same way it began – with Kate being pragmatic as ever and Jon blinking stupidly into the camera. After five seasons, the show is ending following Jon’s claims that the constant presence of the cameras is harming his children. Funny how the constant presence of money from TLC into his bank account hasn’t harmed anyone. [Read more →]

Tags: television by Nancy DeGregorio
3 Comments »

Over the weekend military prosecutors officially charged Nidal Hasan for his shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas. The Senate has already started an official investigation, and cable news (depending on which network you watch) is done trying to convince you that this was an act of terrorism or an act of disgruntled behavior. Now comes a whole new venue for terrorism, as state side trials for the 9/11 conspirators loom. But before we move on, let us go back to Fort Hood for a second. Do we really know what terrorism is anymore? Maybe we should find out before going another year presuming we would know what it was if we saw it. [Read more →]

Tags: terror & war by Robert O'Hara
1 Comment »

Paul Rudnick is one of those names that I was complete unfamiliar with, until I read his book.  As he told his stories, I kept thinking “oh!  I remember Sister Act!”  “I’ve heard of Allan Carr!”  “He wrote The Addams Family?  I never knew that!”  It was part discovery, part reunion, full of funny bits, a little gossip, and some entirely fictional chapters that were, perhaps, my favorite parts.  It is wickedly funny, even — maybe especially — when recounting the worst stories.  All in all, it was a pleasure to read.

I Shudder isn’t exactly a memoir, although it’s full of funny stories about his family, his Hollywood contacts, the plays he’s written and the people he’s met.  Between these stories, there is also a (hopefully) fictional memoir, “An Excerpt from the Most Deeply Intimate and Personal Diary of One Elyot Vionnet.”  Elyot is a bizarre character, a semi-retired substitute teacher living in a perfect studio apartment that almost overlooks Gramercy Park.  One worries about what he might be teaching those impressionable young minds:

As this is my most deeply intimate and personal diary, I am assuming that it will one day be introduced into evidence at my trial.

[Read more →]

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

When Falls the Coliseum is seeking new contributors. We want more bloggers who are funny, provocative, insightful, opinionated, direct; who pay attention to current events, politics, culture, the way people behave; who can spot bullshit and mock it, from any political or other perspective; who will write blog posts regularly (at least a couple of times per month and preferably more often than that) in any of our categories. If the above describes you, or someone you know, our submissions page has more information about becoming a contributor.

Tags: announcements by Coliseum
No Comments »

I’m a little behind on watching The Oprah Winfrey Show, so it was with great surprise that I recently discovered that my beloved idol, Oprah Winfrey, will be bringing her show to an end in September 2011. Upon hearing her utter the ill-fated words, “The countdown to the end of The Oprah Winfrey Show starts now”, I fell to my knees and let out a scream heard around the world. [Read more →]

Tags: television by Nancy DeGregorio
1 Comment »

The American Music Awards (Sunday, 8PM, ABC) — I am a big fan of music award shows. Grammy’s, VMA’s… hell I’ll even watch the CMA’s. Last night were the American Music Awards so obviously I watched. I didn’t get around to many shows this week so I am dedicating this week’s column to the awards show. It was clearly a night for the ladies. My commentary below: [Read more →]

Tags: Lauren Likes TV, music, television by Lauren LaBumbard
2 Comments »

For many years, the University of Mississippi band has played “From Dixie With Love” at the school’s football games. The song includes the lyric “the South will rise again.” In October of this year, the Ole Miss Associated Student Body voted to discontinue this chant and replace it with a taunt at LSU, one of their rivals. The change was meant to avoid the negative connotation of the chant, with regard to slavery and segregation. Sounds like a good choice to me. [Read more →]

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

10. “This turkey tastes a little off. What breed did you say it was, ‘tofu’?”

9. “What time do the Indians arrive?”

8. “Well, I think thine clothes look equally as ridiculous!”

7. “And you can get advice on cooking your bird from that handheld talking machine?!”

6. “Big deal! So your ancestors came over on the Mayflower!”

5. “When we knew John McCain, of course, we called him ‘Little Johnny’.”

4. “Jebediah, look! Their leader appears to be a Native American!”

3. “There is no need to struggle! Why do you not just share the wishbone?!”

2. “Celebrating with giant balloons of cartoon animals! Why didn’t we think of that?!

1. “Hey! Let us out of this box! It’s dark in here!”
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

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

I would just like to take a moment, one single little moment, to express how happy DVD packages make me. I bought Star Trek (2009) recently, which is to say it came out on Tuesday and I owned it before this is posted. And it came as a part of what A Christmas Story devotees would call a statue: a model of the Enterprise. It has its own stand. I can barely look at it without needing to wipe tears from my eye.

Tags: fan boy says, movies by Steve Mazzeo
1 Comment »

This Thursday the European Union elected its first president — well, sort of. Naturally the peoples of the 27 state bloc were not permitted to vote. They didn’t even know who the candidates were. Leaders decided to spare their electorates the trouble by making the choice for them behind closed doors. After early reports that Tony Blair might win, it turned out that France and Germany were opposed to giving him yet another platform to strut about on, and he quickly faded from view. With 27 sets of national interests to balance, the final candidates were always going to be selected from the most bland and inoffensive countries in the bloc. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, trusted media & news by Daniel Kalder
No Comments »

Anyone interested and plenty who are not have seen the Attorney General, Eric Holder, making his arguments as to why the transfer of Khalid Sheik Muhammed from Guantanamo to the Southern District of New York for trial is not just Good; not just Superior to the previous status quo, but rather Necessary. Indeed, he claims to be correcting a derilection, committed by You Know Who. [Read more →]

Tags: on the law, terror & war by Ken Watson
No Comments »

There’s always somewhere worse. For instance, Italy. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is currently facing charges of tax fraud and corruption. That’s bad, but not unprecedented (hey, we had Nixon). However, Berlusconi’s allies have jumped to his aid and in the process of saving their leader could help tens of thousands of criminals dodge punishment. This, ladies and gentlemen, is bad government. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government by Sean Cunningham
No Comments »

Virtual book tours are the new “done thing” when it comes to publicizing novels; so both Rob Kroese, who has just published his first (absurd and entertaining) novel, Mercury Falls, and I thought we’d share our conversation here on WFTC. My second book, Marvellous Hairy, has just been released by Crossing Chaos Enigmatic Ink; the publisher has described my book as fabulist satire, and I think you could safely apply that label to Rob’s book as well. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing by Mark A. Rayner
No Comments »

These hands are stony patient hands
Not sedimentary stone, laid bit on cautious bit by the langourous
limestone waters.

No, these hands lived hot and liquid happy
Not knowing they were hands; ignorant and igneous
Till the ceiling broke and they learned up
And they learned cold.
And they knew hard.
And learned that they were hands, pick-handle raw
And learned to roll a cigarette
With no paper or fill
Nor lips to puff or lungs to burn.
They learned to rest and ache and split.
And hold another hand, though callous numbed.
They learned early and they learned coffee.
And dug and dug a mile down or two.
And said finally, this grave ain’t deep but we are through digging.

Tags: creative writing by Ken Watson
No Comments »

November 7, 2009
I dream I am on a nature trip with some of my colleagues. Diane shows me a clearing in the forest with a luxurious bedroom setup. She informs me that this is the new thing-elegant bedrooms in the midst of nature-and there is no charge to use them. If you come upon these places and you are tired you are supposed to just climb into bed. I wonder why they aren’t all already in use, but she informs me that they are not easy to find. I start looking for another one and wind up crawling for miles in the dark.

[Read more →]

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

“More of this is true than you would believe,” flashes on the screen at the start of The Men Who Stare at Goats. That sounds promising, because the film is based on the well-received nonfiction book by Welsh journalist Jon Ronson.  But a disclaimer at the end of the film that goes by too fast to read says that many of the characters and much of the plot has no connection to the book. That is too bad, because the real story sounds funny and fascinating, and the film has a first rate cast. But as an absurd comedy, The Men Who Stare at Goats is plodding, and not nearly as funny as it should be. [Read more →]

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

Glee, Wednesday 9PM, FOX — Glee returned this week and has once again managed to hit the high notes (well almost). It was nice to see Artie as the center story line this week as they focused on the obstacles of his disability and his sheepish romance with Tina (that faker… she never did do a good stutter). His unconventional rendition of “Dancing With Myself” was sweet and one of my favorite numbers of the year.

[Read more →]

Tags: Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
2 Comments »

It is very easy for those of us who longed to play professional sports but didn’t have the talent to think that those who have reached those heights are indestructible. Beyond that, I think we naturally think that those people are the luckiest people in the world, and must love their lives. Sadly, that is often not the case. [Read more →]

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

10. How John McCain Ruined My Chances to Become VP

9. Stalin, Hitler, Levi Johnston, & Tina Fey

8. Why We Should Rename It the Exxon National Wildlife Refuge

7. How to Look Sharp for Only $150,000

6. If I Put On My Extra-Strong Glasses, I Can See Parts of Europe, Too!

5. Sniping Baby Seals from a Chopper

4. Me?! A Female Pit Bull?! You Betcha!

3. Winners Never Quit, and Qui…Oh, Never Mind

2. The Importance of “Abstinence Only” for Nonrelatives

1. If Ya Think I Speak Good, Wait’ll Ya Read This Friggin’ Book!
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

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