The last week gave us one of the most entertaining audio/video clips to ever grace the HTML code of YouTube. We saw a scrawny little fellow stand on the corner, screaming about killing crackers, their babies, and hollering at a black fellow who was/is dating a white woman. We saw his General, lawyer, and Chairman defend him and the idea of killing white babies (in certain contexts) in an interview that was almost equally hilarious. These two men have sent millions of people into a state of stunned disbelief, followed by riotous laughter and great mirth.

Why?

[Read more →]

Tags: race & culture by Mike McGowan
8 Comments »

I personally didn’t think signing with the Miami Heat indicated a man was evil incarnate — Signing with the Dallas Cowboys? Maybe. — but that was before I heard from Dan Gilbert. Gilbert is the majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers (aka “the team King James used to play for”), and he posted an open letter to fans on the team website, in which he thanked LeBron for seven years of service that saw the Cavs fail to win a title but during which they still experienced far more success than they had at any other point in the history of the franchise. I kid, he ripped LeBron a new one as he dealt with the grief from his loss by skipping straight to anger and staying there. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Sean Cunningham
No Comments »

Dear Diary,

Today I started reading Eclipse. This was after I told myself I was not going to read any of the books in the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. I’m a thirty-(cough)-year-old woman, and not a twelve year old girl. I’m too mature to be reading this, right? But I read Twilight and New Moon, and now I’m reading Eclipse. And I really don’t like reading it because it’s taking up my whole day and I can’t get anything done. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, ends & odd by Nancy DeGregorio
2 Comments »

“No-one’s gonna really be free until nerd persecution ends.”

Many Americans do not live healthy lifestyles, leading to an obesity epidemic. I know this because there is a featured story on it on the nightly news just about every week and there are a bunch of shows on basic cable covering it, not to mention The Biggest Loser. Since this is all happening on TV, we can’t honestly blame real live people for this problem. So where do we start? Ronald McDonald, Burger King and that demon-haired Wendy are on the list to begin with. Not to mention the militaristic Colonel Sanders, rounding out our usual suspects. But those characters have all taken steps to clear their names and have cleaned up their menus as best they could, for the sake of public opinion. Thorton Mellon, would be a good candidate since his Big and Tall Stores take advantage of the overweight (“If you want to look thin, hang out with fat people,” his TV ad prescribes.) But his athleticism on the diving board should, and does, exclude him from blame.

No. It’s Lewis, Gilbert, Takashi, Booger, Wormser, Poindexter, Lamar and the rest of the Tri-Lams of Adams College, heroes of The Revenge of the Nerds movie franchise, that are our villains here. [Read more →]

Tags: Joshua Goldowsky blames a fictional character, movies by Joshua Goldowsky
No Comments »

June 26, 2010
I dream I am appearing in a burlesque show in a high school theater. Attendance is sparse and the show is not going well. It is time for my trained dog act, but the dog is not there. A dog I don’t know has shown up with his trainer, and they suggest I do the act with this strange dog. I say, “I’ve never worked with this dog.” They say, “Ah, just give it a try.” I say, “Hello, Doggie,” and the dog barks viciously. At first I am terrified but then the dog gets right up to my face, smiles, and says “Hello, Fred.” It becomes clear that this dog will be a sensation and I am already anticipating the accolades, but nearby a Metro North train is letting out and the crowds pass right across our stage. Sadly, none of them stay for the show. I am astonished to learn that there is a Metro North track that runs right across the back of the stage. I wonder why more people don’t get killed.

[Read more →]

Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
1 Comment »

In a summer full of expensive blockbusters and juvenile comedies, Cyrus is a welcome relief. This low key, 92 minute comedy manages to be quirky, dark and sweet. It has an indie low budget feel, but boasts a big star cast.

John (John C. Reilly) is lonely and cannot seem to connect with women. Although he has remained friends with his ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener), the news of her impending marriage to Tim (Matt Walsh) hits him hard. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
No Comments »

The Washington Post reports that the DoJ is going to file suit against Arizona’s new immigration law.

At the EXACT SAME TIME, “The Obama administration has vowed to crack down on employers who hire illegals… ”

So riddle me this, Batman: It’s the Federal Government’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws when it comes to Arizona, but it is NOT the Federal Government’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws when employers hire illegals?  That sounds to me like a classic Catch-22.  Enforce immigration laws on your own, the Federal Government will sue you.  Don’t enforce immigration laws on your own, the Federal Government will sue you.

Man, I really love “Hope” and “Change”.

Tags: politics & government by Mike McGowan
1 Comment »

He has started 53 percent of his team’s games through July 5th.

He has less RBI than Roger Bernadina, Jeff Keppinger, and Chris Snyder.

He has fewer home runs than Ross Gload, Dane Sardinha, and Jeff Baker.

He is Omar Infante, 2010 All-Star. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Glenn Giangrande
1 Comment »

Many years ago, when I was a senior at what was then St. Joseph’s College, the college drama club mounted a production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

I have no acting ability. I can only play myself (which means, I suppose, that I am — at least potentially — a star). But the members of the club were a part of the set I hung out with, and I spent a lot of time backstage. In fact, I had a modest role in that production of Much Ado: I was the prompter, standing every night in the little box at the center-front of the stage, reading along as the actors spoke their lines, ready to help them out if their memories faltered.

I don’t recall ever having to prompt anyone, so I ended up just reading the script every night. [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
No Comments »

Frida Kahlo, internationally-acclaimed Mexican painter known for colorful, provocative images that were the stuff of symbologists’ dreams, was born on this day in 1907.

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón lived for only 44 years … but what years they were! It was a vibrant and turbulent life that knew more than its share of pain … all of which found its way onto canvas.
[Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment by Jeff McDonald
No Comments »

Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, just announced that their country will break ties with Israel if it refuses to apologize for the flotilla incident. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows Turkey’s long history of supporting freedom. A history that stands in direct opposition to Israel’s, whose aggression goes back to when it was referred to as the Ottoman Empire. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government by Colin Cohen
4 Comments »

I became a football fan at an early age. As much as I like baseball, basketball, and hockey, nothing could ever match the excitement of a football game. College or pro, football has something the other games do not have, even if I could not tell you exactly what that is. One of the things that contributed to my love of football was the quarterback for the Eagles during my teenage and college years. Randall Cunningham could do things no other quarterback could do. He could throw the ball the length of the field, run with incredible speed and agility, and avoid tacklers like no one I had ever seen. He was Michael Vick with a brain and a lack of criminal tendencies and cruelty. [Read more →]

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

10. The slogan above the entranceway: All Parents Pay Up Front!

9. Every night at midnight, your bunkmate likes to go “pretend berserk” with a steak knife

8. All those late-night lectures about ‘Allah’ and ‘virgins’

7. The only “facility” available is a nearby lake

6. They let you build black snowmen out of tarballs on the local beach

5. All day, all the counselors talk about is how hunky Justin Bieber is

4. The cuisine: possum jerky and RC Cola

3. The Camp’s Indian name translates as ‘Winding Trails and Sheer Cliffs’

2. Each night, two hours of intimately checking each other for ticks

1. The horse they’re dragging you around on isn’t responding
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, travel & foreign lands by Bob Sullivan
No Comments »

Happy Independence Day to everyone.

For me this day normally consists of a nice cookout and fireworks with the kids (unless you live in a nanny state that says you can operate heavy machinery at 70 miles an hour but not light a Roman Candle). For the last several years (when I haven’t been deployed), Dave and I would go spend a ridiculous amount of money at South of the Border to get all the “good” fireworks. We would then have an amazing display in my backyard that the whole neighborhood would appreciate (at least I like to think that they appreciated it). I would make chicken wings and we would grill steaks and other animal parts. The kids would come over and love the fireworks. Eventually we would drink too much and start getting braver and braver (or dumber and dumber depending on how you look at it). Now my son just refers to the stupidity that I teach him on a regular basis. When I ask him what he’s talking about he simply says, “You taught me to shoot fireworks at people.” Oh. Yeah. That’s right. I did that.

Anyway, this year there will be no fireworks for me. But there is a cookout here and we just might get steaks cooked to order. When you’re deployed, that’s pretty significant. [Read more →]

Tags: ends & odd, movies by Jeffrey Maryak
4 Comments »

Rumor has it that Kobayashi will not be competing in this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest because of some sort of contract dispute. For those of you who don’t know who Kobayashi is, just reference the When Falls All-Coliseum Awards FD2K. Without Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut — last year’s champion and the only person who can come close to Kobayashi’s eating greatness — will undoubtedly run away with the title. Ratings will surely suffer for tomorrow’s noon (EST) showdown on ESPN.

I have a few questions to express my disappointment. The first is, they have contract disputes in competitive eating? Don’t they just pay them in Robitussin? The second question is, what is Major League Eating thinking? Pay Koby whatever he wants. He and Chestnut are the Tiger and Phil of the 4th of July. Their Independence Day showdowns inspire millions of Americans to take it to the grill later in the day. No Koby, no interest in the sport. And my last and most important question is, what is Kobayashi thinking? Sitting out the 4th of July in competitive eating is like holding out of the Tour De France in cycling. Where else can he make a name for himself? Just sad.

Tags: sports by Robert O'Hara
2 Comments »

… Thomas M. Disch, the great and too much unsung author of The Genocides, Camp Concentration and 334 who on this day two years ago declared his own independence from a  world he could no longer endure by opening up his skull with a liberating blast from a gun.

Mr. Disch, your prose was pure, joyous darkness and your poetry was damn fine too. I still visit the ghost ship you left us from time to time.

Rest in peace.

Tags: art & entertainment, books & writing by Daniel Kalder
No Comments »

Yesterday brought us the funeral of Sen. Robert Byrd.  He was the nation’s oldest and longest serving Senator. He also comes with a fairly controversial past, one which drew much criticism while he was alive. I’m obviously referring to his membership in the Ku Klux Klan, and his work as a recruiter for the organization.

So what is the best way to eulogize someone’s racist, cross-burning, terrorist past? Just ask former President Bill Clinton.

[Read more →]

Tags: politics & government by Mike McGowan
3 Comments »

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said yesterday that the Afghanistan War was of “Obama’s choosing” and that the president should’ve known from history that a war there was unwinnable.

Of course, he couldn’t be more correct. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government by Colin Cohen
2 Comments »

Last year, I wrote a piece here called “The Future of Literary Fiction” , which included a list of authors that I regularly search for at Amazon.com for their upcoming novels or short story collections. In essence, it’s a personal version, exclusive of age or nationality, of other recent attempts to list the best writers of fiction. I referenced the list of authors in the 1999 “Future of American Fiction” issue of The New Yorker, which has held up extremely well. Now, TNY has published a new list of “20 under 40”, which doesn’t pretend to be a “best of” list as much as a grouping of representative voices for our current culture. This has generated a number of alternate lists, including this one at The Guardian of British authors and this tiresome and nearly incoherent screed by Lee Siegel in The Observer informing us that fiction is dead. Nonsense. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, now read this! by Christopher Guerin
11 Comments »

This week I would like to review the latest film from master filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, entitled Mindbender: The Last Shyamalan. This is an exciting movie with lots of great twists and turns like you’ve come to expect from this unpredictable filmmaker, so hold on tight while I give you my four-star review (full disclosure: I did not actually see the film).

Warning: Spoilers ahead! If you don’t want to know about all the great twists, then don’t read any more. Go on, I dare you not to read it (please read it — also, click on the ad at the bottom of this review)! [Read more →]

Tags: ends & odd, movies by Ricky Sprague
1 Comment »