Ted Williams said that “hitting [a baseball] is fifty percent above the shoulders.” Yeah, see, there’s the problem. You can be physically athletic and still never excel because of what goes on in your thinkosphere as the pitcher winds up, or as the pass comes to you, or as you approach a hurdle. This is why even physically talented artistic kids can have trouble with sports, but it is also why they can become fans who reap deeper rewards than most. [Read more →]

Tags: artistic unknowns by Chris Matarazzo, sports by Chris Matarazzo
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Tags: Marty digs, sports by Marty O'Connor
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Every once in a while, watching sports brings us the opportunity to witness something truly special. This column has allowed me to share a lot of cool stories and great accomplishments, in addition to all of the negative stuff that often fills this space. Some of those positive events could be classified as special, but there are degrees of special. On Wednesday night, baseball fans got to see special in its truest form. Roy Halladay, a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in his first ever post-season appearance, threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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10. “I discover your continent, and the only honor I get is a lousy sale at Sears?”

9. “If I knew it was gonna lead to Jersey Shore, I think I woulda stayed in Spain.”

8. “I’m 560 years old; I should be gettin’ all kinds of discounts!”

7. “What’s Joan Collins doing these days?”

6. “I see where cloth has become so rare, some of your celebrities have resorted to wearing meat!”

5. “We had a ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on the Santa Maria, as well.”

4. “I’d be hard pressed to say which was the greater discovery: America, or the Snuggie.”

3. “How would I get to the city called ‘Me, Ohio’?”

2. “Why is the bottom of my boat covered with oil?”

1. “I can’t believe my old pal Larry King is finally going off the air.”
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, ends & odd, travel & foreign lands by Bob Sullivan
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For as long as I have been alive, the Democrats have always considered those of us who hail from the South as uneducated country bumpkins, ignorant hillbillies, and moronic rednecks. Those who are in control of pop culture have derided, insulted, and slandered rural Southerners for literally decades, in movies, on TV, in the words they write in books and papers.

And now the folks at NPR want to try to point to the use of the word “hick” as a reason we should all vote Democrat in the 2010 elections?

[Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, race & culture by Mike McGowan
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Although it may seem otherwise, people care a lot about language. Everyday people who mash words together without a second thought will get all defensive and downright purist when the discussion turns to proper use of English, especially if there’s some perceived threat. And a big threat to language has been looming: digital technology. [Read more →]

Tags: language & grammar, technology, virtual children by Scott Warnock by Scott Warnock
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Autumn is upon us, dear readers, and there is no season which I like better. The reasons for my unwavering love for the falls are simple ones, yet they remain worth sharing. Perhaps seeing some of my favorite activities will help you make the most of your season.  [Read more →]

Tags: creative writing, environment & nature, mostly kidding by Matt Scottoline by Matt Scottoline
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Fox Butterfield’s All God’s Children: The Bosket Family and The American Tradition of Violence includes a section when Willie Bosket, who became a murderer at 15, decides to serve as his own attorney. Willie has not been to law school or received much of any kind of formal education and his approach is, to put it mildly, eccentric, such as when he insists on asking a witness endless variations of the question, “As a homosexual, should you really be testifying?” (There was nothing to suggest the witness was a homosexual, nor would it have had any impact on his testimony were he one.) Yet there is a method to the madness: soon the judge and prosecutor give Willie greater leeway than they would a regular attorney. And Willie, in turn, uses this to catch witnesses off-guard, to the point he’s soon representing himself far more effectively than “competent” counsel would. This approach to life seems to have been adopted by Carl Paladino.

[Read more →]

Tags: Mr. Sean goes to Washington by Sean Cunningham
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It’s rapidly becoming one of my biggest pet peeves, angling for a second place finish close on the heels of hair in the shower drain.  The term “predatory lender”, and the closely related “predatory lending institutions”, makes for a very interesting distortion of reality.  By attempting to fix the blame for the subprime mortgage crisis solely on the banks who were lending money, the people who use these terms ignore part of the overall problem.

And if we ignore parts of the problem, we will never get it solved.

[Read more →]

Tags: money by Mike McGowan
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In recent years I have developed a small obsession.  With the help of the Internet Broadway Database, I have compiled a list of Broadway shows I have seen. 

I don’t mean road companies.  I don’t mean local productions of shows that appeared on Broadway.   

As I type this I realize I must sound like something akin to a bagel snob. [Read more →]

Tags: Broadway Fred by Fred Siegel
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Lately I’ve been having trouble sleeping. I have recurrent dreams about something that is so terrifying, so stressful, and so dreadful, it is invading my subconscious, waking me at all hours of the night, and rendering me unable to fall back asleep. What, you ask, is keeping me up at night? The answer: preschool. That’s right, I’m having preschool nightmares. [Read more →]

Tags: education, family & parenting by Nancy DeGregorio
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Davis Guggenheim takes on the public education system in the United States, in much the same way he took on global warming in his 2006 An Inconvenient Truth. But the villains here are not so clear. Waiting for Superman has attracted the attention of both Time magazine and Oprah, and the education problem certainly merits the attention. This documentary has plenty of drama and shocking information, but Guggenheim grossly oversimplifies this complex problem. In spite of this, it is a film well worth seeing. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie by Gail D. Rosen
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So I was walking down the street on Saturday, leaving a voice message on my friend’s cell phone when something I saw stopped me in my tracks, mid-sentence: The advertisement for A&E’s new show “Teach: Tony Danza.” Apparently, it’s his toughest role yet. If you’ve seen this ad you might have assumed, as I did, that this is some lame prime time drama series starring Tony Danza as a teacher but no! You’re wrong. You’re so wrong! It’s – guys, I’m so excited to share this with you that I can barely type – a reality show about Tony Danza actually teaching! Yes! Teaching people’s children! If you didn’t see the first episode, I’ll sum up what you need to know: Tony Danza has a degree in history and always wanted to be a teacher. And since we Americans give celebrities anything they want, the administrators of Northeast High School in Philadelphia said “Sure, what’s the worst that could happen?” Allow me to stop writing while I finish laughing.

Ok, I’m back. Now, I could spend my time with you this week commenting on how unfair it is that while Philly is struggling to find the funds necessary to keep their best educators from being laid off, someone who lists “tap dancing” in the skills section of his resume is just handed a job teaching tenth grade English. But I remember well the baptism-by-fire that is your first year as an educator so Tony, I’m going to take pity on you and give you ten golden nuggets of advice, from one former teacher to a future former teacher. [Read more →]

Tags: Meg gives advice to famous people, television by Meg Boyle
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Last week Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow’s mayor of 18 years, was fired by President Medvedev. The news scored lots of column inches in the Huffington Post, Reuters and all the major papers, which is a rare honor for a regional politician in a faraway country of which we know little (and we do know little).  Partly this was because Medvedev fired him, and thus the story fits into the lazy trope so beloved of the world’s kerrrrap Russia correspondents, who otherwise might have to learn something about the country they purport to report upon: is this a sign that Medvedev is his own man, or does he still have Putin’s hand up his ass? [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, travel & foreign lands, trusted media & news by Daniel Kalder
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Complaining about the cruel, insensitive world is a norm for creative artists. So is blaming that world for their own obscurity. The thing is, about 98.34% of artists who complain about their plight have no right to. If you want to whine about why you didn’t “make it” and be free of my judgment (and who doesn’t?), you will need to meet certain standards. Otherwise, stop flapping your artsy-fartsy gums and get back to creating. [Read more →]

Tags: advice, artistic unknowns by Chris Matarazzo by Chris Matarazzo
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The other day I came upon a reference to a statement that, when first uttered, immediately became notorious: “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

This was, of course, part of Barry Goldwater’s speech accepting the Republican nomination for President in 1964. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
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Sometimes when I sit down to blog about a certain album I am enjoying, I have to really catch myself. Does my opinion count?  I mean, how hip can a 5’7 pudgy white guy be? I spent the past Friday night getting Chili’s Chips and Salsa take out and watching Die Hard 2. But I do try to keep my finger on the energy drink fueled pulse of our nation’s youth.  [Read more →]

Tags: Marty digs, music, television by Marty O'Connor
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Sunday, Donovan McNabb returned to Philadelphia. If you are a football fan, you are well aware of this, as it has been the main point of discussion on sports shows all week. The new quarterback of the Washington Redskins was making his first visit to the city where he had played for eleven seasons, and the sports world was fascinated. The big question was whether or not the Philadelphia fans, a popular target for derision by commentators everywhere, would boo McNabb. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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10. Has pictures of Barry Bonds all over his bedroom

9. During gym class rope climb, he yanked down half the ceiling

8. He’s always Googling “the best way to get around urine tests”

7. His personal trainer: Alex Rodriguez’s cousin

6. This year he’s a starting fullback; last year he was an oboist in the school band

5. Buys all his clothes at Big, Tall & ’Roidy

4. Makes Lou Ferrigno look like Justin Bieber

3. He shaves twice a day, and he’s in the fifth grade

2. His right arm is enormous, and he doesn’t masturbate

1. He doesn’t masturbate, because there’s nothing to hold onto
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: advice, Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, drugs & alcohol, sports by Bob Sullivan
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For those born and raised here, on the fringes of the high Chihuahuan Desert, it’s hard to imagine just how big “a little rain” can get. Sure, we see floods following a downburst, narrow and rapid, especially during the late-summer ‘monsoon’ season. But those come, and then go, very quickly … and the dry heat takes over once again.

But I have lived up-north, back-east. And I know how big a little rain can get. In 1972, Tropical Storm Agnes headed inland. I was one of thousands lining the banks of the Susquehanna, desperately adding sandbags to the dikes along Kingston, and Wilkes-Barre. In the end, our efforts were for nought, and the Wyoming Valley was flooded.

Which is why my thoughts and my prayers are with my dang-Yankee, back-east friends as they cope with “a little rain” from Tropical Storm Nicole … God bless.

Tags: environment & nature by Jeff McDonald
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