“And I wasn’t looking for heaven or Hell

Just someone to listen to stories I tell.” 

~ Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket)

My wife meditates and she does Yoga. I think it is pretty interesting stuff, but I haven’t tried either activity for myself. She is always telling me how good it feels to meditate and to have meditated. I believe it. But I think I already do that, with music. I wonder if artists of every kind aren’t doing their own kind of meditation, after all. [Read more →]

Tags: artistic unknowns by Chris Matarazzo, religion & philosophy by Chris Matarazzo
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Vancouver is a beautiful city. I was only there once, and it was a very brief stay, but it made an impression.  My first moment seeing it was on a bus from Whistler, where I had been skiing. As we first came within view of the city, I was amazed at just how gorgeous it was. Beyond that, everyone there seemed so friendly. I have never spent much time in Canada, but I certainly have the idea that it is a generally peaceful place filled with nice, decent people. When it comes to sports fans, though, it appears that Vancouver is right up (or down) there with many other cities, as far as having a bunch of crazed lunatics rooting for its teams. The Vancouver Canucks lost game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. The scene on the streets of the city that night was horrifying, with rioting, fires, looting, and general lawlessness. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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10. “To prove I’m a good Democrat, I wanted to demonstrate that I lean a bit to the left.”

9. “I just love showing off Little Anthony and the Imperials.”

8. “I was confused by the term ‘junk e-mail’.”

7. “I wanted to show how hard it is to be a senator.”

6. “I was auditioning for a Calvin Klein ad.”

5. “As a forward thinker, I wanted to point the way.”

4. “I just wanted to answer the age-old question: Boxers or briefs?”

3. “When I originally said that I had been hacked, I was referring to my circumcision.”

2. “I am very proud of the staff I have under me.”

1. “For those who were confused about how to pronounce my last name, I wanted to send them a visual reminder.”

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, politics & government by Bob Sullivan
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When my father’s favorite sister leaves, I get Dad all to myself again. Since early in the summer, my aunt and I have knocked heads on the proper way to care for a dying man, so as soon as she is out of the house, I feel an enormous weight lifting. I feel more relaxed. I plan to make up for all the arguments from earlier in the summer. Then, I wanted to confront my father with his various failings as a Dad—from his various absences to his overbearing presence—but I’ve come to realize that it’s too late for this. He hasn’t eaten in weeks and can hardly take any fluid at all; he doesn’t have energy for intense conversations. If anything, a dying man feels he’s owed an apology from the rotten world, not like he is the one to apologize to selfish offspring or anyone else. So now, I am committed to rising above the fray and playing the role of the dutiful son until the end.    [Read more →]

Tags: creative writing, family & parenting by Alex Kudera
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NOTE: I’ve never been been one for blogging while on family vacations, not wishing to publicize how far I was from home, and how empty said-home was. So my ‘cruise posts’ over the week ahead – mockumenting the adventures of a West Texas desert-dweller in the middle of the biggest dang lake he ever saw – will be appearing one week after-the-fact.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 –The port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is slowly slipping from view, and we are now getting a chance to explore what will be our home over the week ahead. Plenty of topics for discussion among our new-found friends and acquaintances aboard the good ship Carnival-Freedom … “Where you from?” … “Is this your first cruise?” … “Do you get seasick?” … and, “Who’s going to win the NBA title?” Carnival Cruise Lines offered what I though was a splendid way to show our support, and I was sure to show my support for the Dallas Mavericks, early and often. [Read more →]

Tags: sports, travel & foreign lands by Jeff McDonald
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As Registered Genii go, you can’t get much more Registered or much more Genius than Nick Kristof. While his blood is not as blue as one could hope, his resume’ is otherwise impeccable comprising all the right schools and all the right gigs that have culminated with his perch at the highest level in respected media: a New York Times columnist. If after the suspiciously re-scheduled Rapture you need further proof that we are in the final days certainly this gentleman’s most recent column is a paradox of biblical proportions. [Read more →]

Tags: race & culture, trusted media & news by Ken Watson
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I was probably 9 or 10 years old? I was already working on our family’s vegetable farm full-time in the summer, and my cousins and I were making boxes (this process involves this big, stapler machine — at least for the ones that hold the heavier produce). Anyway, as we were working, we noticed that a baby bird had hopped  under the packing shed. This thing was little — barely could open its eyes — and we were worried that it would get hit by one of the forklifts. So, we found a small box, filled it with those cloth-like paper towels that come in a box (rag-in-a-box, I think it’s called?), and then maneuvered the baby bird into the little refuge we created for it. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, getting older by Sara W. Moreno
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Ah, summer. For kids, this was once a time of extended days. Of doing nothing. Of internal adventure. Well, my friend, you can forget all that. This is 2011, and if you think your children are going to spend the summer To Kill a Mockingbird-style, hanging around and imagining the great world out there, you are behind the times. If you think of it that way, you, my friend, are a neglecter of your children. [Read more →]

Tags: virtual children by Scott Warnock by Scott Warnock
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Via Screen Rant, DC comics is going to begin renumbering all — or, at least, 52 (I don’t know how many comics they publish now) — of their comic books, in an attempt to “reboot” their entire “universe.”

On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print.

DC Comics will only publish two comic books on August 31st: the final issue of this summer’s comic book mini-series FLASHPOINT and the first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE by Johns and Lee, two of the most distinguished and popular contemporary comic book creators, who will be collaborating for the first time. Together they will offer a contemporary take on the origin of the comic book industry’s premier superhero team.

[Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, books & writing by Ricky Sprague
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And so it comes to a close, at least for now. The Congressman bows out after a few weeks of endless humiliation. Was it the porn star? Was it the cross-dressing, vintage though it was? Was it simply, as the gentleman early on implied, merely that his name was ripe for bawdy jokes? The question is pertinent because, as we all know, what he actually did was scarcely an infraction of any sort (excepting his marriage vows) especially compared to the man he was compelled to apologize to publicly, one Bill Clinton.

Of all the gall Tony now must swallow, certainly this is the most bitter cup. As Jon Stewart put it so well, what is he apologizing to Clinton for? Copyright infringement? [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, trusted media & news by Ken Watson
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If you’re thinking of going to the time, trouble, and expense of attending the new “Green Lantern” film, you should probably read the comic below, in preparation. Not to be melodramatic, but if you don’t, you won’t know what’s really going on:

[Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, movies by Ricky Sprague
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Heads You Losestarts with a very clever idea: crime novelist Lisa Lutz asks ex-boyfriend David Hayward, a published poet, to collaborate on a mystery novel with her. Lisa writes the first chapter and sends it to David; he writes the second chapter and sends it back. They alternate, odd and even chapters, and manage to write a funny, interesting crime novel with some great twists and turns. The story is good, but the interaction between the two co-authors (their footnotes on each other’s chapters and their emails between chapters) is better. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads by Lisa Hura
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To start, I’d like to congratulate LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the rest of the Miami Heat for doing something that only a few generations ago would have been unthinkable: making the world root passionately for an unstoppable German. That said, as the Dallas Maverick’s star Dirk Nowitzki celebrates his first NBA Championship and revels in confirming his place as one of the league’s greats it’s also worth taking a moment to think of Robert “Tractor” Traylor. Traylor was drafted in 1998 and immediately traded for fellow draft pick Dirk (Traylor was drafted higher, so Pat Garrity was thrown in to balance the scales). [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Sean Cunningham
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If, say, Descartes were to come back from the grave and host a talk show, I would watch it, daily. I would also occasionally watch an episode of Jerry Springer, but I would never watch Oprah, may her show rest in peace.

I have nothing against Oprah as a person. I have plenty against Jerry Springer as a person and, aside from the annoyingly mathematical miseries he caused for me in my younger days, I have no opinion whatever about Descartes as a dude.  But here’s my problem: If I watch TV, I want either brilliance or absolute melt-into-the-couch drivel — Cops, or World’s Dumbest, for instance. I can’t be bothered with middle-of-the-road quality in a TV show. Oprah is arguably a genius, in a lot of ways, but her show is pretty run-of-the-mill, on the intellectual scale. Not delightfully bad, not intellectually stimulating . . . just . . . there. [Read more →]

Tags: artistic unknowns by Chris Matarazzo, television by Chris Matarazzo
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I write about my son Jack in this blog all the time. It’s hard not to, he provides entertainment, I am proud of him, and to be honest, it’s fun to write about him. I am amazed how a three foot tall, thirty-five pound person consumes so much of my life. But this week I would like to pay homage to my girlfriend Cailin. She is my best friend, a great drinking buddy, a fun concert mate, and most importantly- she my baby mamma. I love her, and I love her name; it matches her personality in that both are very unique. She definitely keeps me on my toes and I appreciate that along with a million other things about her. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, Marty digs by Marty O'Connor
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For a country that prides itself on the fact that its citizens enjoy freedom of speech, there seem to be a lot of instances where speech seems far less than free. In the world of sports, we are regularly reminded of the fact that speaking one’s mind can have all kinds of consequences. Whether it is criticizing refs, celebrating touchdowns with a bit too much gusto, or throwing gay slurs at fans, there are many different ways that an athlete can end up on the dark side of this basic freedom. Occasionally, the penalty for one of these violations has a direct result on the outcome of the event, which really puts a focus on the fairness (or lack thereof) of the punishment. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
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10. A honeymoon bed with handrails

9. A defibrillator

8. A subscription to Penthouse

7. That new STD iPhone app

6. A copy of Kama Sutra for the Infirm

5. A collection of naked TSA photos

4. A tuxedo with a built-in adult diaper

3. A Viagra Pez dispenser

2. A Playboy calendar with only May and December in it

1. A Rascal scooter with a “Just Married” sign and tin cans tied to the back
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, getting older, trusted media & news by Bob Sullivan
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The amount of knowledge and ability a smartphone offers on the move ranks it as one of the most influential breakthroughs since the internet. But, in a stunted economy, has anyone considered that maybe smartphones are too good, versatile, and convenient? [Read more →]

Tags: money, technology by Tyler Samien
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I never wanted anyone to take care of me.

I can’t say that I never needed care, just that I never felt much of a need for it. Maybe I didn’t allow myself a desire for it? Hmm.

In childhood it was available in spurts, the care. My father was absent of the ability, or desire. My mother tried her best, but struggled with depression and her ability to care for herself. Maybe that is saying too much about her, or giving her too little credit. Good thing she doesn’t really understand the internet. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, square one by Van McCourt by Van McO
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Leonid McGill is a former thug, trying to go straight. He was a bad guy who worked for bad guys, but he doesn’t want to be that guy anymore. Unfortunately for Leonid, there are too many ties to his past and no one — from organized crime kingpin Harris Vaartan to honest cop Carson Kitteridge — is willing to let him forget it in Walter Mosley’s When the Thrill Is Gone.

When a beautiful woman tells a detective she needs his help, he’s almost obligated to rescue her (at least in the fiction aisles). Even though McGill knows that Chrystal Tyler is lying to him, he takes her case. She’s got a stack of cash, he needs the money and he has problems of his own: a cheating wife, a son with a budding criminal career, and a best friend with not long to live. What are a few lies with all that on his plate? [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads by Lisa Hura
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