I am a Julia Child fanatic. I feel so cheated that she died before I had the chance to meet her and become her best friend (oh trust me, it would have happened!). Generally I couldn’t care less about the Oscars, but this year Julia is involved (albeit against her wishes). I will be preparing Julia’s Classic Roast Chicken to munch on while we watch the Oscars, followed by her most famous dessert, the Apple Tarte Tatin. Here are a few more of my favorite J.C. menu combinations and recipes.

Enjoy the Oscars tonight and Bon Appetit!

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Tags: movies, recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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Hollywood is not fair. Anyone who tells you that Hollywood is like a giant engine and the fuel is ideas, and the best ideas are like premium gasoline and if you have a great idea you can charge $3.45 a gallon is lying to you. I know he’s lying to you on account of I’ve seen Hollywood’s dark, rotting underbelly. I’ve seen it, and it’s just revolting.

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Tags: diatribes, movies by Ricky Sprague
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Whereas “Lighthouse” was all about our enlightenment, “Sundown” explored our dark side — temptation. “I can see her lying back in her satin dress in a room where you do what you don’t confess,” sang Gordon Lightfoot in his 1974 hit “Sundown.” The song is all about succumbing to temptation, hence once again revealing the double entendre that the Lost writers are so fond of using in their episode titles. When the sun goes down, man gets tempted by the dark. Why a “satin” dress? Sounds like Satan, don’t it? [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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Jeff Bridges gives a brilliant and captivating performance as Bad Blake, and makes us really care about this washed up country musician. The story is not new, but Bridges makes it feel fresh. The concert scenes are exciting, the story is engaging and the milieu feels authentic. It is not a great film, but it sure is good.  [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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“[D]o not linger over your own ruins.”

Lesser minds examining Vladimir Nabokov’s posthumously published The Original of Laura (Dying is Fun), A Novel in Fragments will be tempted to begin by quoting index card D2, page 133, in which the great Enchanter writes, “Now comes the mental image. In preparing for my own experiments — a long fumble which these notes shall help novices to avoid — I toyed with the ides of drawing a fairly detailed, fairly recognizable portrait of myself on my private blackboard.” This is a trap of course, neatly set by that great player of literary games, that the present reviewer shall neatly sidestep by instead noting that when the great Nabokov passed away in 1977 (as harrowingly related by a character purporting to be Nabokov’s son, Dmitri, in T.O.O.L.‘s introduction), I was four years old, and had only just recently discovered his works. I was halfway through my second re-reading of Pale Fire — I hadn’t yet found all the clues as to the butterfly/Hazel Shade connection – and I was devastated in that way that only the near-infant fan of a great author can be when he learns his favorite author has shuffled off this mortal coil.

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Tags: art & entertainment, books & writing by Ricky Sprague
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Brothers & Sisters (Sunday, ABC, 10PM) — I consistently neglect one of my favorite shows week after week and it’s simply because I’m 32 years old and like to be in bed by 10 on a school night, especially on Sunday. With Brothers & Sisters airing on Sunday at 10PM, I never watch it live… and considering this column posts on Monday at 2:00, I don’t get to write about it. So this week I’ve decided to honor B&S, stay up late, watch it and discuss. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, Lauren Likes TV, television by Lauren LaBumbard
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10. It’s a heartwarming story about two senior citizens trying to figure out how to get their cable television to work

9. The actors were told, “Improvise! That way we don’t have to hire any writers”

8. The Motion Picture Association of America rated your film PG for “Particularly Ghastly”

7. It has one or more Transformers in it

6. The opening and closing credits actually meet in the middle

5. It’s called The Love Guru II

4. All the actors are gerbils

3. The iPhone product placements detract from the Biblical setting

2. Instead of 3-D glasses, you’re supposed to wear sleep masks

1. It was directed by Marvin Scorsese
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: art & entertainment, Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, movies, television by Bob Sullivan
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So, James Cameron went on The View and finally revealed that Avatar was intended as a thinly-veiled vehicle for anti-corporate and environmentalist propaganda, confirming the suspicions of Republicans, mercenaries, and unobtainium miners everywhere. The funny thing is, even though he obviously wanted to send a very specific message, what the movie ends up meaning depends on one’s point of view. You might call it a reflecting pool, or a Rorschach inkblot test, in which everyone sees the confirmation of his or her political ideology in the story. Environmentalists might see it as glorifying the beauty and sanctity of nature and condemning man’s destructive and myopic exploitation of it. Socialists might revel in its message that living without money or trade is a more fulfilling and humane existence and that profit breeds violence and coercion. Doves might see it as challenging the military mindset and imperialist impulses of American culture. [Read more →]

Tags: movies, politics & government by John Capone
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Recently I interviewed a porn star. Not just any porn star, but a former Dirtiest Girl in Porn (honors get no higher). Taryn Thomas put out a XXX version of Jersey Shore — yes, this is decidedly NSFW — and in commemoration of this cultural watershed it seemed fitting to do a profile for Esquire.com. I found her perfectly charming; we’re both Jersey natives and Jersey folk have a natural bond. Due to space limits and what not, much of the copy didn’t fit and rather than losing Taryn’s comments I decided to preserve them here. I considered providing context, but these can more than stand on their own. With no further ado, random musings from a porn star:

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Tags: art & entertainment by Sean Cunningham
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You’ve probably noticed that in every flash-sideways so far on Lost this season, the central character of the episode has been shown looking into a mirror. Kate looks at herself in the auto body restroom after discovering that Claire was pregnant, Locke in his own bathroom just before attempting to call Jack, and Jack looks at himself both in the airplane while noticing the strange mark on his neck, and again in “The Lighthouse” when noticing an appendix scar that he doesn’t seem to remember. The easy metaphor of course, is that we are looking at secondary versions of these characters through the looking glass. But what’s the deeper meaning for us? [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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“The beast will have its day,” warns Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins) in The Wolfman.  Unfortunately, it is not a very interesting day, nor is it an improvement over the day the beast had back in 1941, when the original The Wolf Man, was released.  A remake of this story could have been original and exciting, but The Wolfman is neither. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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10. Snowplowing

9. Speed Typing

8. Bottomless Ski Jump

7. Icicle Toss

6. Octathlon

5. Nordic Hot Tub

4. Ice Hockey Free-For-All

3. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Doubles Luge

2. Snowman Building

1. Ski Curling
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, sports, television by Bob Sullivan
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Lost episode 6.4, “The Substitute,” has so many parallels with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory , I am convinced that the movie can be used to reveal Lost‘s endgame. While I’m sure those parallels also exist within the actual Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book, since I am more familiar with the 1971 Gene Wilder movie (having seen it dozens of times), I will make my comparisons there.  Sure, this may turn out to be nothing more than stuff and nonsense, but in the words of Wonka, “a little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” So, let’s get to it because we have so much time and so little to do. Strike that…reverse it.

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Tags: religion & philosophy, television by Marc Oromaner
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Valentine’s Day has recently passed, leaving many to look forward to next year’s bouquet of flowers, heart-splattered teddy bears and cardboard boxes full of calories. Good for you, I’m glad Hallmark/Walmart/the entire advertising industry has your continued attention, affections, and disposable income.  I, however, am left to ponder deeper, more meaningful issues. Like Phil Collins. [Read more →]

Tags: ends & odd, music by Sarah Ameigh
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Putting two quirky characters in a car together for wacky adventures can be a winning formula. When you add in hilarious supporting performances, you should walk away from the tables a winner. But something is missing from Saint John of Las Vegas, and it is not just the city of Las Vegas.  Despite a few laughs, memorable characters and some good performances, this film is a loser.  [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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10. “I don’t know which I enjoy more, the Pomp or the Circumstance.”

9. “That’s weird: somebody’s replaced the Canadian National Flag with a picture of a leaf!”

8. “I never realized North America contained a country besides the United States.”

7. “I’m really looking forward to that new event, Cross-Country Skating!”

6. “Cripes! I’ve seen more snow on the shoulder of a Head & Shoulders user!”

5. “Rumor has it that one of the male figure skaters might be gay.”

4. “It’s so embarrassing when you just can’t get your torch up!”

3. “What’s the venue for the Freestyle Zamboni?”

2. “Rumor has it that k. d. lang might be gay.”

1. “I didn’t know Georgia was a country now! Did it secede from the Union? Again?”
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, sports, television by Bob Sullivan
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“My name is Michael Westen. I’m a spy.”

So begins each episode of the TV series Burn Notice.

I read that Saturday Night Live made fun of the TV series and as I’ve lately become a huge fan of the action-comedy program, I went to the Internet to watch the comedy sketch .

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Tags: television by Paul Davis
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Dramatis Personae
Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics editor-in-chief
Ed Brubaker, writer of Captain America

QUESADA: The wingnuts are all over me for tying-in the teabaggers with those white supremacists. What were you thinking? Don’t you realize these people read comic books? My God, that’s probably all they read.

BRUBAKER: I’m sorry — I didn’t think they were smart enough to figure it out. [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, politics & government by Colin Cohen
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The Winter Olympics begin in Vancouver on Friday, and I can hear many of you sighing with boredom. Who cares, right? And then there are the cynics amongst us who may believe that a pursuit of excellence is a worthwhile endeavor, but who are disgusted by how the athletes are exploited – they make the sacrifices, but corporations, governments, and the IOC reap the rewards. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports, television by Mark A. Rayner
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Among other stumbles President Obama has recently been using a locution that aggravates dealers, magicians, limo drivers, whores and other fine Americans engaged in the vice trade; he has casually been using Las Vegas, presumably because of its gambling-based economy, as a foil to the rest of the nation. But Vegas will not go quietly into that neon it’s-all-good night. Vegas and Nevada (even Harry Reid!) has taken to heart some other ill-phrased advice from the White House. They are punching back twice as hard! [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, politics & government by Ken Watson
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