March 07, 2010
Apparently they are handing out some awards in California. They are also putting on some fancy dresses at that shindig. So far I'd say the highlight of the night is the always fabulous Helen Mirren. As to the worst, Miley...
February 16, 2010
I read the NYT's long report on the Tea Party Movement. Pretty damn frightening. Those people are really crazy. In my worst Randian/Libertarian days, I never believed what these nutballs do. Oh, and a brief note to Ms. Stout (first...
February 07, 2010
So I've got this season 3 episode on and I'm thinking it wouldn't be a bad thing to screen in Politics and Film as a way to get into, say, the Global War on Terrorism....
January 26, 2010
Jim Carroll was just one of the people who died in 2009. This video was made by a friend of the blog, and his flying monkey assistants. Baltar's writing a review of the shows, with links to downloads of the...
December 07, 2009
WWJD? Really? Jesus would give a flying fuck about assholes with too much money telling everyone which sweatshop-produced t-shirt to buy for Christmas, er, celebration of solstice or Mithras or some pagan hippie asshole? Rather than go all Tim Tebow...
October 23, 2009
I am not sorry to see the blonde gossip go (known to some as "fat Kurt Cobain"), and given those pants and the challenge I can certainly see sending him home, and Christopher seems to be a much nicer person...
October 16, 2009
This is worth six minutes of your time....
There are days when I'm happy as a pig in shit that I don't have a television. Yesterday was one of those. I completely missed all references to the Flying Balloon Boy (Who May Not Have Been Flying) all day....
October 07, 2009
#3 - "Also angels."#2 - "I know how affected you were by Blood Diamond."#1 - "Ginger pygmy with eyes like a bush baby."And how funny was Sue Sylvester this week? And that bit with the nurse!?! I love Emma more...
September 21, 2009
The good: Kristin Chenoweth wins! Michael Emerson wins! Willow looked beautiful. Neil Patrick Harris was good - though I think he was better on the Tonys.The bad: Leighton Meester ... Honey, you need a new stylist, a new make-up concept,...
September 08, 2009
One of the courses I teach is the university class on wine appreciation. Technically, I co-teach it, but I have the fun part of the job (wine tasting). We have about a hundred students, and the class fills up very...
September 04, 2009
Seriously, what the hell was that last night? One thing seems clear: We hate to say it, but here it is, folks. Here's the episode that proved that producer manipulation is alive and well under the new regime....
August 21, 2009
Ummm, well, yeah. As I said last night, I loved that last dress of his - an opinion shared by Diane von Furstenberg. But should he really have beaten Korto? Probably not. Though as much as a lot of us...
August 20, 2009
And she's going to be playing off Amanda! Great news for those of us who enjoy one of the better and sadly under-utilized comic actresses out there....
August 12, 2009
Via Sullivan, we get this: According to Public Policy Polling (PPP), a North Carolina polling firm, only 24% of self-identified Republican voters in the state believe Barack Obama was born in the United States. 47% do not believe that Obama...
July 11, 2009
So I have yet to actually make it through an episode of NYC Prep which looks to be a dull (we're talking "Lonely Boy" dull), pale imitation of Gossip Girl. But I've got to say I might turn in for...
June 07, 2009
So the Tonys are being broadcast on CBS right now. I don't know if I'll watch the whole thing, but apparently by tuning in for the start I saw the biggest and most expensive number in the history of the...
May 14, 2009
Note to screenwriters - you can't detonate a plutonium bomb by hitting it with a rock. Also, unless you are writing a character who is a self-centered dick of stupefying proportions it isn't too likely that character would want to...
April 27, 2009
So last week's pirate episode complete the first run of South Park's 13th season (it will return in October). Thoughts? I'd say the season has feature 2 great episodes (The Ring and Margaritaville), 2 middling ones (The Coon and Fatbeard),...
April 25, 2009
The Tony-winning star of Maude and The Golden Girls has passed away....
April 22, 2009
Those would be Thelma Houston's thighs.Still, "Don't Leave Me This Way" remains a great song.UPDATE: I don't get the point of having disco week, and then the judges being happiest when contestants sing arrangements that aren't remotely "disco"....
April 21, 2009
I dare you to watch (not that I will). These are the people who turned movie night into a never-ending ode to the talent (ahem) of Bryan Adams. I shudder to think what they'll do with disco night. Anyone care...
April 15, 2009
There was a teabag protest in town today. I needed to walk by, both because I had to get home and let the dogs out, and because, well, I needed to see this. There were about 250 or so gathered...
Via Sullivan, does anyone want to take a leap at explaining what this is supposed to do: Whatever it is supposed to do, it doesn't make me want to go to church....
April 08, 2009
Okay, so I haven't paid much attention to Idol since Melinda Doolittle was knocked off it years ago (a travesty that was noted as such in a few jokes on Old Christine), and I rarely paid attention before that. But...
April 06, 2009
Nicked and posted without comment from Petulant: "Do you need Jesus in your life??" No. "Do you want to burn in hell?" If there are cocktails....
March 31, 2009
Andy Hallett, the actor who played Lorne on Angel, has passed away at the age of 33. UPDATE:...
March 21, 2009
It's so easy to get lost in a show with such a complicated, repetitive story behind it....
March 17, 2009
I'm not Irish. But these guys were. (Bonus points for anyone who actually knows that Metallica covered this, not wrote it.)...
March 13, 2009
Moore knows how to build drama doesn't he. The first 15 minutes were interesting. I wonder what the writers will do with that. I'm guessing that the finale will offer few big answers. But nonetheless I think I know where...
March 12, 2009
So do you want the Jonas Brothers' hot foam in your face little girl? That was an entertaining take down of Disney. Though if Disney was really about the $ above all else Mickey would've kicked in Kevin's face, not...
March 09, 2009
I have no kids, so I don't think I can relate to this story as well as others. That being said, this is incredibly well written. Fatal Distraction, by Gene Weingarten. (Via links from Making Light and Majikthise.)...
February 27, 2009
Who ever would have imagined?! The biggest consumer[of porn], Utah, averaged 5.47 adult content subscriptions per 1000 home broadband users; Montana bought the least with 1.92 per 1000. ... Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral...
January 22, 2009
They are coming in right now - and Kate Winslet is nominated for Best Actress for The Reader, not Revolutionary Road! So she obviously isn't a double nominee this year. Remember she won the Supporting prize at The Golden Globes...
January 16, 2009
Really? That's a surprise....
January 08, 2009
I had no idea it was being remade. And that strikes me as a terrible idea. But if it gets more people to watch the original, well, I guess I can get behind that....
I love this cover of The New Yorker....
January 03, 2009
Him? Color me skeptical. But given how good the writing is - and that it should get even better with Moffat taking over the show - even if he's not one of the best Doctors, the show will likely...
December 18, 2008
So since I shared these thoughts with Ryan last night I thought I'd note them here too. First, in light of another lovely performance last night, I'd love to see Ellen Greene as an Emmy nominee for her work on...
December 11, 2008
Anything strike you out of these?I'm thrilled to see the recognition for In Bruges, Brendan Gleeson and Robert Downey Jr. The Meryl Streep nomination for Mamma Mia! is horrifying, if predictable. And when it comes to the tv picks, the...
November 03, 2008
I spent a lot of last weekend grading dozens of papers on the future of US foreign policy. But when not doing that, I was watching the second seaon of 30 Rock. All in all, I don't think it was...
October 31, 2008
David Tennant has announced that his run as Doctor Who will end next year. Who will take his place in 2010? BBC News list some possibilities (McAvoy? Really? I love him, but I don't know about that idea). Of the...
October 29, 2008
This week I've been staying in more than usual during the dark hours, and as a result I've caught up my Netflix. Earlier I mentioned that I quite enjoyed The Fall. I am happy to say that I also found...
October 24, 2008
That's what my dad always called the show when I was a kid, although I'd be hard pressed to tell you whether it was really "andy and mayberry" "andy in mayberry" or something else he was actually saying. See more...
October 17, 2008
I don't know how she got like this. But whatever did it to her, you should avoid drinking/eating/snorting/seeing/reading/smelling/listening to it. On the other hand, this is awesome in so many ways that scientists haven't invented a number big enough: (These...
October 05, 2008
So I've been Netflixing season 1 of Pushing Daisies, and while the art direction, costumes, Chi McBride, the show's similarities to Dead Like Me, and, most especially, Kristin Chenoweth immediately won me over, I wasn't so sure about the show...
September 30, 2008
September 29, 2008
So last week I finished watching season 2 of Ugly Betty, just in time for the season 3 premiere. And I've got to say that while I still like the show, season 2 was, in most ways, inferior to season...
September 28, 2008
So I spent the bulk of tonight with a group of friends, dining on a variety of tasty treats and taking in most of the first season of Weeds. That's quite a good show. But why did they drop Justin...
September 22, 2008
I was watching True Blood (it's still bad, and probably even worse for those who read the books - though I've grown to like the lead vampire), but if you are interested in what happened at the Emmys last night,...
September 10, 2008
So it is the time of year when the dvds of last year's tv series are released. So I've spent a chunk of the week, getting back into the world of one of my favorite shows, Ugly Betty. And so...
August 22, 2008
I strongly agree with this. Sham indeed....
August 18, 2008
This is just so wrong - as well as being seriously lame....
August 14, 2008
I'm watching season 1 of Boston Legal, courtesy of Binky and Baltar, and I'm digging this wacky show. I mean consider the following, and consider that it's said by Betty Fucking White to a murderous Leslie Jordan (aka, Will &...
July 25, 2008
It's a deliberate choice: Women are kind of fucked, as we've gone over time and time again. We've internalized the idea that a) a neat house is necessary for peace of mind and b) that no one else will do...
July 17, 2008
Anything grab you here?I'm particularly pleased about the noms for Recount, Michael Emerson, NPH, Tom Wilkinson and Laura Linney for Recount, Zeljko Ivanek (haven't seen the show, but have been a fan for years), Alec Baldwin, and Amy Poehler....
July 16, 2008
So recently Ryan sent me his top 25 tv villains. I made up my own list of favorites, but on further review I decided some characters I was considering weren't clearly villains, or villainous enough. I decided some were too...
July 15, 2008
So I am finally starting to watch 30 Rock on dvd. My favorite has to be Jack McBrayer. In the few seconds he was on Arrested Development it was clear he had real talent and the potential to breakout. It...
July 12, 2008
George Lucas should never make movies again. Ever. Seriously. I'm not kidding....
In the larger scheme of things, Clear Channel Communications is only moderately evil. They don't actively kill people (Zimbabwe, Myanmar), don't actively impoverish them (Monsanto, Dow), nor do they violate anyones civil rights (Bush, Telecom companies). They just took over...
July 11, 2008
I have been guilty of a few of these in my time. Via...
July 09, 2008
So it's been a very rainy day, and because of that I've been watching some Law & Order reruns. I really should try to check out some of its new episodes given that it now stars Linus Roache and Jeremy...
July 02, 2008
From today's WaPo: Americans' love affair with 22-inch rims, eight cylinders and four-wheel drive wrapped in an 8,000-pound package is over. And the breakup is going to cost. With $4-a-gallon gas coming between drivers and their very large vehicles, consumers...
June 30, 2008
From a story in today's WaPo: On the television in his living room, Peterman has watched enough news and campaign advertisements to hear the truth: Sen. Barack Obama, born in Hawaii, is a Christian family man with a track record...
June 25, 2008
Yes, it's a pretty painting, apparently it's an important painting, and sure, Roman Abramovich (the rumored buyer) has lots of money. But over $80 million? I guess this is a sign that there's still a big market for the masters...
June 20, 2008
I know a lot of you don't like musicals, but with a cast like this I'd so be up for seeing this revival of Pal Joey....
June 15, 2008
From the NYT: Four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay couples to marry, there have been blissful unions, painful divorces and everything in between. Some same-sex couples say being married has made a big difference, and...
June 11, 2008
Does the internet ruin books? For me, no, but it has ruined video and/or TV. If I click on a video and it's more than a couple of minutes long, forget it. For example, this clip of Bill Moyers giving...
June 08, 2008
May 25, 2008
Wonkette (and everyone else under the sun) shoot fish in a barrel. I find this funny because I've had the same thing happen to me. In fact, the person who had Armand's job before him was warming up to give...
May 13, 2008
He was long one of my favorite American artists. The New York Times obituary (with links to a few works) is here....
May 11, 2008
"You're certainly not."I think the most interesting point in Jeff Jensen's recap of this week's (very intriguing) Lost has to do with John and Ben's timelines - how they are related, and how they point to one of them being...
May 03, 2008
April 25, 2008
So this isn't related to anything in particular. But I just thought I'd share that my love for Becki Newton's Amanda on Ugly Betty increases by the day. If there's someone working on tv today who does a better line...
April 13, 2008
Everything you ever thought to ask about the causal relationship between red shirts and death on Star Trek. Via Kottke. Warms my geeky little sci-fi loving stats crunching heart, it does....
April 10, 2008
On Monday April 21st How I Met Your Mother is going to devote an entire episode to the backstory associated with one of their funniest gags....
April 06, 2008
Todd Van Der Werff has a great review of the first episode of Season 4....
March 23, 2008
I know everyone else means about the Iraq war, but I just have to confess, especially to Armand, that I was terribly wrong about Buffy being "teh suck."...
March 15, 2008
I seem to have an affinity (addiction) to paper magazines. I get a warm feeling having actual knowledge delivered to my house every week/month. And relatively cheaply, too. Yglesias and Ezra Klein (bigger blogs than this) started a conversation specifically...
March 14, 2008
Okay, I thought that was the worst episode of Lost we've seen this season. Well, apart from Juliet revealing Sun's secret - that was awesome. I love Juliet. But the rest seemed lame and pointless and wasn't too terribly well...
March 13, 2008
So for some time now I've been using Netflix to try to get into tv shows I've missed. And of late, since having finally gotten through all of Frasier and the new Doctor Who and Torchwood seasons that are on...
March 04, 2008
March 15-20 are "Won't You Be My Neighbor Days" in southwestern PA, and March 20 is Sweater Day. More information here. HT...
February 19, 2008
What a disappointment. Since I've fallen in love with the new Doctor Who series, and since I've loved John Barrowman since watching Putting It Together, I had high hope for this sort of X-Files-ish spin-off. But those hopes went mostly...
February 15, 2008
This is the greatest thing ever. That is all. You may now go about your business. (* - with the possible exception of alcohol. I'll have to think about that.)...
February 01, 2008
So, I'm bacheloring this weekend. Thus, I can officially take the night off. Thus, in an attempt to do some more Baltar Movie Reviews, I'm drinking, eating dinner, and watching bad movies. We'll see how it goes. I let whimsy...
January 20, 2008
Yes, it's another review/discussion of the Drive By Truckers. It's (partially) my blog, so I get to do these things. The Drive By Truckers have released a new album (Brighter Than Creation's Dark); it's substantially better than 2006's "A Blessing...
January 18, 2008
If you are looking for things to add to your Netflix queue or muse over while you eat lunch, Edward Copeland has his 10 top movies of the year up. And if you are more theater oriented, Josh R has...
Bobby Fischer has died; I used to play chess (was on the team in high school), and Bobby was always a hell of an individual (and at one point, a decent chess player). (Oh, and does anyone want to disagree...
January 14, 2008
Via LGM - what if the Republican presidential candidates were Buffy villains?...
December 18, 2007
So over the last couple of weeks I watched the penultimate season of Will & Grace on dvd. I often watch latter seasons of shows I give up on this way. And I've got to say that at least going...
December 04, 2007
There was a story about how US rankings on math and science internationally have dropped yet again. Yeah, Texas, you keep going with that, and drag the rest of us with you....
December 03, 2007
And it makes no difference whether or not they are Northern ... An old buddy has made the front page of YouTube! Here's the Safe Sex Juntoon....
December 01, 2007
Just an informational post: I found this website which is keeping track of a whole mess of "best of 2007" lists. Everything from books to music to architecture to stereo components. It's a work-in-progress, so new stuff gets added all...
November 26, 2007
via videosift.com Really; what more needs to be said?...
November 25, 2007
So I started watching Heroes this season, starting from the season premiere. And I've enjoyed it. But I thought I should catch up on what I missed at some point, so I started watching season 1 of the show and...
November 03, 2007
My damn cat stole a raw steak off a plate (next to the stove) last night. I first knew something was amiss when I saw him streaking by me (head down from the weight of the steak). I start yelling...
October 15, 2007
Showings of Once More with Feeling featuring Rocky Horror-style audience participation have been killed by Fox. Not thinking about the new generations that could get turned on to buy seven seasons of DVDs, are they? More likely thinking anything they...
October 13, 2007
To balance out the sports post below, here are some beautiful (to my eyes) paintings. I really like these....
October 04, 2007
If you like cars, F1 racing or Ferraris, you can't help but like this ad. As I said, the old ones sound much better than the new ones......
September 16, 2007
I presume no one gives a damn who wins the little gold statues. But what about the clothes? Or embarrassing dates? Or embarrassing comments? Want to share your thoughts on any of that? If so, comment below. For what it's...
September 11, 2007
The professional outraged bigot, censor, bully, asshole and general embarrasment to the gene pool has gotten the people behind the Emmys to bend to his way of thinking. That's at once horrifying (Donohue shouldn't win anything unless it's a bullying...
August 26, 2007
So since several of you have watched the series, I have this question - if you were going to show someone just a few episodes of the show as an example of what Buffy the Vampire Slayer is like, episodes...
July 28, 2007
If you have any religious questions (trying to understand the nature of the universe; what is our role; what is God's role, etc.), you can find all the answers at the Official God FAQ page. Lots of info; this clearly...
July 24, 2007
Heroine Content discusses....
July 19, 2007
Okay, I'm back here for a second. I don't know when I'll have a chance to go throw the spam and look for real comments (since there are thousands and thousands of pieces of spam), but I did want to...
July 03, 2007
Has anyone noticed that Britain's response to the round/wave of bombings is to use the law, arrest people according to the law (technically, they can "hold" them for 28 days before arresting them or letting them go, but the law...
June 21, 2007
Via Pandagon, a story in the NYT about freegans: Freegans are scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from...
June 19, 2007
We have a different "enemy," but just about everything else is the same. Via DefenseTech, we find that the US and China are installing a "hot line" to facilitate communications during crises. Just like the Cold War (where we had...
June 15, 2007
My recent post on the rise in popularity of "Landon" got me thinking about something. Has there been research done on which parents name their children? And on whether or not that varies by the sex of the baby? I...
June 12, 2007
It's a case of dog bites man, sure. But hey it's also kind of interesting that if you ask lesbians which women are hot you're likely to get a rather different set of answers than you'd be likely to get...
June 11, 2007
Given the way the awards came down last night you can be excused for thinking there were only three shows on Broadway last year. Coast of Utopia dominated things on the side of the plays, with Spring Awakening dominating the...
June 10, 2007
Via Pharyngula, we get some initial results of the 2006 General Social Survey (GSS). The GSS is done every few years (two? four? I don't remember), and is an attempt to study the general characteristics of the population of the...
June 08, 2007
I don't miss it often, but at times I do, and I'm going to really miss it on Sunday. First, Roger Federer should be playing in the finals of the French Open that morning (presuming he wins today, and he's...
June 07, 2007
Let me get this straight: she get sentenced to 45 days, which is reduced to 23 (if she behaves herself), get special treatment (how many other people get to enter jail three minutes before midnight?), refuses to eat (uh, is...
June 06, 2007
For some reason tonight I decided to look in again at the list of the country's most popular baby names. More specifically I surfed over to the 2006 list, by state. At the top of the page is the list...
June 01, 2007
Now this is my kind of news. The man behind Veronica Mars may be taking over a show starring the comic genius who was both Kitty Sanchez and Fern/Vylette? My interest in television just tripled....
May 31, 2007
I now have a Mac. Technically, a MacBook Pro. I'm still trying to figure it out. Apple seems to do everything differently from Microsoft. I hope, in time, this will prove to be "better," not just "different." Thus far, everything...
May 29, 2007
The death of the veteran game show contestant (and actor/director) is bringing a number of tributes and remembrances. My question to you today, those of you who like me watched him on game shows when you were a kid, is...
May 16, 2007
I recently decided to revisit Will & Grace. I pretty much stopped watching the show about halfway through its run because while I didn't hate it, it was uneven, the lead characters were uninteresting and too often hard to like,...
May 14, 2007
We have intelligence that suggests that Hitler is plotting with The Legion of Doom to assassinate Jesus ... This bit from The Family Guy is hilarious - and disturbingly on target. Play the clip - that's not even the best...
At least you can if you are the Pope (emphasis mine): Pope Benedict XVI blamed Marxism and unbridled capitalism for Latin America's problems on Sunday, and urged bishops to mold a new generation of Roman Catholic leaders in politics to...
April 19, 2007
Here's a good piece on How I Met Your Mother and how weird it is that it's not a bigger show. It has everything it takes to be the current Friends - and yet for some reason it's not. It...
April 16, 2007
In reading up on the latest reports on the killings at Virginia Tech I came across this quotation from the principal at Columbine High (anyone wondering how many minutes into the shootings he started getting hounded by the press?): ``I...
April 13, 2007
Via the Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex a few years later as those who did not, according to a long-awaited study mandated by Congress. Also, those...
April 03, 2007
Many regarded The Drowsy Chaperone as the last year's best Broadway musical (and some liked it even more than that). As it's still going strong the show is going through some cast changes, and one of those is the addition...
April 02, 2007
So not being around little girls too often, or for that matter families that include little girls, I'm wondering this - is it still as common as it was in the 20th century to put visions in their heads of...
March 22, 2007
Calvert DeForest, that is. But his eccentricities and the innocence he projected through the airways were real enough, and Letterman made the most of them, using Larry "Bud" Melman's combination of klutziness and guile to send up TV's insatiable thirst...
March 10, 2007
Is it a holy day? Sure, I'll buy that....
March 08, 2007
Gingrich Had Affair During Clinton Probe....
March 04, 2007
Cameron Scott has compiled this list of data on the economic benefits that would stem from legalizing gay marriage....
February 25, 2007
Via the NYT, we read about the Delta Zeta sorority at DePauw University. They had declining membership, see, and were described as "socially awkward," see. So the National came to town, and interviewed 35 of the members (what percentage that...
Headline from the New York Times: Christian Right Labors to Find '08 Candidate [Note: not opening paragraph] Many conservatives have already declared their hostility to Senator John McCain of Arizona, despite his efforts to make amends for having once denounced...
February 16, 2007
ABC: Many of those interviewed saw atheists as cultural elitists, amoral materialists, or given to criminal behavior or drugs. She states, "Our findings seem to rest on a view of atheists as self-interested individuals who are not concerned with the...
February 14, 2007
I'm not a fan of this mostly useless holiday. Falling about halfway between winter solstice and spring, I'm suspicious of some pagan origins here, but the relentless commercialism of the day makes me gag. According to the commercials, we're supposed...
February 11, 2007
Generally, everything sounds better when run through a Marshall Stack (Note: I realize this isn't true for everything (Neko Case, which I was listening to as I cooked breakfast this morning, is a clear exception), which is why I put...
February 09, 2007
"Nothing lasts forever. Even the longest and most glittering reign must come to an end some day." If there's been a better overtly political series on television than House of Cards you'll have to remind me what it was....
February 04, 2007
I missed the first 20 minutes or so of the game, but from what I saw my clear favorite was the Emerald Nuts ad with Robert Goulet. What did you think?...
January 25, 2007
In today's WaPo, in an article titled "Gore Film Sparks Parents' Anger", I want to introduce you to Frosty E. Hardiman (yes, his name is "Frosty", and yes, he has seven kids). We are not talking about slasher movies (gore...
January 20, 2007
From the New York Times: WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 - Declaring himself a proud conservative before a crowd of cheering supporters waving American flags, Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, on Saturday announced his candidacy for president. Mr. Brownback, an evangelical...
January 15, 2007
Looking down the list of who's won what so far tonight at the Golden Globes, the TV categories show a serious love of British actors. Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons and Emily Blunt have all already posted...
What could Ms. Miller be saying to Ms. Diaz? Maybe it's ... Look, what do I know? My suggestion for dealing with a public break-up is stomping around the Village in my bathing suit and smoking furiously. Yours is to...
How else to explain the fact that no one I know is throwing a Golden Globes party? I mean apart from Halloween isn't tonight the holiest of nights to the gays (or I should say the gays, as seen on...
January 03, 2007
Remember late in Metropolitan when Nick Smith is telling Tom about The International, the forced, tacky ball that wasn't a natural outgrowth of a particular u.h.b. social set? I guess you could say it's extremely vulgar, I like it a...
December 26, 2006
I love arguing politics. I'm willing to do this with everybody. It's part of my civic evangelism: people who haven't been introduced to rational thinking and actual facts can't be held responsible for their incorrect voting. It's up to me...
December 09, 2006
It almost starred Lisa Kudrow? Just for Ryan, and any other big Frasier fans who read us, I'm going to take a second to point out that over on Ken Levine's blog there have been three long posts this week...
November 29, 2006
So as many of you know, I've been catching up on Veronica Mars on dvd. I like it a lot - most of the time. But I've got to say that as I finished off season 2 last night two...
November 21, 2006
As should be moderately clear from reading this blog, I'm a strong believer in reality, and science (logic and method) as something that points to reality. This isn't to say that there isn't a place for religion and faith, but...
November 07, 2006
Now don't get me wrong, I like Charisma Carpenter. And surely she's not the only actress who has to do this, but she comes to mind since I'm watching season 2 of Veronica Mars on dvd. So having said that...
November 05, 2006
Soldiers of Christ, a long and very detailed Harper's piece about the growth of the Colorado Springs evangelical flock, and the New Life Church. The author could have been over the top snarky - the opportunities are endless - but...
October 19, 2006
Or me as a productive member of society ... But c'mon, as a long-time fan of Mama's Family how could I not spend 22 minutes watching an episode ("Rashomama") that not only features Betty White and Carol Burnett, but is...
October 18, 2006
So over the last couple of days I took a break from my recent dvd trend (episode after episode of Veroncia Mars, season 1) to take a look at the first few episodes of Battlestar Galactica 2.5 (an irritating marketing...
October 12, 2006
You are really bad at it.So I began watching Veronica Mars on dvd a couple of weeks ago. And between her spunkiness, her crime-solving abilities and her acerbic wit I'd already become a Veronica Mars fan. And considering the writing...
October 10, 2006
Since I'm not a critical theorist and don't have a whole lot of training in race and culture, there's not a lot of context I can put on this, but this whole Angelina Jolie as Marianne Pearl thing is bothering...
October 06, 2006
Now we can name names: The next morning, Mr. Luce led the crowd in an exercise in which they wrote on scraps of paper all the negative cultural influences, brand names, products and television shows that they planned to excise...
October 04, 2006
Or, Harry Potter is evil, part 10,376: Laura Mallory, a mother of four, told a hearing officer for the Gwinnett County Board of Education on Tuesday that the popular fiction books are an ''evil'' attempt to indoctrinate children in the...
September 24, 2006
The NYT has a story about how midcentury modern is on the way out, partly due to pricing soaring into oblivion and the resulting scarcity of pieces, and partly because the resurgence has simply run its course. You can look...
September 21, 2006
I am now finally all but 2 episodes from the end of season 2 of Desperate Housewives. And I've got to concur with what I take to be the general opinion - it's not nearly as good as season 1....
September 12, 2006
My life is not a hardship of wanting. There have been years where things have been difficult. And there was a time, when separating from a bad breakup in which the ex in question maneuvered to control the the collective...
September 10, 2006
The "above the fold" stories in today's (paper versions) New York Times and Washington Post: New York Times: At a Secret Interrogation, Dispute Flared Over Tactics, about the internal debate among the CIA, FBI and other agencies about the legalities...
September 04, 2006
I've been at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting. I left at noon on Thursday, and got back at midnight Saturday (and got 11 hours of sleep in the middle). Some comments: 1. Political scientists are mostly boring. Everyone...
August 27, 2006
The first big winner of the night is Megan Mullally. Yay!!!!!! She's far and away the best thing about Will and Grace, and quite possibly the only reason that show last for 8 years (though whether or not that was...
August 24, 2006
Hey, what do you know:The Food and Drug Administration today approved over-the-counter sales of the "morning-after" contraceptive pill to women 18 and older, resolving one of the most contentious issues in the agency's 100-year history. I'm still not sure why...
August 23, 2006
This seems to be the new big list going around - list your 25 favorite TV characters. The rules? They must be a regular on the series, miniseries don't count, and neither do cartoons. So he's my list which is...
August 22, 2006
Why are these people so interested in what you do in your bed? Now, they want to make sure that when you're sleeping in a rented bed, you can't have any fun either. And, naturally, they want big government to...
August 18, 2006
This is an interesting little feature on a painting puchased by the Northern Ireland government over 70 years ago. It seems some were most displeased to find that the ancient canvas represented not only William III's triumphant arrival in Ireland,...
August 13, 2006
The Sunday papers didn't excite me. Yeah, yeah, cease-fire in Lebanon (I'll believe it when I see it). British look for more terrorists. The FAA decides that banning lipstick won't make anyone safer. I'm unexcited. If you haven't read this...
July 29, 2006
Daniel Radcliffe will soon be starring in a new production of Peter Shaffer's famous Equus. Veteran actor Richard Griffiths, best known for playing Harry Potter's Uncle Vernon, and the man who won this year's Tony for his performance in The...
July 14, 2006
Are you down with - or down on - the lawn? The delawning was accomplished over Memorial Day weekend by a SWAT team of some 15 recruits who read about the project on Mr. Haeg's Web site. Mr. Haeg arrived...
July 11, 2006
Baltar and Binky, given their love for Firefly, are now watching the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I've watched a few of those early episodes again too - and it's striking to me how important Spike and Drusilla...
June 27, 2006
I wake this morning to discover, via the New York Times that the august US Senate (the deliberative, thoughtful half of our legislative branch) is within a single vote of amending the US constitution to ban the burning of the...
June 19, 2006
I've been a big fan of that painting for a very long time - but I'm not that much of a fan of it. 135 million. Wow. It will be going to the Neue Gallerie in Manhattan....
June 15, 2006
If you love the theater and you have PBS, watching that should (on Live From Lincoln Center) is what you should do tonight. It's very rare for these shows to get on nation-wide TV - and even rarer for a...
June 14, 2006
OK, I can understand the Poltimore tiara going for 820,000 pounds. Well, maybe not - but it's damn pretty as such things go, so I won't get too bent out of shape over that. But some of the other prices...
June 12, 2006
Sweet - whoever was in charge of casting Aquamom made the perfect choice. Jemery Piven's Ari Gold still makes the show of course, and Jimmy Woods was fantastic in the season premiere, but I never get tired of Ms. Ruehl....
Now it's nice that Emperor Palpatine and Cynthia Nixon (Miranda!) won last night, but when it comes to the big prizes, the Tony Awards all too often go to the wrong shows. Witness last night's win by Jersey Boys for...
May 31, 2006
Sticking with my television roll of posts, I've got a puzzler for you today. Well, not for you, 'cause all y'all are thinking people. But, you know what I mean. As we all know, nipples are verboten on TV especially...
May 29, 2006
Ever wondered just which operas were drawn on for which parts of What's Opera, Doc? This lays it out for you line by line.I so love Bugs as Brunhilde....
May 24, 2006
Who knew Sebastian Bach still had a career? Evidently it is as middle aged poster boy for VH1, because every time you click by he's on one show or another. Meat is extremely popular, and manly. Or, at least judging...
May 20, 2006
So I'm now down to just 4 more episodes of Sex and the City, then I'll have seen them all. A lot happened on the last dvd I watched (Samanthat got cancer, Miranda got married, Charlotte got a King Charles...
May 18, 2006
There were eight seasons of Will & Grace? The show ends tonight? Who knew?I'll be interested to see Megan Mullally moves on to do anything else of interest (Karen was far and away the best thing about this show -...
May 16, 2006
The big winner - The Drowsy Chaperone which scored 13 nominations. Can't say I'm surprised as I haven't heard anything but praise for it. John Lahr reviews that musical and the also widely praised revival of Faith Healer (starring two...
April 25, 2006
We do we still use these things? Especially when matters as important as freedoms and livelihoods are on the line? I'm not saying you can't get any good information from them - but given the level of misses and mistakes...
April 20, 2006
... how can you not love this post?...
April 15, 2006
OK, my cultural IQ is apparently not what I thought it was. I never knew that only Americans were eligible for the Pulitzer Prize. As Gabriel notes, one result of that rule might be a less than impressive winner of...
April 11, 2006
In Bad Taste posts it so I don't have to. Given my thing for the interplay of water and light, it's no surprise I'd like this dreamy Venice scene. But even if that sort of scene isn't your thing -...
March 28, 2006
Ben Brantley is merciless: An hour or so into what feels like eons of stage time, one wise, scared little hobbit manages to express the feelings of multitudes. "This place is too dim and tree-ish for me," mutters a round-ish,...
March 16, 2006
Via this Lawyers, Guns, and Money post, I found the comments by the Missouri Republican Party interesting: An attempt to resume state spending on birth control got shot down Wednesday by House members who argued it would have amounted to...
March 06, 2006
OK, I'm not going to think too hard about that last award last night. Instead, I'm going to move my mind to what the Oscars are really about - unusually pretty people looking their prettiest. So I throw the topic...
February 22, 2006
At some point I really should make a post dealing with the works of a couple of the other artists in this show, Robert Irwin and Dan Flavin (and related artists like James Turrell), whose creations focusing on light and...
February 09, 2006
Tool of the Patriarchy!!! Why oh why did I even look at the grammy coverage? Oh yeah, the Gorillaz and Madonna mashup (just a smidge, in the middle)....
The Happy Feminist ON TURNING INTO A PUMPKIN AT DUSK explores why "the cultural assumptions regarding women's need for male protection often do a disservice to both women and men." Scott Lemieux describes Phylis Schlafly's love for spousal rapists and...
January 26, 2006
If you didn't get enough of him in Born Rich, you can read this interview with Cody Franchetti (conducted over dinner at Le Bernadin)....
January 16, 2006
Marriage equality, in particular. Ten Reasons Gay Marriage Is Wrong 1. Being gay is not natural. And as you know Americans have always rejected unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning. 2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be...
January 14, 2006
It seems a lot of people around the world want marriage between gays banned. Maybe for everyone's safety it would be best if all marriages were banned. Check out this tale and link from Allison Kaplan Sommer (who, in her...
January 09, 2006
I was in Atlanta last week and the highlight of my trip was a visit to the High Museum. I'd really wanted to go ever since they opened up the new building (designed by Renzo Piano). It's beautiful, and a...
December 16, 2005
Another day, another Constitutional atrocity by the Bush Administration. It's a good one this time: the National Security Agency has been spying on Americans, without a court-approved warrant. A few selected highlights from the long article: Months after the Sept....
November 27, 2005
This look at the old Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from the 1980s includes some important observations about the damage that "parents groups" and other lobbies can do when they work to insert political messages into the shows children watch. In...
November 23, 2005
I only now discovered this. And I really wish I hadn't. Come on people, just build giant black walls around the place 2000 feet high already. You are obviously determined to suck every single little glimpse of life that survived...
November 21, 2005
Majikthise has one of the most recent stupid events in the war on smoking - HarperCollins creating a fictious pose for an illustrator of classic fiction. Will someone stop this insanity? Anyone? I was listening to a commentary track on...
October 28, 2005
George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu in all the Star Trek shows and films, has announced that he is gay. The current social and political climate also motivated Takei's disclosure, he said. "The world has changed from when I was...
October 22, 2005
While following a link from Pandagon about the White Supremacist version of the Olson Twins I came across another story about so-called "Helicopter Moms" (presumably, they hover). This story bothers me for two reasons. First, as an educator, I see...
October 20, 2005
Jesus used marijuana. I knew there was something to that long-haired hippie image he had in the picture on my grandma's wall....
October 17, 2005
Foreign Policy has released the results of its poll. As its discussion of the results notes, the list is heavily weighted to old men from North America, including one (Milton Friedman) who, though brilliant and extremely influential, clearly did not...
September 27, 2005
Todd Zywicki has this interesting observation on the consequences of anti-drinking laws, and laws banning smoking in public places. Laws against social ills can, perhaps unexpectedly, break down the social interations that many feel are central to maintaining communities....
September 22, 2005
Advances them right into the shitter, that is. You see, it used to be you had to take someone's word that you were a child's father.* But now, just follow the simple directions, swab your mouth and the child's, and...
The Downtown Lad reminds me of another reason to dislike the new pope....
September 16, 2005
I finished watching this last night, and I think I like it even more than the first season. It's funnier, but also continues to touch on serious issues in oddly realistic ways for a television show. All of the Lass...
September 10, 2005
I live somewhat near Pittsburgh, and I remember readings something, somewhere, recently about a Flight 93 Memorial. Flight 93 was the fourth hijacked plane that was deliberately crashed into the hills in Pennsylvania by (probably) the hijackers as the passengers/crew...
September 08, 2005
Not all of this week's news is bad news. People who live in or visit New York will soon be able to see a rich, vibrant Matisse that hasn't been viewed publicly for decades....
August 25, 2005
I have nothing to suggest for The Cunning Realist, today, but I'll be glad to take up his challenge in the future. If anyone has anything to suggest, go and let him know. It's a worthwhile project....
...but since when are there bible verses in fortune cookies? A merry heart doeth good like a medicine?...
August 23, 2005
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has blocked an attempt to move the retired battleship Iowa to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. I agree with Professor Volokh on this. There may be some perfectly reasonable arguments against supporting this tied...
August 22, 2005
I suppose most blogging done today about last night's shows on HBO will be focused on the series finale of Six Feet Under. That was good and everything (well, aside from the truly terrible make-up jobs done at the end)...
August 21, 2005
Since this involves Wal-Mart and Garth Brooks, I shouldn't give a damn, but this is just wrong: Wal-Mart will soon be ropin' in Garth Brooks. The country superstar has signed a deal with the retail chain that will make Wal-Mart...
August 18, 2005
Via Crooked Timber, I'll just pass along an ongoing grassroots effort called The September Project: The September Project is a grassroots effort to encourage public events on freedom, democracy, and citizenship in libraries on or around September 11. Libraries around...
August 15, 2005
Since I criticized the Bishop of Phoenix for somewhat similar appalling behahvior yesterday, it seems appropriate to pass along this follow-and-don't-think gem posted by Amanda Marcotte....
August 14, 2005
There are so many things to get annoyed with in terms of the direction that the Roman Catholic Church is taking of late that I'm surprised that I can still be rather stunned by some of their actions. But hey,...
August 11, 2005
This week in the blogsphere much ridicule has (deservedly) been directed at Focus on the Family's "Is My Child Becoming Homosexual" post and at James Dobson's suggested cures for children with homosexual tendencies. Rarely does the radical right look quite...
Remember back when you saw Kathie Lee singing and dancing "Ain't We Got Fun" on TV commercials for Carnival Cruise Lines? With that long-running advertising theme, it's no coincidence that their some of their liners have names like Ecstasy, Fantasy...
August 09, 2005
So, I'm reading some SciFi mindcandy Singularity Sky by Charles Stross, 2003 - it's OK. Interesting premise, not played out very well), and I stumble across this exchange at the end of the book that may, I guess, help me...
August 06, 2005
Via California Patriot Blog, we find the list of "Reprimands and Consquences" at Liberty University. Liberty University is Jerry Falwell's institute of higher learning. Every school has conduct codes, but Liberty University's are stranger than most (edited to take out...
August 02, 2005
The Downtown Lad is understandably incensed that we are letting the bad guys win. It really is pathetic and disgraceful that some people would rather cower in fear than build a beautiful and inspiring world. It's much less consequential, but...
July 29, 2005
As I'm passing the line of public-access computers upstairs in the local library today, I see two people standing behind some random (or it looked that way to me) citizen, pointing and whispering. Said random person was reading websites in...
July 28, 2005
Apparently I'm Kirsten. Now I'll have to start watching it so that I can learn the meaning of these results.Kirsten83%Marissa72%Seth67%Julie66%Summer50%Ryan45%Sandy44%Hailey39%Anna39%Luke33%Caleb28%Oliver17%Jimmy11%What OC character are you?created with QuizFarm.com...
July 25, 2005
My guess is that he's currently in some sort of vegetative/ Terri Schaivo state (given all the discussion recently about whether the baby he's having with Brenda is disabled in some way), but that he'll be dead by the end...
July 15, 2005
Odd stories from other spots on the worldinterwidenetweb: Mariah Carey's Glitter flopped because of Sept. 11th I'll bet Casablanca would have flopped, too, Mariah. Sen. Santorum's Communications Director is gay, out and black. No mention of whether he owns any...
June 24, 2005
Looking for a way to procrastinate this afternoon? Why don't you go vote for the net's favorite musical? Btw, I've got to say that I admire the skill with which this voting system was put together. The result is likely...
June 15, 2005
This move at an Orange County Catholic school is just appalling. I could state the obvious and point out that it's a pretty decent argument against sending government money to religious schools (under the guise of vouchers or not). But...
June 06, 2005
I don't. True, I've never been to Kansas. But are those things still roaming the country out there? I ask because since I noticed that Gov. Owens of Colorado had just picked his state's quarter, I went to the Mint...
June 03, 2005
The latest hot, new "thingy" on the politics-geek blogs is talking about this list of Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Century, put out by Human Events Online (a right-wing group). Beyond the whole do-left-wing-groups-ban-more-books-than-right meme (beaten to...
May 11, 2005
I didn't realize these were outlawed in some areas. Think what you will of their owners, these cats are pretty cool....
May 09, 2005
For those of you into theater, one of my favorite blog finds this year has been Modern Fabulousity. Gabriel has done a great job of tracking the ups and downs of this year's shows and the honors that have already...
April 30, 2005
What a crashing disappointment. As I wrote at some length last year (here and here) while uneven the first season of Popular was on occasion very funny. Very very. High school dramedy at its campy and conniving extreme. But just...
Via The Downtown Lad I found this story on marriages in Kyrgyzstan. More than half of Kyrgyzstan's married women were snatched from the street by their husbands in a custom known as "ala kachuu," which translates roughly as "grab and...
April 27, 2005
The Pearls and Opals of the world are long gone. The Pauls, Johns and Scotts are becoming rarer. Alexis surged for girls in the 1980's, and Trinity is soaring at the moment. Follow this Eric Muller post to see graphic...
April 26, 2005
It's French, naturally. And it's remarkable - a compelling and disturbing work that is very effective at producing a visceral reaction. Needless to say, we're unlikely to see anything like it here, and not just because of the bare ass....
April 22, 2005
That in itself is entirely expected. There are all sorts of things that Prime Minister Zapatero has proposed that have appalled the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Spain. But what struck me about these stories was the following:He said every profession...
April 12, 2005
I don't expect I'll be writing many posts on this blog about the Duchess of Cornwall, but I just thought that in my opinion both the outfits she wore on her wedding day were really quite flattering. It was nice...
April 10, 2005
What - They left? OK, I kid. This feature in today's New York Times notes that Spamalot is tapping into a desperately prized demographic that the Great White Way has had some trouble (relatively speaking) attracting of late. "Spamalot" may...
April 07, 2005
I am making my way through the second season of Popular right now. I am doing this extremely slowly since, while the first season was filled with delicious camp and a never-ending flood of 80's pop culture references, the first...
April 04, 2005
No, you don't have to duck and cover in the produce department. But here Virgina Postrel alerts us to the fact that the popularity of one of my favorite leafy greens has spiked since the early 1990's....
March 30, 2005
It appears that producers just can't say no to Christina Applegate. Days after the revival of Sweet Charity was canceled before ever making it to Broadway - with tales of ruinous ticket sales and ho-hum reviews filling the papers -...
March 25, 2005
For the Scotch fans among us, Josh Chafetz provides these reviews. From his comments the Scapa and Ardbeg sound interesting. I look forward to trying them. At the moment I have a bottle of Glenfarclas at home - that's tasty...
March 23, 2005
Once again, I am reminded that however nice the beaches and mild the winter, I have no desire to move back to the South. This time it's the decision of IMAX theater owners not to show a movie about volcanoes...
March 20, 2005
Was this really what "just say no" abstinence types had in mind? It doesn't shock me that advocates of these policies would often deny young people health information that they need, or that they are failing to really lower the...
March 14, 2005
As Binky and I had a chance to see not all that long ago, work on World Trade Center 7 is proceeding very quickly. Here are some photos via the Downtown Lad. While the rebuilding will not heal all the...
February 25, 2005
Professor Bainbridge makes a very strong case against the mega-corporation. Kevin Drum disagrees with him on a few key points, but in this debate my sympathies lie with Bainbridge. The points he raises are points that all of us who...
February 24, 2005
Given the recent turn in the pope's health I think it may be good to remind our readers of John Allen's book Conclave that deals with the process papal elections. My comments on this text, and the parties that will...
February 22, 2005
Does anyone know if this is really true? Digby tells us that someone in the White House says Camilla Parker Bowles has been disinvited from an official state visit because she's a divorcee (you know, like President Reagan and Newt...
While she really hasn't made headlines that recently, she really does need a good personal manager. Just a few lifestyle suggestions: * Shagging Fred Durst doesn't make you feel any cooler, just itchier The others are good too......
February 21, 2005
I think this post by David Bernstein is mostly on target, and raises an important point. But I think he's largely wrong if he's implying that somehow this puts conservatives or libertarians at a special risk. Maybe it does at...
February 07, 2005
As the blog's resident College of Cardinals nerd I thought I'd briefly note that while the world's papers have been busy writing a flurry of articles on who might succeed the current pontiff given his prolonged hospital stay, there aren't...
February 02, 2005
I'd be surprised if you haven't heard about the recent Knight Foundation/UConn survey (here is a copy of the final report - warning: pdf file) of high school students (and teachers). The purpose of the survey was to measure the...
January 31, 2005
I spent part of Saturday at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. It's not amazing, but it's got a nice collection for a museum its size, and it's easy to get around. There were some things in it I...
Why in the world were the typical right-wing religious protesters knocking God, The Devil and Bob? I gave that a try on DVD over the weekend (hey, with a crack sitcom writing team behind it and the voices of James...
January 24, 2005
... and c'mon, who's not, you should take a minute out of your life to read this review of the performances of Mrs. Jones Reynolds and co-host Kathy Griffin on what I guess should be referred to as the pre-game...
January 23, 2005
Mark Kleiman alerts us to one of the twists of history of which I was unaware. I love these little thought experiements. Yes, many things in history are the result of major structural changes in the world - but seemingly...
January 18, 2005
While one can certainly make a case for the most damaging member of the president's administration (after the man himself) being Rumsfeld or Gonzalez or Bybee, I wonder if we should add Michael Powell as a contender for that post....
January 13, 2005
I'm not going to usually take time out to criticize 20 year-old celebrities, but what was Prince Harry thinking wearing a Nazi uniform? There's dumb and there's callous but I'm not sure of the right word to capture the cold-hearted...
January 10, 2005
Retrocrush is compiling a list of the top 100. What do I think should be on it? Among the themes that would make my top 20: Green Acres, Hong Kong Phoey, Bewitched, The Rockford Files, The Facts of Life (I'm...
January 03, 2005
Since I recently watched the film version of Angels in America I was interested in this Andrew Sullivan.com link discussing the work. Included in the post is a link to David Mendelsohn's interesting review of the film for The New...
December 29, 2004
Ricky is outraged that the New Orleans press runs stories about sexual abuse and the Roman Catholic Church without mentioning Archbishop Hughes' complicity in the scandal that led to the resignation of Cardinal Law....
December 18, 2004
I recently rented this film adaptation of what's arguably the most significant Broadway play of the 1990's. It seemed to win every major award that it could last year, and it is indeed quite a production. It's a shame that...
December 17, 2004
OK, so most of you aren't likely to care, but this post has bugged me ever since I wrote it. This is not because I've changed my mind about Season 7 or Andrew, but because my assertion that Andrew was...
December 14, 2004
Who knew they sold this kind of thing in Vatican gift shops?...
December 02, 2004
You can always count on the greatest city in the world to provide you with the opportunity to experience wonderful surprises and smart frivolity. Today I will note that if you're a fan of such things, this week's issue of...
November 30, 2004
From the AP: A man who placed a lava lamp on a hot stovetop was killed when it exploded and sent a shard of glass into his heart, police said. Philip Quinn, 24, was found dead in his trailer home...
While I am a huge fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (I'm a fan of the whole series, not just the famous musical episode) I am only just now seeing many of the episodes in the show's seventh (and final)...
November 11, 2004
November 11 always makes me remember my grandmother. Why my grandmother, and not my grandfather who was a "Doughboy," my other grandfather who was a Colonel in the Army, or my uncle who served in the Air Force? Because my...
October 27, 2004
Greg wants to know why all the smart, sexy ladies of television are redheads....
October 13, 2004
So I was quickly losing patience with Popular, my latest revel in bad teen angst/comedy. A Sadie Hawkins episode that’s all about both the boys and girls hating their bodies (hey writers, you’ve done that already), a lame and weird...
October 06, 2004
So I read in The Atlantic that a new AEI-Brookings study shows that people with a .08 blood alcohol level (legally drunk) drove more slowly and had a better braking response than the study's control groups (drivers who were not...
October 04, 2004
Since we don't have a teen-comedy category (and I dread the thought of how much time I'd waste if I created one) I'm filing the following under "culture" - because really, how do we study American culture and society if...
September 21, 2004
This rebuke of Leo's latest idiocy, uh, columm, has reminded me of his existence and two things I used to wonder many years ago when I read US News regularly - 1) why was he hired? and 2) why has...
September 17, 2004
Eugene Volokh responds to mail complaining that his earlier post dealing with the marriage rights of sadomasochists fails to acknowledge the threat that these people pose to our way of life. Or something like that - this bit of righteous...
September 14, 2004
I loved the Ferragamo advertisement that was on the back of last week’s edition of The New Yorker. That was probably my favorite thing about the issue. It was a really lovely photograph, plus it managed to present a surprising...
September 13, 2004
Yesterday's edition of The New York Times is one of those issues of the Times that you can curl up with for hours. Why? It contained the seasonal run-downs of the coming season in the arts (film, theater, music, dance,...
September 06, 2004
I received my copy of the October issue of The Atlantic this week, and it's well worth checking out. I'll probably discuss some of the weighter political pieces on the blog in a later posts. Among the highlights are Jonathan...
September 03, 2004
Malcolm Gladwell’s article on ketchup in the September 6 issue of The New Yorker is a great food column. It covers the psychology of tastes, how Greek philosophy relates to our food choices, childhood development, and how all these matters...
August 30, 2004
So it's Day 1 of the Republican Convention. So far I think the best (or at least the most entertaining) coverage is over on Reason's convention blog. So if you want to get the full drama of the event (or...
August 25, 2004
How can you not love Jon Stewart?...
August 19, 2004
Should a major publication publish letters to the editor that are blatantly misleading? Or should they allow such letters in an attempt to show a variety of perspectives (as misleading as they may be)? I ask this in light of...
August 18, 2004
Well, that's the way the General puts it....
August 09, 2004
This article is an brief review of the history of the death penalty in Virginia (the state/colony that has executed more people than any other since it was founded in the 17th century). It's filled with a variety of interesting...
August 08, 2004
First Barbara Ehrenreich, now Dahlia Lithwick. As many other bloggers have noted, it's a real shame that The New York Times doesn't force Tom Friedman to stay on vacation (and send Dowd and Safire to some undisclosed location with him)....
August 04, 2004
Today the news of Henri Cartier-Bresson's death was announced. At 95, he was one of the most acclaimed photographers - if not the most - of his generation. As noted in the NYT piece and elsewhere, his photos blurred the...
There's an interesting map in the new issue of The Atlantic. It shows proportion of religious adherents in the United States by county. While there are certainly centers of believers outside the area (Utah, Massachusetts and Rhode Island for example),...
July 29, 2004
If like many Americans you view the happenings on The Simpsons as much more consequential to your life than anything going on at a party convention or in Pakistan, you might be interested to know that the show is apparently...
July 26, 2004
I don't know who Rob Anderson is, but I love his quips about this morning's convention coverage. See here, here, here and here....
July 24, 2004
Aside from being sure to catch-up on the news at the top of the hour I barely listen to Morning Edition any more. Why? For one thing their features and news features rarely tell me something I need to know...
July 19, 2004
This story in the Chicago Sun-Times points out a number of things about the state of affirmative action's effects on college admissions. One outcome that many people probably don't expect is how these programs help young people who didn't grow...
July 16, 2004
Now I know it's easy to bash television. I do it all the time myself. But looking at the nominees in just one of the Emmy categories this year (Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Judy Davis and Glenn Close)...
July 15, 2004
Since I recently spent some time discussing future trends in the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, I thought I'd note this article by Hamza Hendawi discussing some similar issues in the Shiite leadership. Basically this is an extremely brief...
July 08, 2004
And in the spirit of the post on Pat Tillman, let's remember that even those soldiers who come back in one piece often suffer serious consequences from their service. Phil Carter has this post on recent research detailing how war-time...
June 22, 2004
OK, Atrios has already pointed this out. And yeah, usually there's nothing as mind-numbingly predictable and vacuous in all of television as a Newshour discussion with their historians (And what's with the constant appearances of Beschloss and Smith? Doesn't Ms....
June 17, 2004
Big government can save us from shabby slobs! Really though, if you're in need of a chuckle, this Matt Yglesias post is pretty cute....
June 14, 2004
I bought Season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer a few weeks ago. That season may be best known to some for its relentless darkness (addiction, murder, a flaying), but it is also well known for including “Once More With...
June 02, 2004
So I bought season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer last week. I love that show. Anyway, as I surfed around to see what had been written about various episodes I discovered that the BBC had a habit of slicing...
June 01, 2004
So says Byron in the comments section following this post on Burnt Orange Report. I've got to say I agree. It's a Cardinal's perogative if he wants to deny people wearing rainbow-colored sashes communion. Maybe he sincerely thinks it'll save...
May 29, 2004
So Cardinal Law more or less gets run out of Boston for the actions (or lack thereof) that he took to combat the sexual abuse scandal that has severely shaken that archdiocese. What does the leadership of the Roman Catholic...
May 26, 2004
From Ricky Prado we have news that a bill that would make it illegal for restaurants to sell alcohol to minors who have their parents’ permission to drink is making its way through the state legislature in Louisiana. It’s a...
May 20, 2004
...the blog planet gives us this. Who would have thought there would be a good reason to have nostalgia for 1984? But there is. Alas, too good to be true....