Leonard B. Stern, the creator of Mad Libs, has died. I never thought about the fact that Mad Libs even had a creator, although of course it did. The classic Mad Libs were an integral part of my childhood, and … Continue reading →
Last night I was looking to order some music from iTunes to replace an old favorite in my archaic record library. Unfortunately, that particular recording was obscure enough that it hasn’t been reissued in an iTunes selection, or even on … Continue reading →
Another icon from my youth gone. I’m not so sure I understood the plots of “Gunsmoke,” but I’m quite sure I enjoyed them, as well as characters Mr. Dillon, Chester, Miss Kitty, and Doc; the saloon, and all those storefronts. … Continue reading →
The story “The Man Without a Country” used to be standard reading matter for seventh graders. In fact, it was the first “real” book—as opposed to those tedious Dick and Jane readers—that I ever was assigned to read in school. … Continue reading →
Today the WSJ‘s Bari Weiss tackles playwright David Mamet’s political conversion from left to right . It’s an old story to readers of this blog, not just because such political conversions are a theme here, but because I’ve written before … Continue reading →
There is no question in my mind that, whether Ed Schultz is aware of it or not, that’s what was happening when he called Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut.” Part of the humor of the old SNL bit was that … Continue reading →
I’ve finally located a certain video, discovered while I was at YouTube engaged in one of my favorite activities: procrastination by chain-viewing. You know what chain-viewing is. You watch a video, and then plan to click on just one more … Continue reading →
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a post from February of 2007. At the time I first wrote it, I didn’t know how to upload YouTube videos here. Since then, I’ve certainly mastered that skill. So I’m now able to … Continue reading →
This Time article by Alex Altland about the Daniels candidacy and marital history contains the following curious passage [emphasis mine]: In his rare comments about the couple’s reconciliation, Daniels has said, “If you like happy endings, you’ll love our story.” … Continue reading →
During my recent bout with infirmity, I dusted off some old videotapes of the 1970 BBC series “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” and watched it. I had fond memories of it from my original viewing over forty years ago, … Continue reading →
Phoebe Snow has died. For those of you who might not be familiar with her, she was a young phenom in the 70s, a singer/songwriter with a uniquely bluesy style. Her life was not an easy one; a hydrocephalic daughter … Continue reading →
Ballet specializes in transformations. After all, it changes the human body from a lumbering earthbound thing into an ethereal yet steely and gravity-defying, lighter-than-air, transporter of the audience into realms of beauty and transcendence. Yes, it can be corny, especially … Continue reading →