“You can’t yell ‘wolf’ in a crowded theater”…
…says Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi’s faux pas immediately reminded me of this:
Continue reading →Category Archives: Theater and TV
RIP Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis has died at 91. You can read tributes to him here and here. That first article calls him a “nonpareil genius of comedy.” I guess so, but his shtick—and slapstick in general—didn’t appeal to me. I do recall … Continue reading →
The White House reality show
It occurs to me that Trump has brought “The Apprentice” to the White House. I’m a bit handicapped in making the analogy because I never watched the show, but I’ve seen small clips from it, and the description fits, too: … Continue reading →
Mongolia’s Got Talent
Of course it does. This is indescribable, so I’m not going to attempt to describe it. I’ll just sit back and let you watch and listen:
Continue reading →Kids got talent
I am often amazed at the singing skills demonstrated by youngsters on those talent reality shows. They seem to be genuinely nice kids, too, full of energy and drive. After all, think how much work it takes—and how much confidence—to … Continue reading →
Trump, Julius Caesar, and killing tyrants
The current New York production of “Julius Caesar” in which Caesar is portrayed as a Trump-like figure is no ordinary propaganda. Caesar is a particular figure with particular characteristics. Why was he assassinated? Because the assassins thought he had become … Continue reading →
The hottest grandpa
Or certainly the hottest 80-year-old. Freaky. This is a holiday weekend, and you might want to leave politics for a while (I know I often do) and turn to the tale of Deshun Wang (or Wang Deshun), an 80-year-old Chinese … Continue reading →
Sheila Nevins and sleeping with your boss
I don’t get HBO and don’t think I’ve ever watched one of their documentaries. So the name “Sheila Nevins” meant very little to me, but the headline of this article caught my eye. It features an interview in which Nevins … Continue reading →
Decisions, decisions: what’s a blogger to write about?
Being a blogger is a funny thing. Every day a blogger like me has to decide what to write about. Will it be some long-winded technical and/or reflective piece that attempts to tackle big and complex issues? Do I want … Continue reading →
The obligatory Bill O’Reilly scandal post
I don’t like Bill O’Reilly. I don’t like his style and I don’t like his show, although I’ve watched it every now and then just to familiarize myself with it. I don’t watch most shows of that type (talk and … Continue reading →
Compare and contrast: the endings of “Pygmalion” and “My Fair Lady”—and life
First, the straight play “Pygmalion,” movie version with Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller: Now, the musical “My Fair Lady” with Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn: The scene continues in this next brief clip. The part where Howard as Higgins furiously … Continue reading →
Rachel Maddow’s clickbait
Well, it wasn’t exactly clickbait, because it was on TV rather than online. But Maddow’s promise to reveal Trump’s tax returns was the sort of thing you see on the internet all the time, an ad that promises some amazing … Continue reading →