Old Cat, New Hat
One of the quirks of my mother growing up is that she didn’t like Dr. Seuss books. We never had any in the house. The ones at school were looked…
Lone Dawg
Let’s see: Kara DioGuardi is officially out as “American Idol” judge as of today. Ellen DeGeneres quit in July. Simon Cowell put in his notice in January. Paula Abdul quit…
Playlist 9-3-10
Funk from the Meters to start, new stuff from the Vaselines, Les Savy Fav, The Walkmen, The Drums and Ra Ra Riot. Closed with a bunch of Dave Alvin, solo…
Earls We Have Known
If there is no hurricane this weekend, then there will at least continue to be a storm of overblown stories. It makes us think of some other Earls in history.…
The TV Critic as Terrorist
The hostage situation at the Discovery Channel Wednesday, which ended with the death of the offender, shows the extent some people will go to complain about cable programming. Not blaming…
Back to School
We moved Lillie back to college Saturday and her new single dorm room reminded me of something I couldn't quite recall until now.
Tips for Obama’s Speech
As he prepares for his speech Tuesday night declaring the end of major combat operations in Iraq, here are some hints for Barack Obama. Don’t wear the full flight suit.…
Fallon's Got Too Much Material for Emmys
Jimmy Fallon, the late night star who is hosting his first Emmy Awards show Sunday, says the only problem he’s had so far is coming up with too much material.…
Report from The Beach
The experience of vacation beach houses on the East Coast is that it’s hellacious to get down there through traffic, but able to mellow you out about midweek, by which…
Franzen’s Hartford Interlude
Jonathan Franzen’s sprawling, long-awaited novel, “Freedom” occurs all over the place, in gentrified St. Paul, Minnesota to the grime of the lower East Side New York City, with forays to…