Mabel, There’s a Cannonball Stuck in Our Minivan!
File this under the dangers of reality television: A homemade cannonball careened out of control during a taping of the popular Discovery show MythBusters a few days ago, wreaking havoc in a San Francisco-area neighborhood. No one was hurt, but from what Lisa de Moraes writes in The Washington Post, the projectile made quite the, […]
Movie Monday: New Year’s Eve
Don’t let the headline fool you: In an ugly, ugly weekend at the box office, New Year’s Eve didn’t so much win the week as it was just less revolting (monetarily speaking) than the rest. The star-studded rom-com took the box office crown with all the excitement and verve of a gray Tuesday in February, […]
The Mysterious Case of the Fibbing Fiat
If you have a television set and turn it on occasionally, you probably know that singer/actress/American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez is the new spokeswoman for Fiat. She’s been part of several commercials for the Italian car company, but the one I’ve seen the most takes place in the Bronx, where Lopez was born. “This is […]
King James Bible: Mass Media for the Elizabethan Age
This morning, I plowed through a National Geographic article titled “The Bible of King James,” which told the story of how this remarkable translation came about and the continuing influence it has today. It’s a fascinating tale—at least for a history geek like me. Turns out, Christians already had a couple of serviceable translations, the […]
Movie Monday: Breaking Dawn a Broken Record
Zzzzz …. Snrk. Wha? Who? Oh, sorry. Must’ve dozed off there for a minute. With no new releases in theaters this weekend, the box office derby felt a wee bit snoozy. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 scored a third consecutive win, earning an estimated $16.9 million. Sure, that’s about 60% less than […]
For Sale: One Gaming Addict
Alyse Baddley of Logan, Utah, doesn’t have anything against video games. After all, she was up ’til midnight with husband Kyle Baddley to buy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the day of its release. But when her 22-year-old war vet hubbie spent a whole day playing the thing, she decided to put her […]
Fears, Film and Fairy Tales
My daughter’s reading fairy tales. Just bought a big book of ’em not too long ago, and she’s doggedly plowing through the massive tome princess by princess, wolf by wolf, moral by moral. Some nights when we’re out walking, she’ll tell me about the latest fairy tale she’s read, going into great detail about the […]
Movie Monday: Breaking Muppets
Is there a better way to work off that tryptophan trough than a good family-friendly movie? Well, probably, but don’t tell studio execs that. The Thanksgiving weekend box office was deluged with quality PG-rated films this weekend—from The Muppets to Hugo to Arthur Christmas. All earned scads of critical accolades and drew their share of […]
Thanks, Hollywood. No, Really.
The words “Thanksgiving” and “health” don’t typically go hand in hand—not with all the stuffing and pumpkin pie and marshmallow-covered sweet potatoes making their rounds. But as it turns out, giving thanks is pretty healthy. At least that’s what the scientists say. Check out this snippet from USA Today: While it seems pretty obvious that […]
Movie Monday: Breaking Dawn Breaks the Bank
It’s a new dawn at the multiplex. Breaking Dawn, that is. The Twilight Series: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 sucked scads of cash out of the box office this weekend, with moviegoers forking over $139.5 million to see Edward and Bella get married, have sex and go through arguably the most disturbing cinematic birth scene […]
