The Devolution of Dads (and Other Men, Too)
Ward Cleaver. Andy Taylor. Cliff Huxtable. You know the names. They’re all TV dads who stand out as father figures that sat tall in the saddle, gave solid, sensible advice and were even able to chuckle at their own foibles from time to time. Quick, now. Toss out a comparable character among today’s crop of […]
Plugging the Morality Meter
It may seem common-sensical to you that sending a digital naked picture of yourself to a friend might not actually be such a good idea, or that texting a constant stream of obnoxious, hateful messages could tick somebody off. But I guess some teens need a little help understanding that. According to a study recently […]
Gambling With Chatroulette
In the ever-changing terrain of online social networks, there seems to be a new chat-tweet-skype-till-you-drop Internet craze popping up just about, oh, every 15 seconds or so. One of the latest rages grabbing everybody’s water cooler gab time is something called “extreme social networking.” Haven’t heard of it? It’s an experience delivered through a Website […]
Academy Award Flubs and Snubs
Will the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences get it right this year and pick the best picture for Best Picture? Well … let’s just say they don’t have the greatest track record. Just for fun, let’s try a little pop quiz to test your memory. Do any of you remember the movie How […]
Movie Monday: Shutter Island
As stormy and dark as Shutter Island is, it seemed to be the place to be this past weekend. The ominous, R-rated insane asylum thriller blew a kiss to star-laden Valentine’s Day as it rushed past with hurricane force—netting a whopping $40.2 million and the top of the box office. This was the biggest opening […]
Romantic Pic Tips
All right. You’ve got the flowers. You’ve got the candy. But now you’re searching for a great old movie that you can surprise your sweety with for Valentine’s Day. I say great old movie because, let’s face it, watching some of the new romantic comedies can be like spending the evening stretched out on a […]
Words to Live By
I wanted to share a couple recent cultural happenings that you may not be aware of. Frank Buckles had a birthday. And singer Ke$ha knocked Susan Boyle off the No.1 spot on the album sales charts. Now, you may not have heard of either of these two people. Or, if you have, you may be […]
A Sweet, Salty Facebook Tale
I’ve never really been a social network supporter. It’s all seemed kind of silly to me, really. Just thinking about the idea of MySpace and Facebook took up more time than I wanted to spend. My philosophy has always been pretty straight-forward: Why waste my life reading notes from someone on the other side of […]
The New Face of New Faces
Mankind has always gone gaga over beauty. From the voluptuous paintings in Egyptian tombs to the airbrushed magazine covers of Hollywood icons, the beautiful have historically grabbed our attention and invited us to adore them. But today’s advanced plastic surgery is playing a pied piper’s tune of perfection that’s starting to become a little—well, ugly. […]
A Decade at the Movies … Not So Bad?
I really love watching movies. Call me a masochist, but even after countless hours of screening flicks for review, I’ll sometimes put my notebook and pen aside and happily plant my over-padded backside in an under-padded theater seat. I’ll be honest, though, when we crossed the finish line for the decade, my initial reaction was […]