The news that Ron Popeil is selling Ronco came as a surprise to me, because if I were an inventor-slash-infomercial superstar, I would never, ever give it up to spend time with my grubby children. And that is because — I confess — I love infomercials. God, I love them so much. I’m not sure why, but I always have. I don’t know what pulls me in faster: the hosts’ unabashedly overdone acting, the completely…
I’ve been to New Orleans once. The picture above is what the hotel I stayed in looks like today. I can’t recall exactly why, but I wasn’t terribly fond of New Orleans when I was there. I thought the French Quarter was quaint, but Bourbon Street smelled like vomit and liquor. Plus the constant “show us your tits” chorus that rang through the area grated on my nerves a bit, even though the horny men…
I neglected to mention that Memphis recorded the year’s 100th homicide the other day. Here’s the story. That brings us to within 18 of last year’s total, which is sort of a fluke since last year’s total was a 25-year low. If it’s any comfort, it may not have been a true homicide, since the shooter says he and a friend were just hanging out and he accidentally shot the guy and killed him. Well,…
The Southern Scholar has a couple of posts today questioning the motives behind Bartlett Rep. Tre Hargett’s dubious behavior in the face of his move from representative to Pfizer lobbyist. With an ethics controversy already broiling, the Scholar wonders why more Republicans aren’t questioning Hargett’s motives. Original story here. *My apologies to Green Day fans for this title, but, alas, it had to be done.
Stop reading here if you plan to see The Brothers Grimm. “I was the perfect guy to do ‘Harry Potter.’ I remember leaving the meeting, getting in my car, and driving for about two hours along Mulholland Drive just so angry. I mean, Chris Columbus’ versions are terrible. Just dull. Pedestrian…. I saw ‘War of the Worlds’ and I thought, Steven Spielberg is a man who makes brilliant scenes but can’t make a movie anymore.”…
It’s four in the morning and I can’t stop watching BookTV. First it was the panel with an editor, an agent, and a publicist imparting book publishing secrets, then it was James Howard Kunstler talking about the imminent death of the middle class and suburban culture in The Long Emergency, and now it’s Scott Huler talking about his book, Defining the Wind, which is about the Beaufort Wind Scale and how it’s poetry and science…
[Times, they are … suspiciously similar]1. “Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is.” 2. “Bombing a sovereign nation for ill-defined reasons with vague objectives undermines the American stature in the world. The international respect and trust for America has diminished every time we casually let the bombs fly.” Spoken not by Cindy Sheehan or Sean Penn or any other crazy left-wing wacko war…
I know the Phelps family and their silly Westboro Church is a joke to almost everyone with an intact frontal lobe, but it doesn’t make their blatant disrespect to the families of fallen soldiers any less painful. The Phelps clan will take its ilk to Middle Tennessee this weekend to protest the funerals of Staff Sgt. Asbury Fred Hawn of Smyrna and Spc. Gary Reese Jr. of Ashland City. Apparently, they’re on a funeral-picketing tour…
[Sexism? I barely knowism!]In honor of the 19th Amendment’s 85th anniversary, Ellen Goodman has announced this year’s sexism awards. In case you’re one of those meat heads who still doesn’t understand why women are touchy about “rights” and “discrimination” and all sorts of issues you thought had long since been buried, this list is a quick primer. But I don’t know anyone who reads this blog who feels that way.
[Baby’s brain and an old man’s heart]My brother turns 18 today. I called him a bit ago and it seems he has food poisoning or something. But he’s getting over it. (He seems to have a problem with getting ill-timed food poisoning; he had a major bout after my graduation dinner and ended up at the hospital.) His plans are to go to the high school football game tonight. Phil engineered a mixed CD for…
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