Tropic Blunder?

You’ve got to think that Ben Stiller and the studio behind his new movie about a movie, Tropic Thunder, are overjoyed about all the controversy the film is stirring up. After all, when you’re trying to promote a movie, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right?
This article from the Chicago Tribune explores the reactions [...]

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Rebel Songs

Ever lose track of time while you’re reminiscing on YouTube? Sometimes the endless videos on there send me traveling down Memory Lane for longer than I care to admit. Let’s just say I could probably be using my time more wisely. The thing is, I have all these music memories from the ’70s and ’80s—amazing [...]

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A Story About Baseball

This may be a bit of a departure from the usual themes on this blog, or maybe it isn’t. In any event, I was moved by this commentary/essay by Frank Deford this morning on NPR. It’s a cliche to say it, I know, but sometimes sport is the perfect metaphor for life.

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Hancock vs. Obama

Anyone catch Will Smith’s alcoholic superhero movie Hancock over the holiday weekend? Though it received mixed reviews, it grossed a heroic $107 million since opening last Wednesday. I haven’t seen it, but as a fan of superhero movies (the first Superman with Christopher Reeve is my all-time favorite), I look forward to catching it soon. If you’ve seen it already, I’d love [...]

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Exposing Prejudice or Peddling Racism?

Anyone watch the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing? I don’t, but I was checking out the blog Racialicious yesterday and ran across this post about a Chicago comedian named Esther Ku who recently appeared on the show. The post’s headline suggests that Ku is the Korean-American Sarah Silverman. (Silverman, for those who don’t know, is a white [...]

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A Raisin Remembered

Did anyone see ABC’s remake of A Raisin in the Sun last night? What did you think? The original 1961 film, based on Lorraine Hansberry’s classic play, is one of the most powerful family dramas I’ve ever seen. The entire cast, but especially Sidney Potier as Walter Lee Younger and Claudia McNeil as his mother, Lena Younger, [...]

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Our Music Tells the Story

New York Times columnist David Brooks offers up an interesting piece on how the ever-increasing segmentation in popular music reflects the divisions in other areas of our society. I love classic rock music—along with gospel, jazz, R&B, classical, and other styles—so this was an intriguing (and fun-to-read) essay. But I’m wondering how well the analogy [...]

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