Goodbye and Good Riddance to the Office
The Office is finally over! The last episode aired last night as Steve Carell left the building — for good, we hope — and that concludes the run of the overwrought television sitcom.
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Childhood Obesity Linked to Diet, Not Genes
Nearly seven years ago, I wrote an article for Go Inside Magazine called Sloth! Apathy! Myopia! in which I argued that much of society’s ills boiled down to three distinct problems — sloth, apathy, and myopia. In the article, I told a fictional tale of a family that, not wanting to spend the time and effort to make themselves a healthier meal at home, go out to an unnamed restaurant with a cheerful yet sinister clown in the front.
Continue reading → Childhood Obesity Linked to Diet, Not Genes
Should I Choose Verizon FiOS Over Comcast?
I’m not a big fan of Comcast or Verizon — but I am a fan of saving 50% on my phone/internet/cable bill each month. We have been Comcast customers since 2001, so our history with them has been both rough and pleasing. Verizon FiOS is getting installed en masse in our neighborhood, and we were told by the landlord that Verizon would need access to our apartment to “run a FiOS installation line from the basement to our closet and then to all the closets above us in the building.” We can choose to sign up for FiOS, or not, but the construction for installing a FiOS pipe will be done no matter what.
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Is Hulu Headed for Self-Destruction?
When you see something amazing — be it a service or product — headed for what seems like a dire implosion, it is difficult, if not impossible, to feel just a little mournful for that which we held in such high esteem. It could be a restaurant changing ownership, a television changing format, or what has been happening to Hulu lately:
Hulu management has discussed recasting Hulu as an online cable operator that would use the Web to send live TV channels and video-on-demand content to subscribers, say people familiar with the talks. The new service, which is still under discussion, would mimic the bundles of channels now sold by cable and satellite operators, the people said.
The Making of a Substantial Role: Neil Patrick Harris vs. Eric Braeden
I am a fan of Neil Patrick Harris — I have been since I was young and regularly watched Doogie Howser, M.D. — in fact, that show somewhat made me want to study to become a doctor, before I decided at some point that I just didn’t have the intellectual ability to learn that much about the human body, biology and chemistry.
Continue reading → The Making of a Substantial Role: Neil Patrick Harris vs. Eric Braeden
Favorites of 2010
This was a spectacular year for me, all things considered. While I didn’t particularly watch a lot of television, or see too many films, it was definitely one of the best years of my life if not the best year thusfar. Let’s see why — starting with my favorite things of the year and then moving onto why I really loved the year.
Movies and Television
I didn’t go out to the movie theater too many times this year. It wasn’t a matter of not having any interest in the films being played, but rather of having my time being taken up by actual living, so to speak. When I did get to the theater, it was only for a couple of films that I really wanted to see. A bit of a contrast with, say, the summer of 2004 when Elizabeth and I somehow managed to see practically every movie playing in the theaters.
The two films that I distinctly remember seeing in theaters were the Woody Allen film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Toy Story 3. I particularly liked You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger though, predictably, it was panned by many critics. Was it a film of tremendous substance? It certainly was not — even the film admits it in a roundabout way as it opens, referencing Macbeth who said that life was “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing…” Nevertheless, this tale was a fun one to watch.
The Modern Family Review
I wouldn’t say that I was apprehensive when I first found out about the television show Modern Family, but I wasn’t too excited, either. The concept of the show was that it was going to tell stories from three interrelated families, some of which would be told in the style of faux documentary film making, like The Office and Parks and Recreation. There were too many fake documentary like shows already, I thought to myself before I started watching it when it first aired in the fall of 2009. It only took a few minutes of watching the show to realize that it could really be funny.
The Spongebob Effect: Immorality and Commercial Children’s Television Programming
I spent the weekend with a gang — yes, a Gang! — of rowdy nine-year-olds from the Midwest. I was shocked — yes, Shocked! — and disappointed by their crassness, overt sarcasm and apt insensitivity to those around them, and I blame antisocial, for-profit, children’s television programming for the damning result.
Continue reading → The Spongebob Effect: Immorality and Commercial Children’s Television Programming
Sammy Davis, Jr. and Tom Jones in Performance
Sammy Davis, Jr. and Tom Jones were good friends and great performers together. Their chemistry on stage made them shine in the light of each other.
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Giving Up On Gossip Girl
After a really disappointing fourth season opener, my wife and I have decided that we are just going to give up and stop spending 45 (or so) minutes every week watching Gossip Girl. For the first year or two we were fans but a line has to be drawn — enough is enough.
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