Who says you can’t get something good for free anymore? The band Downhere is giving away its last disc, Wide-Eyed and Mystified, during the month of June. As this is one of my favorite discs of the past few years, I’d strongly recommend checking it out if you don’t have it. Read more

Seems like everywhere you turn, people who used to have “it” don’t anymore. Darth Vader, Keanu Reeves, Fozzy Bear, The Maytag Repairman (who I saw today by the way) are just shadows of their former selves, leaving us all a reminder of what the ravages of time can do to our own entertainment value and marketability. In that sense, I didn’t have high hopes for the return of my childhood hero Indiana Jones, especially with rumors of alien artifacts and… Read more

LeAnn and I were able to attend a free preview screening of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian tonight (did I mention I love Florida?). We were also with some friends from work and everyone loved it. It was action-packed and had plenty of heart. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tugged at the heartstrings more, with Alsan’s sacrifice, but this one ramped up the battle scenes and human drama.While I was watching the film play out, I felt… Read more

I read through some of The Chris Farley Show tonight. It’s a biography that traces his beginnings to his untimely death. It includes interviews with many of Farley’s closest friends who watched his self-destruction firsthand, powerless to stop it. Although they can’t agree whether or not Farley actually really wanted to die (as some quote him), they do all paint him as a tortured soul unprepared for his fame – a person who genuinely thrived on making people happy and… Read more

Long day of meetings but the conference gives a night off. I finally get where I’ve been thinking of going all day. It’s not the Wellsley Arms Hotel but it’ll do. 🙂 Read more

One of the things I thought would happen when I came down here to Florida is that I’d be a little more out of the loop when it comes to the music scene. Someone told me “we don’t get many concerts here in Orlando.” But I would definitely say they probably get more than Chattanooga or Cleveland, because since June, I’ve seen Stephen Curtis Chapman, Third Day, Casting Crowns and Leeland, Heart and tonight Michael W. Smith came down to… Read more

Don’t have time to write much (it’s late) but did want to say Robert Downey Jr. totally rocked the house as Tony Stark in Iron Man. What a cool movie! Whoever championed his casting in the film deserves a raise, because he makes the film. The character totally suits his personality. We’ve come a long since Weird Science and Back to School, huh? Did you know he was also on Saturday Night Live for a season? Read more

There are six months of my life that went by so far they sometimes seem like a blur but at the same time were extremely integral to who I am today. In fact, when any aspiring writers ask me how to get started in journalism, I advise two things – pay attention in your college newswriting class and secondly, get a job at a newspaper. Every writing job I’ve gotten since college has hinged on that experience. I was assistant… Read more

Leatherheads, the new film starring George Clooney and Renée Zellweger, is billed as a fictional account of the early days of football. Commercials geared toward men showcase a burly football player punching out a lineman, another lineman and then the referee before Clooney’s character turns to another teammate and remarks, “Oh, I like him.” It’s football and funny mixed together, even adding in television favorite John Krasinski (Jim from The Office).But Leatherheads has a Secret with a capital S—it’s strong… Read more

As Homer would say, long ago, before the weight of the world crushed my spirit, we lived in a simpler time, when music videos were young and cheesy. Unintentionally funny. And there were some really cool female rockers, not the least of which were Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. Tonight I had a chance to see the duo at Universal Studios. It was pretty cool to see the group live, performing some of the songs I remember the most… Read more