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... 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

We had a little fun at work talking about the movies that make some women cringe and guys love. TBS used to show “Movies for Guys Who Like Movies” and it wouldn’t include any films like Nell or Little Women. So we did a little countdown and here’s the first installment. Let me know what you think. Read more

The new midseason replacement New Amsterdam boasted an interesting, if unoriginal, premise—a New York City detective, John Amsterdam, hides a secret of immortality while solving homicides. It sounded similar to the recent vampire-solving-crimes show, but I figured it was still worthy of checking out. Perhaps there’d be a magic sword or superpowers or intellect learning along the way. Maybe it would even mimic one of the coolest shows on television, Heroes, finding others who were roaming the earth for centuries.... Read more

Heroic characters are strong part of cinematic history, from epic adventurers like Maximus from Gladiator to our beloved adventurer Indiana Jones. Many times they sacrifice themselves for the good of others, such as Spock’s (we thought) final stand in The Wrath of Kahn and Harry Stamper (Bruce Willis) detonating the bomb in Armageddon. Perhaps none of these heroes come close to the sheer bravery of Marine Pvt. Hudson, played by Bill Paxton in Aliens. After encountering the Aliens on a... Read more