The Love Guru? Hmmmmm.Prognostications for success, anyone?I love Mike Myers … but … hmmmm. The Alba element makes me nervous.At the same time, sitar covers of bad 90s power ballads are inherently funny. As are French Canadians and schnauzers. “The second best guru in India is coming to America.”In theaters June 20. Read more

GODSTUFF THE MAN IN BLACK IN THE GRAY It has been suggested, on more than one occasion, that if another face were to be added to the quartet of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln on Mount Rushmore, it should be Johnny Cash. The Man in Black would have my vote. You’d be hard-pressed to name someone more quintessentially American, more representative of the spirit and soul of our nation, than J.R. Cash. Rodney Clapp, a native Oklahoman who has lived... Read more

Rest In Peace, William F. Buckley Jr. The conservative pundit, culture shaper and prolific writer died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut at the age of 82. To read his obituary in the New York Times, click HERE. Here he is in a retrospective with Charlie Rose: Read more

GODSTUFF NIU KILLER’S TATTOOS NOT JUST SKIN DEEP When I walked in to the Chicago Tattoo Factory in Uptown on my birthday last fall, it was not on a whim. I’d been contemplating getting a tattoo for about 20 years. Still, I told no one I was going — not my husband, not my best friends. My first and only trip to the tattoo parlor was a solo journey, one steeped with personal meaning and spiritual import. A round Celtic... Read more

No Country for Old Men:Congratulations Joel and Ethan Best DirectorsBest FilmBest Adapted Screenplay Bravo! Bravo! Thank you for giving us so many wonderful characters and transcendent stories. And most of all, thank you for the Dude. Read more

Oscar Yays!: “Falling Slowly” Congratulations to Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová for winning the Oscar for Best Song for “Falling Slowly” from Once. If you haven’t seen it, run out right now and do it. Beautiful. In a sweet aside, the NYT’s Carpetbagger blog reports the following about Glen, post-Oscar: Hansard was effusive, in back, including walking into the press room and saying, “I just got a text from Bono. That is the biggest thing in the world that can... Read more

U2TheDublinersSineadTheCorrsShaneandRonnieDrew Irish stars line up to sing the praises of Dubliners legendFrom The Irish Independent HE has the “greatest voice in the world” and led a folk band that now makes “Nirvana look like girls”. Praise indeed from the leader of the world’s top rock band, Bono, for Dublin’s greatest trouper Ronnie Drew, the once bearded supremo of Irish music who watched as his peers in the industry paid homage to him and his legacy last night. A firmament of... Read more

Mazel tov! Angelina and Brad at the Independent Spirit Awards tonite in L.A. L’chaim! Read more

GODSTUFF THIS ‘JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR’ IS A SUPER DUD For the first time in more than 30 years of theatergoing, this week I walked out of a show at intermission and didn’t go back. It was production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” More like “Jesus Christ, Super Bad.” No one was more surprised by my reaction than I was, as the 1970 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the last days of Jesus’ life had long been one of my favorites.... Read more