The show has lost a lot of its appeal for me, starting way back when Aaron Sorkin left, and I feared that this evening’s episode — airing live — would be gimmicky. But actually, it was kind of interesting, and made you long for REAL debates. More here. UPDATE: Mmmm. I thought this was interesting: The performance — a blend … Read More
Sweeney Todd: The Reviews Are In
Newsweek: An innovative Broadway revival has its share of delights (starting with Patti LuPone) but misses the tragedy at this dark musical’s heart New York Times: "Brace yourself. They’re putting on one helluva show." The interesting thing this revival of "Sweeney Todd" is that it is pared down and somewhat minimalist. The New York Times explains this: [Director John] Doyle, … Read More
Republican Party Dupes Christian Conservatives
It’s always been pretty clear to me that Republican Party really doesn’t give a damn about Christian conservatives, but they tolerate and cow-tow to them because they need the votes. Never has this theory been more evidence than this revelation, exposed by Salon: Up-and-coming Republican hacks would do well to watch closely the ongoing Senate investigations of superstar lobbyist Jack … Read More
Catholic Church Making Sense
As organized religions go, I like Catholicism. I mean, if you absolutely need to have silly rituals and stuff in order to worship God, the Catholic Church, it seems, is the way to go. So many rules and rituals. Stand, sit, beads, wafers, old men in Rome with funny hats, confession booths — it’s a real hootenanny. But mostly, I’m … Read More
A Racism Primer For Wingnuts
Conservative blogs today are all out-of-joint because certain people have attacked Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a black Republican. The Washington Times is stirring the brew, with articles saying things like this: Delegate Salima Siler Marriott, a black Baltimore Democrat, said Mr. Steele invites comparisons to a slave who loves his cruel master or a cookie that is black on the … Read More
For Once, I’m Ahead Of The Curve
Everyone on the right and left seems to be blogging today about something I wrote about twice before (here and here), i.e., the religious right’s opposition to a 100% effective vaccine that prevents cervical cancer, a terrible illness that kills over 10,000 American woman per year. The reason for the fundamentalist rejection? They think that this vaccine will cause women … Read More
American Taliban Continues To Have A Stick Up Its Ass
I mean, really: RALEIGH, N.C. School principals from Newton, Mass., to Denver find themselves increasingly haunted at Halloween by this refrain: Get out, ye ghoulies! Bowing to concerns of a wide range of groups – from Christians who consider Halloween to have pagan or satanic overtones to church-state separatists who object to the holiday’s religious roots – some elementary schools … Read More
New York Times Kind Of Hates “The Odd Couple”
"Bland." "Mechanical." "Mr. Broderick often comes across as a dead man walking." Ouch. I don’t think those quotes are going to make it on to the theater marquee, do you? (Not that it matters — the limited run show is sold out).
I Had A Hunch…
There was a particular Star Trek episode when the Enterprise crew was being terrorized by a disembodied "Jack The Ripper" — an alien who acquired power and strength by feeding on the fear that it generated in human beings (not unlike the Republican Party, actually). To fight the alien, Dr. McCoy gave shots to the Enterprise crew — shots that … Read More
Help Me Find Jesus
According to this article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, this tree (pictured at the right) has an image of Jesus. Jesus napping, I guess. Because that’s where Jesus likes to sleep, I guess. On a silver maple tree growing on the front lawn of a clothing factory located at 1155 N. Clinton Ave. in Rochester New York. Anyway, it’s … Read More
Focus On The Fables
Dr. James Dobson reveals why he believes Harriet Miers is a good nominee for the Supreme Court and addresses the objections that have been raised about her. — Lead-in to radio show by James Dobson, on his Focus on the Family website, October 5, 2005 "I believe the president made a wise decision in accepting Harriet Miers’s withdrawal as a … Read More
The Road To Burka-ville
Brio magazine is a teen health and beauty magazine put out by — wait for it — James Dobson’s Focus On The Family. In it, we find such gems as this: Today’s fashion has taken girls away from showing off their personality and instead has them trying to show off their sexuality. It’s not something I want to see anywhere … Read More
Rosa Parks Dead At 92
Pictured: Rosa Parks being booked. There’s not much to say about Rosa Parks that hasn’t already been said. Many admire her for being the catalyst for an idealistic, peaceful movement for racial equality. But we like her because she was pissed, and simply said "Enough is enough". It was a small gesture — one that has been repeated again and … Read More
Musical About Primordial Goo
Well, why not? Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann’s Yeast Nation, a new comic musical about single-celled yeast organisms and their struggles in the timeline of Earth’s evolution, was heard in a private industry reading in New York City Oct. 21. The Tony Award-winning writers are known for their satiric Broadway musical, Urinetown. The starry Manhattan Theatre Club presentation of Yeast … Read More
KKKids
This, from Pandagon, really hurts to read: "We’re proud of being white, we want to keep being white. We want our people to stay white … we don’t want to just be, you know, a big muddle. We just want to preserve our race." — Thirteen-year-old Lynx Gaede, who, with her sister Lamb, are white nationalist singing group "Prussian Blue" … Read More