avablog

Well, the week’s ending as it started. Thank goodness it was a short one. RIP, Harvey. If you never saw him in anything but Blazing Saddles, you still saw more comedic talent than you can find in any film made in the last 10 years. Gosh, this guy was good. Hedley Lamarr: My mind is […]

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What better way to brighten the mood than to bring Hitler into the mix? If you haven’t seen Downfall, do yourself a favor. Bruno Ganz is mesmerizing, and I don’t mean that in the usual People-Magazine-movie-review sense, either. More like the Elizabeth-Berkley-in-Showgirls* sense. You know what I’m talkin’ ’bout. *Or, if you prefer, the episode […]

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Like mother, like daughter. Leah and Georgie have teamed up to contribute their voices to the doomed ship that is John Edwards’ presidential campaign. Why they don’t hitch their respective wagons to Obama’s shooting star is beyond me. As Jesse Jackson said when he visited my high school years ago, “Up with hope! Down with […]

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I debated posting this, because a blogger pal does such a better job covering this show, but Leah and I just about wet our pants last night watching Project Runway. It’s the same kind of laughter you get from watching merry mishaps in which someone ends up rolling down a steep embankment in a shopping […]

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Right here: Dr. Carol A. Livoti, a Manhattan obstetrician and gynecologist and an author of “Vaginas: An Owner’s Manual” (Thunder’s Mouth Press, 2004), said vajayjay and other euphemisms and slang offend her and can render women incapable of explaining their symptoms to health professionals. “I think it’s terrible,” Dr. Livoti said. “It’s time to start […]

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Why does my child eat better when she’s watching TV? It’s like she’s on autopilot, munching away while she watches Ms. Honey lead her class through alphabet exercises. It’s weird.

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with these goons? For crying out loud. Gibson went on to say that he “knew this was not a classic hip-hop shooting” once he learned Coon killed himself. Gibson continued: “Hip-hoppers do not kill themselves. They walk away. Now, I didn’t need to hear the kid was white with blond hair. Once he’d shot himself […]

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There’s really no reason why the typical portrayal of technology by television shows should be any more accurate than portrayals of, say, relationships, house renovation, or wilderness survival. Still, I always get a kick out of the funny things I see. Like last night. Thanks to our HDTV set and its internal ClearQAM tuner, we […]

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I might record The View. I love to watch stupid people saying stupid things, and The View looks like a great place for that. E.g.: WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Is the world flat? SHERRI SHEPHERD: Is the world flat? (laughter) GOLDBERG: Yes. SHEPHERD: …I Don’t know. GOLDBERG: What do you think? SHEPHERD: I… I never thought about […]

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Has it been 24 hours yet since I mentioned the Planet Earth DVDs? Once again, Ava was sitting on the couch this morning in front of the TV, slippers on(?), eating her eggs while she watched her new favorite portion of the program. It’s on the Ice Worlds section, which contains many, many super cute […]

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Just buy the Planet Earth DVDs already, would you? What are you waiting for? I could go on and on about the videography, the production values, the wildlife scenes, the score, etc., but probably the best testimonial I can muster is that Leah actually endured (and even appeared rapt by) a long segment that featured […]

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I try to keep up with as much tech news as I can, but I admit to losing touch a bit over the last couple years. Things just happen too fast, and Ava deserves my attention more than, say, the iPhone (just writing that is a huge step for me).

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That’s what I finally ended up with for an LCD TV. Office Depot was (still is, until 6/2) selling these units for $699, which is a nice deal. So I ran over and picked one up. It looks good so far, even with a standard def feed. Of course Leah walks in, looks at it […]

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Anyone old enough to remember that commercial for flavored Tootsie Rolls that featured claymation characters riding a rainbow? Well, my dad created that ad when he worked in Evanston. Here’s a shot from the set:

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Sunday night, Leah and I watched a show about the methamphetamine catastrophe in Iowa. When I was writing that first sentence, I hesitated for a bit in consideration of the best way to describe meth’s impact in this state. Epidemic is the word you hear thrown around most often. But after watching the soul-dampening profiles of these addicts and their families, it’s clear that this is more than “just” an epidemic. More, even, than a catastrophic epidemic.

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Leah and I got a babysitter last night and went out to dinner. It was really nice, after some initial turbulence. Our meals were good, and it was half-price wine night where we dined, so we got a nice bottle for not a lot of money.

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…100 hula hoops on a sequin-covered majorette. The drinking game goes as follows: Half a drink every time someone in the room (including you) says, “I could do that;” full drink every time someone falls down or otherwise hurts him/herself on stage. Everyone chugs when Simon makes a contestant cry and/or swear, vomit. Engage…. UPDATE:  […]

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That’s what I need. I’d like a method to tell how much Scientology is mixed up in the media I consume (you got chocolate in my peanut butter). Surely there’s an easy way to tally this. Is the leading lady “clear?” Is the director an operating thetan? We could assign a point total according to […]

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Tonight the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show begins in New York. I love this show.  I love it because I really enjoy dogs a lot, and it fascinates me to see the way these animals seem to revel in all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the judging.  I hate to anthropomorphize these great dogs, but […]

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Wow. I lucked out last night and caught Prince’s first performance on SNL. That guy is amazing. I didn’t recognize the song, so I assume it’s off the upcoming 3121. I don’t remember ever seeing a live performance like that on SNL. For anyone who doubts the guy’s musicianship (and I don’t think there are […]

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