As the weather turns wicked, my automotive thoughts turn to something other than the utilitarian SUV. Or even, for that matter, the overweighted blinged out luxurious SUVs of today. My thoughts turn instead to luxury–pure luxury as it was once defined. Of course what makes a luxury car truly luxurious is harder to answer in … Read more
In the Strib this morning was a photo of a Marine outpost in Iraq. On an interior wall was hand written the following: “America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war. America is at the Mall.” (Sorry, photo is not online that I can find.) Also, on the Strib’s website today, The … Read more
I have a semi-quiet Saturday ahead of me so I’m a little excited to park myself at the kitchen computer with a steamy cup of French Roast and a slice of pumpkin bread while I catch-up with my food writer reading… TONY rules, does he not? And thank goodness Michael Ruhlman allows him space to … Read more
Blue Velvet, 1986. Written and Directed by David Lynch. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Dean Stockwell (freaking unbelievable), Brad Dourif, Hope Lange, George Dickerson, and the original Eraserhead, Jack Nance. Now showing in a new 35mm print at the Oak Street Cinema. Valentine’s Day is Wednesday next, and it’s customary to … Read more
OK, a quick tale of serendipity. One of the chores of covering TV and media for the St. Paul Pioneer Press was attending the bi-annual Television Critics Association press tours in Los Angeles. As routines go, Was it better than sitting in Minnesota writing giddy featurettes about, “Joe Millionare”? Yes. Were there hundreds of more … Read more
Following up on the recent, “New Rules for Journalists” post via Dan Froomkin and the Nieman Center, (see below), here’s an excellent set of questions newsroom managers ought to be asked relative to their performance prior to “Shock and Awe”. By Gilbert Cranberg cranberg@verizon.net As the war in Iraq nears its fourth anniversary, and with … Read more
Of course, the really kool kids will be down at First Ave this evening, blowing their ears out at The Shins concert. But neither you nor I are quite that cool (at least not cool with a “k” cool), so what are our options? By chance, there is a hip (yes, hip) theater production opening … Read more
There is an illuminating little spat going on between Jeff Cohen, a former producer for MSNBC and one of the founders of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), the lefty media site and Jonah Goldberg, the syndicated right-wing columnist. (Goldberg’s mother is Lucianne Goldberg, the arch-conservative who convinced Linda Tripp there was money to be … Read more
Are you a land lubber or a sea lubber? Or do you actively lub both, as I do? Well, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) even though there was a slight decrease in seafood consumption in 2005, we spent $65.2 billion on seafood products, a $3 billion rise over 2004. We were … Read more
Very calm now, I am going to type about how I can’t take this cold much longer, but then leave it at that. Better to hole up indoors and distract yourselves by looking at pictures of the pretty girls in all the Fall 2007 fashion collections, which are being presented in NYC right now at … Read more