Rage Against the Machines

16 Apr

We live in a world that gets more automated every day.

You can drive through toll booths without stopping to pay.

You can open car doors without even taking out your key.

You can turn on lights or other electronic devices simply by clapping your hands.

You can say a person’s name and your phone will place the call.

You can turn on a sink, a hand-dryer, or a paper-towel dispenser with just a wave of your hand.

And you can flush a toilet just by standing up or stepping away.

Those are just a few of the many examples, and I’ll bet that by the time you finish reading this post, there’ll be at least one more. Continue reading →

Solid State

15 Apr

In the new film State of Play, Russell Crowe plays Cal McCaffrey, a hard-working beat reporter for the fictional Washington Globe, who is trying to solve a murder case. Then his old college roommate, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), gets thrown into the mix when his research assistant, who he was having an affair with, turns up dead. Is there a connection between the two cases? McCaffrey will find out — if his conflicting loyalties don’t trip him up in the process.

As if ripped from today’s headlines, SoP feels current — and it may make Boston audiences chuckle a little too much. That’s because McCaffrey’s paper, the Globe, is also in financial straits with a parent company breathing down the editor’s neck to print more sell-able stories. In fact, McCaffrey’s biggest competition for his story is not another paper but an in-house blogger who is able to write and publish much quicker than he can. In other news, Collins is on a subcommittee that’s going after a Halliburton-like military contractor. Oh yeah, and Harry Lennix, who plays a cop, bears an almost too-striking resemblance to Barack Obama.

Those distractions aside, SoP works as a political thriller. There are twists and turns, and the person (or people) responsible for the murders turns out to be not who you’d instantly suspect. (That said, people around me seemed to figure it out — or at least they said they did as they were walking out.) The top-notch cast — which also includes Jeff Daniels, Helen Mirren, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, and my old high school chum David Harbour — elevates the material, making what could have been a more conventional film that much more entertaining. Is SoP going to be remembered at year’s end as one of the best films? No. But it’s a solidly entertaining two hours that’s worth seeing. I’m giving it a strong B.

Goodnight, Mom

11 Apr

The thing about taking a few days off is that it gives you a chance to catch up on life and the things you’ve been ignoring in recent days. So it was last night when I learned the sad news that Keith Olbermann’s mother passed away last weekend (she had cancer). Aside from the passing itself and the cause of death, the timing was rather unfortunate since, as Keith made clear in his tribute to her the other night, she was a huge baseball fan and she passed away the day before the season began.

Anyway, regardless of how you feel about Keith, his show, or his politics, the tribute he aired to his mother earlier this week is worth watching, so I thought I’d share it here.

Happy Passover!

8 Apr

Table for One

7 Apr

I didn’t quite know what to have for dinner Monday night, but I knew one thing: I didn’t want to cook. And because Passover was two days away and I had already put all my dishes through my dishwasher, and I had nothing better to do, and because Sunday was the one-year anniversary of the day I moved into my condo, I decided to go out to dinner. Yes, by myself. It’s not the first time I’ve done this, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve gone out and sat in a restaurant eating dinner by myself. It was time to do it again.

I decided to go to the Bertucci’s at the Atrium, which I figured would be close, easy, and because it was a rainy Monday night, largely empty. And sure enough, it was. So I sat at my table, undisturbed, eating my rolls and my meal, drinking my beverage, and perhaps most importantly, catching up on a recent issue of Rolling Stone. I have to admit: It was really nice for a change. Sure, I could have gone somewhere a little nicer than Bertucci’s, but this was just what I was looking for. I was able to eat and read, and no one was rushing me to finish up or hounding me to order more, and when I was done, there were no dishes to clean up or anything. I had a nice waitress, and I gave her a nice tip because she treated me well, and I was not embarrassed by the situation in the least.

Yeah, I really kind of enjoyed going out by myself. I’m not going to make a habit of it, but maybe I’ll have to do it more often.

Wake-Up Call

7 Apr

Some people call it radio karma. Others chalk it up to an awful playlist. Me? I say Kiss 108 is trying to teach me a lesson, and I’m sure of it. Monday morning when my alarm went off, I hit snooze like I always do, and then I repeated it a second time. And when it went off the fourth time, I considered getting up. After all, I had plenty to do at work and could have used the extra half-hour or so. But did I? No. I decided I wanted nine more minutes, so I hit snooze again. And then, when the alarm went off nine minutes later, what song was playing? Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” At the present time, there is no artist on the radio that I hate more than Lady Gaga, so I hit snooze again. After all, who wants to get up to a song they don’t like? That’ll ruin your whole day.

So I slept some more. Nine minutes later, when the alarm went off again, what was playing? Britney Spears’ “Circus,” another song I find absolutely annoying. So yes, I hit snooze again. And then, nine minutes later, what was playing? My least favorite song right now, Flo Rida’s “Right Round.” It was already a half hour after I was going to get up, but I just couldn’t get up then. And nine minutes after that, when the alarm went off again, what was playing? Actually, nothing. It was all static. But that was better than the alternative, so I got up. Finally. Lesson learned. (Or was it?) Next time, I’ll get up when I’m supposed to.

And it probably should be noted that the song playing when I should have woken up was Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours,” which, of course, I love.

Oh, but was that it? No way. I listened to Matty in the Morning for nearly my entire drive into work, laughing along with Matty, Billy, Lisa, Jim, and the gang, and right as I’m turning the corner into my parking lot, what song comes on? That’s right: “Poker Face.” Again. So suffice it to say, Kiss 108, by playing my least favorite songs at exactly the wrong times, taught me that I really need to time my mornings a bit better.

A Wii for Mii

6 Apr

After leaving Abby’s house on Sunday, I stopped off to visit my other little buddies, Sam and Ilana.

They’re seven and four years old, respectively, and great fun to hang out with.

On this particular day, they were anxious for me to play with them on their Wii, so I obliged. Believe it or not, I’d never played on a Wii before, which was a problem because these two were pros — especially Sam, who booted up Wii Sports and challenged me to a match on Wii Tennis.

Well, before I knew it, Sam had beaten me three games to one. The kid really was good! Continue reading →

There’s a Name for That

5 Apr

I was home in New York this weekend because 11 months after she was born, Abby finally had her Naming, where she received her Hebrew name. (Usually this happens much sooner after a baby’s birth.) It was also a significant weekend for me because for the first time since Abby was born, I slept overnight at my sister and brother-in-law’s house, which was a lot of fun — even at 6:15 on Saturday morning, when I woke up early to greet Abby. It was also amusing being there Saturday night when she spent about an hour babbling in her crib, telling her best bud, Quackers (a stuffed duck), all about her day, and wouldn’t go to sleep. Ahhh … babies. Abby’s still so great, and she and I just have a really special relationship. She always remembers me, and lights up when she sees me. I am one of the few people, it seems, who can consistently make her smile and laugh. And then there are the quiet times when I just sit there holding her, and she just relaxes without fidgeting. It’s adorable, and it excites me to no end. And of course, that’s partly why I take so many pictures of Abby when I see her. So yes, I thought I’d share this weekend’s collection. Enjoy.

He’s Baaaaaack

2 Apr

If you enjoyed Borat, then by all means watch the trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest film, Bruno. Just be careful: This is NSFW.
http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/9995

Same Cast, Shorter Title

1 Apr

There were three movies in the The Fast and the Furious series, but to really amp up the testosterone — not to mention the fast-ness and furiosity — something just had to change.

So, the series got a reboot and now we have Fast & Furious, a car culture film starring the same cast as the first film, but without all those pesky The’s in the title. (The ‘and’ also became an ampersand.)

What’s the new movie about? Well, plot, schmot. There’s drugs, money, revenge, and, um, fast cars. Do you really need to know more? Continue reading →

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