Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward of She & Him craft a perfect little slice of retro 2:30 pop here —so it’s a little surprising when it takes a weird turn. That’s Halloween for you.
Entries tagged as ‘entertainment’
Squirrelly
September 10, 2008 · 2 Comments
Some people find squirrels absolutely repellent. Not me.
Yes, they do have a certain rat-like quality, but look how interesting and amusing they are! Like the time at work when we forgot to close the window. Squirrels got in the office and ran all over, leaving tiny footprints on the desks. Then they collected some M&Ms from down the hall and hid them everywhere. I’m still finding them. Anyhow, I’m not sure how you mark this on the scorecard, but see how this stray squirrel became the star of a recent game between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians.
Categories: News
Tagged: entertainment, sports
Down The Bowl
September 1, 2008 · 4 Comments
At The Great Escape yesterday, we hit the sweet spot: a stretch of the day you could get on The Comet over and over again without standing on line. I can’t tell you how many times we went on the giant roller coaster —12 times? 15 times? Either way, my neck is really sore today. On the wet side of the park, we spent more than 30 minutes waiting to go on the “Mega Wedgie” water slide. You drop down a chute in a raft and then spin around and around in a big cylinder before before being sucked out the bottom. It should be called the Mega Bowl or Royal Flush, because the sensation is just like being in a toilet. If they were smart, they’d embrace this concept and run with the bathroom joke. Brown rafts maybe?
We also rode The Boomerang a couple of times, but as much as I enjoy roller coasters, it’s is a harrowing experience. That ride should be called The Colonoscopy —but I digress.
Just to top off a post that’s going downhill fast, I found it interesting that all the people operating the rides at the park were foreign workers here for the summer. We I know this is immature, but we got a big kick out out of the guy at The Alpine Sled: UFUK. That seemed funny, but this was after riding The Comet for an hour.Is it possible that repeated roller coaster trips reduce your intellect? If so, let’s hope it’s only temporary.
Categories: Kids
Tagged: entertainment, toilet paper, words
Sound of the Sidewalk
June 2, 2008 · 1 Comment
“Wow…those foolish earthlings listen to awful music!”
That’s what I’m afraid people in other worlds will think if TV transmissions of “American Idol” ever reach them. I hope they don’t decide to wipe us out on grounds of poor taste, because based on the popularity of people like Taylor Hicks and David Cook, who could blame them?
Well, my alien friends, please be advised that Earth is not devoid of decent music. In fact it’s on every street corner, like on Friday at Troy Night Out. Zack and I stumbled across a quintet of musicians on a sidewalk near State and 2nd. The Rustys were clearly having a good time out there, entertaining a crowd of twenty with a tasty blend of rootsy Americana. But the thing that really got me was the joy they brought to their performance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band having so much fun, and I’m sure it wasn’t just the beers they had hidden around the front stoop. These folks love making music. We walked off after they closed the set with “Wildwood Flower”, and Zack said, “That’s the kind of band I want to have.”
If some far off aliens are sitting in quiet judgment of the earth, maybe they’ll look beyond the middle of the road to the great music people are making on sidewalks like the one in Troy. See a little sideshow after the jump… (more…)
Categories: Music
Tagged: entertainment, tv
Theater Review
May 12, 2008 · 3 Comments
Some things are best sent to the recycle bin, like the review of my 12-year-old’s school theater production of “Beauty and The Beast.” I thought it would be really, really funny to write about the show as if reviewed by New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley:
Two act one numbers that should have been rousing show stoppers fell flat, casualties of weak singing and thoughtless direction. “Gaston,” the wildly funny paean to Belle’s vain and thickly dumb suitor, leaves many of its best jokes to wither and die on the vine, the victims of poor timing. “Be Our Guest,” a wry and spirited homage to Maurice Chevalier, is similarly disappointing, with many of its lyrics rendered unintelligible. It leaned on a series of costume reveals to wow the audience while ignoring the wit and charm its words. Even Shannon McShane, in her strong turn as Mrs. Potts, couldn’t save the doomed number.
And it went on like this for for six-hundred words. I showed it to Ann. “You know,” she said, “Not everyone gets your sense of humor.” C’mon, I explained. It’s parody. It’s not supposed to be ME writing, It’s as if it’s as if Ben Brantley came to the gymatorium and reviewed a kids theater production. Get it? It’s funny. She stared like I’d grown a third eye on my forehead. “Oh. Maybe Ben Brantley will go to the next PTO meeting.”
Point made —and all but what you see here was deleted. The show closed Saturday night, but I had nothing to do with it.
Categories: Kids
Tagged: entertainment, words
My Movie Memory
April 22, 2008 · 3 Comments
The Times Union asked people to send in their favorite movie memories for an upcoming story. My favorite is the time I took Alex to see “Rocketeer” when he was three-years-old. At one point, he crawled out of his seat and up into my lap to watch the movie. It was a one of those great father-son moments I’ll never forget —especially the part where he started peeing. He was so engrossed in the movie he neglected to tell me he had to hit the bathroom and at one point just let loose. Since the kid was was just recently out of diapers, I had brought extra pants and underwear for him. I did not have extra pants and underwear for me, and left the theater with a broad wet stain on the front of my khaki pants.
A father’s love manifests itself in many ways, so the next time you see someone who looks like he wet his pants, just remember that you may really be witnessing a father’s love. Well, maybe there’s a better way to explain that, but you get the idea.
Categories: Kids
Tagged: bodily fluids, entertainment, parenting
Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out
April 21, 2008 · 4 Comments
It’s National TV-Turnoff Week, which I once wrote should be called National Get Off Your Fat Ass And Do Something Week. Now that I’m older and wiser, I realize that was a little harsh. A little harsh but maybe a little true.
Moderation, my friends, is the key to happiness. Turning off the TV for an entire week will inevitably lead to TV binging, and binging of any kind is always bad. Here’s what to do: watch less TV for a few days. Drop some things that you don’t really care about. Don’t deprive yourself of what you love, but cut out what you don’t need. And by the way, those of us who work in TV would appreciate it if you get this out of your system by Thursday, because Thursday is the first day of May Sweeps. Actually, maybe Thursday would be a good day to watch a little more local news. With your whole family. Especially if you have a ratings diary. Then go out for a walk.
Categories: News
Tagged: entertainment, family, News, tv
My Left Feet
April 4, 2008 · 2 Comments
When Dancing With The Stars comes on, I’m gone. I can’t stand to watch even five seconds of that show—especially not after what they did to Steve Guttenberg this week. Completely unfair. Anyway, I totally leave the room, except if Jason Taylor is on, because that’s more like watching football than dancing —and I DON’T WATCH DANCING. This is despite the fact that I am trained in ballroom dancing. I spent a lot of time with Ann at Lorraine Michaels taking lessons a few years ago. The first night there, the instructor came over and said we’d have to switch partners after each dance. Switch partners? “Yes,” she explained. “In a social situation, you’ll dance with other partners, so you need to get used to it.” Ann was watching to see what came out of my mouth. “Why would I dance with someone else?” It’s nice to know in a life full of saying the wrong things at the right time you can smack one out of the park now and then.
Categories: Marriage
Tagged: dancing, entertainment, family, manly matters
