The Oscars 2010 You could swear that watching one night of the Oscars is to see a lifetime of them. Celebrity, we know, is America’s way of re-creating royalty: somewhere in our DNA we miss what we had when we were unborn and British, but they don’t run it all up the flagpole as often […]
Archive for the ‘Pop Culture’ Category
Once More for the Oscars
March 8, 2010Tiger, Johnny and the Spirit of Giving
December 26, 2009The saga of Tiger Woods, following its initial assault on our senses, “grew legs” as we say, bringing to mind however that a potential monetary settlement of his woes is not unknown among celebrities, including other wildly popular ones–like Johnny Carson. Nothing more prompts generosity than personal trouble. People who usually won’t spring a dime […]
Tiger by the Tail
December 12, 2009A TIGER BY THE TAIL The holiday season of 2009 began rudely with revelations of Tiger Wood’s secret life, prompting thoughts on the meaning of celebrity and on who ought to be whose heroes. To have a tiger by the tail is to have a problem: whether to hang on or let go. Neither is […]
Letterman-Polanski Syndrome
October 24, 2009Dave and Roman got unwanted headlines due to one’s recent, and the other’s past, misbehaviors. It all launched a national review of the social and workplace obligations of those who “hold power” over others who are underage or in their employ. Thankfully, in a month or so Tiger Woods would rescue them from all the […]
Somebody Died
July 25, 2009The death of Michael Jackson in mid-2009 followed shortly that of Farrah Fawcett, creating an embarrassment of unbalanced attention to two icons of American celebrity. Somebody died, then another Somebody, and therein lies a silly truth about celebrity in our time. And this is perilous territory: remarks critical of the idols of popular culture means […]
Star Trek Nation
June 1, 2009This may merit a buzz-saw of reaction, for I deign to speak of our infantile society. Not that there’s anything wrong with childhood and youth, but I must be so bold to ask: “Is anyone around here grown up, anymore?” Apparently not. Intelligent conversation on substantive topics must be directed to The Hand, for even […]
A Lifetime at the Oscars
March 14, 2009It is not my custom to view the Oscars, but love prevailed this year, with the understanding that I could opt out should my eyes glaze over. Over prior years, I had lost appetite for people passing out valentines to each other, and “winners” meaning perhaps the more deserving are by inference “losers.” But, hey, […]
Celeritous Celebrity
January 10, 2009You’re really living in a small town when the lead story of its daily paper concerns a maiden from a nearby burg who’s chosen to be Paris Hilton’s “Best Freakin’ Friend”–oh, excuse me–”Best Friend Forever” (BFF). Things are worse than I thought: we’re victims of an invasion by Paris’ bogus celebrity. Let heaven and nature […]
Ichabod's Kin 