Entries from June 2009

June 26, 2009

Dylan’s 7 Mirrors

I  love to see you dress before the mirror
Won’t you let me in your room one time ‘fore I finally disappear?
–Abandoned Love

The palace of mirrors
Where dog soldiers are reflected,
The endless road and the wailing of chimes,
The empty rooms where her memory is protected,
Where the angels’ voices whisper to the souls of previous times.
– Changing of [...]

June 23, 2009

6 phrases I wish would go missing.

Here are 6 phrases I’ve heard or seen enough. Feel free to add yours to the list.
1. Sweet spot.
“Working for the government is just one area in which the secretary of state hits the demographic sweet spot,” writes the Wall Street Journal.   “Green Products are the ‘Sweet Spot’ for Spending During Downtown,” says GreenBiz.com.   “Finding [...]

June 20, 2009

Gotta get my Fred and Wilma.

Joe Cocker’s been easy to parody. But is it because Cocker, especially in his immediate post heyday, was such an easy target — in the way that anyone visibly different makes an inviting target?

June 18, 2009

Write What You… No.

For any of us who has taken the adage “Write what you know” as received wisdom, this contrarian opinion from P.J. O’Rourke should come like a refreshing shpritz of seltzer to the face:
“Creative writing teachers should be purged until every last instructor who has uttered the words ‘Write what you know’ is confined to a [...]

June 14, 2009

The Ballad of Brandon.

Brandon Hardesty is a dead-on mimic, clown and aspiring actor. His videos – shot in his basement rec room — have taken millions of hits. He has a huge following, including the Washington Post Magazine, where I first read about Hardesty in a profile last month.  Check out his zany and eerie one-man reenactments of [...]

June 12, 2009

Failure is an orphan quote.

Orphan quotes are quotation marks that people habitually use to surround a word or sometimes two. More recently they’ve broken out of the written sphere, becoming air quotes.

June 10, 2009

10 Ways to rhyme ‘night’ and ‘light’ (courtesy of Prof. Springsteen).

1)  They’re built like light
and they dance like spirits in the night
– Spirit in the Night

2)  Yeah he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce, another runner in the night
–Blinded by the Light

3)  The midnight gang’s assembled and picked a rendezvous for the night
They’ll meet ‘neath that giant Exxon sign that brings this [...]

June 8, 2009

Woodstock was not Woodstock.

Woodstock, Facebook and those pesky Baby Boomers.

June 4, 2009

A little TV.

Two quick web-tertainments  for your enjoyment. First, “You Suck At Photoshop” — the name was all it took to grab me when I read about this mini-mini-series in the Washington Post.
Second, follow the actions and hijinks of the desperate actors of  “Pilot Season.”  If you can’t get enough of Sarah Silverman, or if you feel [...]

June 2, 2009

No teeth whitening so far today.

The ads that have been following me online today:
Lost 32 Pounds in 1 Month! No Diet
Be a nurse in months
Doctor Prescribed HGH — Competing with younger men?
Customary Jewish Caskets
Class of 1976  [Honest, there was more to life than just 8-tracks, bellbottoms and hair.]
The 300 Workout — Get Ripped! Click here. Build huge biceps fast! Results [...]