My heart sank when I heard the news.

ABC had dropped the axe after years of declining ratings, and was going to cancel the long-running soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live.

To the surprise of everyone, including myself, I was devastated.

It was like finding out an… Read full post »

In the wake of CBS deciding to suspend production on the hit television show Two and a Half Men because of the erratic behavior of its star, Charlie Sheen, there are a lot of people taking shots at the troubled actor.

This isn't helped by the fact that Sheen seems to… Read full post »

"I blame Grandpa's Magical Toys" my mother said, "That's why you're a hoarder."

My mother is referring to a video I loved when I was a kid. It was one of those movies for kids that went directly to video and looked like it was shot on some… Read full post »

The MTV show Skins has riled up a lot of people--particularly, but not surprisingly, the Parents Television Council.  They're trying to get MTV to edit the show or risk facing child pornography charges for a future episode where the naked backside of a teenage actor is shown.

The show is a… Read full post »

A friend of mine recently made his entire Facebook profile private for a few days until changing it back to its original setting.

When I asked if something he had happened, he told me that he had applied for a job interview and he was worried that if they looked him… Read full post »

"Nice scarf, faggot."

He yelled it from his car as he drove by me.

I was walking to my car after a rehearsal at a local church in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, when I felt the car behind me and heard what he said.

Then, he took off.

Whenever something like… Read full post »

There are two kinds of blizzards in New England, and I don't know why we bother with one of them.

There's the "maybe" blizzard.  The blizzard that gets talked about for two weeks, scares everybody to death, leads to days of preparation, and ends with about half an inch of snow you/… Read full post »

"You can't possibly think that Rubicon deserved to be canceled.  Have you watched that show more than once?  You have to watch every episode at least three times before you understand the brilliance of it."

This is my friend Daniel, or as I call him, Pop Culture Guy.

In some ways,… Read full post »

"This is what we get for being charitable."

If there's one thing my stepfather loves to do, it's remind everybody that being a good person is a bad idea.

That's why the Christmas of 1999 was an especially joyous time for him, whereas for the rest of us, it was filled… Read full post »

It seems like so much of my decision-making process lately has become all about the input of my "friends."

By "friends," I mean the people I'm "friends" with on Facebook--some of whom I don't even know--but who seem to have strong opinions about my life.

The other day, I actually found… Read full post »

When she gave me the check, I handed it right back to her.

I physically put it back in her hands with a laugh, a sort of chuckle, as if to say--Nooo, you don't want to give me that much money.

The money I handed back was for my car.  Someone… Read full post »

Today, an article was posted on CNN.com by David Frum discussing how to honor President Ronald Reagan on his 100th birthday next year.

There was no talk regarding whether or not Reagan is actually someone who deserves honoring.  I suppose that one could argue that a two-term President deserves m… Read full post »

"They're coming."

He used to whisper it outside my door.  I'd hear footsteps coming down the hallway, then silence, then a single fingernail sliding down until it hit the doorknob.

The knob would rattle, but not open, and I would hear him say it.

"They're coming."

Then he would take off, and the wor/… Read full post »

Blue Valentine, a new film starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, is stirring up a lot of attention by being the first notable film in awhile to receive and accept an NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Review Board.

To be honest, I was shocked when I heard about the film's…

Read full post »

Today marks the anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death, five days after he was beaten and left to die tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming.

Since Shepard's death, he's become something of an icon. He's become a martyr, a poster child, a rallying cry, the subject of numerous movies… Read full post »

An article was posted on CNN.com about children of divorce and their determination to stay married. Statistics show that if one person in a marriage is a child of divorce, the chances are 50% higher that the marriage will end in divorce, and 200% higher if both spouses are children of… Read full post »

Any fan of Nip/Tuck will tell you: Ryan Murphy has a problem with longevity.

The first three seasons of N/T were fantastic, but once the Carver was revealed, everything went downhill.

Okay, you say, so the man had three good years on a show. What's wrong with that?

Well, keep in mind, those three/… Read full post »

This primary season has been famous for one thing:

The anti-incumbent sentiment.

I understand the feeling of many of the voters out there.

They feel that things have gotten so bad, it's simply not enough to keep flip-flopping Democrats and Republicans.

This makes sense.… Read full post »

This week in the word of post-modernism, a person is accused of plagiarizing...their own life.

Okay, it's a bit trickier than that.

Tony Blair is being accused of taking lines from the movie "The Queen" written by Peter Morgan, and using them in his book "A Journey."

The lines in question come from a… Read full post »

For those of us who thought the news of Lindsay Lohan going to jail was going to fade out as soon as she was actually put behind bars, today's headlines show that we're not going to be that lucky.

One of her friends made a comment that Lohan "has no intention… Read full post »

There's a website causing a lot of controversy in the news right now by suggesting that people should actually be able to profit from being a friend.

The site--Rentafriend.com--is owned and operate by a man named Scott Rosenbaum in Stewartsville, New Jersey. On the site, you can type in your zip code… Read full post »

Father’s Day has always been a tricky time for me.

 

My Mom and Dad are divorced, and my father isn’t exactly what you would call a model dad.

 

When I was a kid, he was more like a big brother than a father—and not in… Read full post »

The great battle of summer is once again upon us.

Of course, I'm talking about trying to get kids to pick up a book anytime between June and July.

So is there actually a solution to this problem?

Yes, it's called--

Trashy Young Adult Literature

Wait, hear me out.

So often I see kids interested in books… Read full post »

Yesterday, it was announced that Megan Fox would NOT be reprising her role in the third Transformers movie.

Now, you can't really say this is surprising--unless you happen to believe everything directors and film studios say.

Fox made disparaging (and, let's be honest, stupid) comments about filming… Read full post »