Handbill Handout

There is a particular moment that happens in any long-form celebrity interview that gives me an almost overwhelming urge to throw my shoe through the television. It is an integral part of what Colson Whitehead dubbed the “Bob’s Debut” interview in John Henry Days. “Bob’s Debut” is the first type of article or interview in the cycle of celebrity that introduces the Next Big Bob, usually followed by “Bob Returns” which is the inevitable second novel/record/movie/whatever that comes with some kind of backlash since Bob is now successful (this is especially true in music journalism once someone who was a critical darling hits it big). Then you have “Bob Returns” which is the rehab of Bob’s image after fame has peaked and then fallen due to failed effort/sex scandal/substance abuse/all of the above (Tiger Woods just did his “Bob Returns” interview this week, in fact). There are a couple of other “Bob” interview or article genres but our topic today is “Bob’s Debut” and specifically the o...

People of Earth, I need your help. I am a cultural illiterate. There, I said it. More specifically, I am television illiterate. It's not that I don't watch countless hours of TV a week. I do. The problem is it's almost all sports, food shows, travel shows or music programming. Here in America, we just had two happenings of epic cultural significance about which I was clueless. The first was the final episode of that show about the desert island and I was asking people questions about whether or not the Harlem Globetrotters came by or if the Professor finally built a boat because God knows he could build anything else out of freakin' palm trees. Apparently, this was a different show. Then the next night I heard some big spy show was going off the air and I started asking about whether they ever figured out the Cone of Silence and what happened to Hymie the Robot. Again, it was the wrong show. So tonight I have the Yankees game on and they go to rain delay and what ...

Player Piano is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It was his first novel, in fact, published in 1952. The main theme of the novel was the mechanization of society. It’s a good book, better than most in fact though not Vonnegut’s best work. It is however his most prescient work. So what, right? Don't worry, this isn't a book report. I was reminded of the novel this morning by a news story from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal that, rather inexplicably, has yet to explode on the internet. I received it as part of a subscription-only package of media-related news clips that arrive in my work inbox from the fine folks at SNL Kagan each day so I can’t provide a direct link but here’s the relevant headline and paragraph: “Google reportedly turns to algorithm to retain top employees” “The Wall Street Journal reported May 19 that the search giant is now using such a system to help predict which employees are most likely to quit. In particular, the tool is helping to identify which employees fee...

According to Variety magazine, Star Trek is the new James Bond . Nice to see the new movie got a good review. Don’t know if that means I’ll see it though. I see about one movie in the theaters a year. Last year it was “Iron Man”. This year I’m leaning towards “Wolverine”. I read those comic books when I was a kid and teen and unlike those who have continued the comic book habit into adulthood (rechristening them “graphic novels” in the process to avoid the stigma of the term “comic book”) I have been pretty entertained by the film adaptations. Then again, I’m not a serious film guy either. After all, like people say about pro wrestling, it’s all fake anyway so who cares? Back when I was a kid though, back in the 70s, back before cable was really prevalent, Star Trek the original series was a big part of my life. Five nights a week, 6pm, channel 11 WPIX in New York if memory serves me right. No, I’m not old enough to remember the original prime time run; that ended right before...

A new (to my knowledge ) word has been coined to describe the sort of relationship Leah Cohen and Hosea Rosenberg had on Top Chef NY: showmance . Welcome to the 21st century.

People of a certain age may remember that there was a guy named Hulk Hogan who was one of the most recognized names in popular culture roughly a quarter century ago. He’s still around today as an occasional actor and game show host but in the mid-to-late 1980s into the early 90s he was an active pro wrestler, voiced his own Saturday morning cartoon and appeared in movies and television shows on a regular basis. The reason for his popularity was only in part because of his own inherent look and charisma. Hogan was the quintessential all-American good guy. He was a big muscleman but gentle with the kids. He told everyone to work hard, say their prayers and take their vitamins and they would be as successful in life as he was (never mind the subsequent admissions of heavy steroid usage). He was a virtuous gentleman with the ladies. He was everything an American hero should be. Of course, that wasn ’t the whole reason for his success. As they say, every protagonist needs an antagoni...

This morning I wandered into the living room and turned on the television in search of some white noise wallpaper to fill the air while I went about making coffee, tidying up from the night before. Since I recently got upgraded to free HD via my cable company, I decide to put on one of those Discovery Channel stoner -TV spectaculars, "Sunrise Earth". The episode was allegedly supposed to contain Elk wandering about a nature preserve in California. Only problem was, every time I looked over at the TV for the first 15 minutes of the show there were shrubs and cliffs and water and sunrise and no animals. The reason struck me out of the blue. Of course, I said to the Mrs, it's seasonal programming. You know: "No Elk No Elk Noooo Elk No Elk We can't find any God damned Elk" A nice touch on their part. I salute you, Discovery programming people! Oh, and I know what happened to the elk. PBS's "New Scandinavian Cooking" today is featuring...wait for...

There’s a frost warning for NYC tonight and we still have several tomatoes ripening in the back yard. I don’t want to risk damaging them so we’ll have to do the old pick and toss in the brown paper bag bit. As much as I enjoy autumn, it’s still a little sad to reach this point. Time to get out the root vegetable soup and meat braises and chili and stew recipes. The change of seasons usually would imply, well, change but it looks like some things will always stay the same. It is perhaps comforting however that in a time of war with the global economy melting down that some people can make being outraged over a weenie flash that was only visible in slow motion a priority . Warms my heart, really it does. It’s good to see that the kids who stood disapprovingly in the corner during college parties while the rest of us were shotgunning cheap beer have found something to do with their lives. I’m sure they’ll be rewarded in the afterlife. And you know, there’s something to be said for ...

I am as excited as I can possibly be about something entertainment related. One of the greatest shows in the history to television is being revived. Sort of. In a new format. And not on TV. I'm still excited. The original cast of MST3K have reunited to produce DVDs and do live performances (!) They sold out the first live date in LA and I'm scouring the Interwebs to find out if or when they're going to do a NY date. Meanwhile, time to get out the ol' credit card and order some DVDs. I mean, TV's Frank is back. TV'S FRANK!!! DO YOU HEAR ME??? Sorry, I'm really stoked. I was kind of fanatical about the show back in the 90s. I probably have most of the episodes from the Comedy Central era on various poorly labelled VHS tapes in my basement. Even though I have those, I still regularly ask for the DVDs as gifts and will probably buy the 20th anniversary box as soon as it comes out on October 28. I have used "Torgo's Pizza" as a passwor...

Concept: since Bravo repeats every episode of Top Chef a kajillion times, you can have the experience of watching the episode with me any time by following along with this blog entry. Basically, it's a Dark Side Of The Moon-Wizard Of Oz concept. You know how you're supposed to start DSOM at the moment Wizard Of Oz goes into color and there's a weird synchronicity between the music and the movie? Well that's how this works. The numbers next to each reaction correspond to minutes past the start of the episode so even if you recorded you can "sync up" with me. Sound fun? Here goes: Top Chef Season 4, episode 2. (Spoilers ahoy, by the way) -1 yell at wife to turn off weather channel and put on Bravo 0 last week's recap. How come the winner of the challenge didn't at least get Padma's new cookbook or some autographed smack from Bourdain or something? 4 one of the chicks is wearing those 70s sunglasses. Does anyone think that's attract...