Entertainment Weekly and photographer Robert Trachentenberg turned host Neil Patrick Harris ‘golden’ in honor of the upcoming Academy Awards telecast.
We know he already was.
They also shot NPH in a variety of poses with the coveted statuette…which can mean only one thing.
PHOTOBOMB
Neil — the twins might be watching!
Neil — your Oscar is so…tall!
(My apologies to the Academy.)
Posted in Academy Awards, Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Humor, Magazines, Movies, Photography, Television
Tagged Academy Awards, celebrities, comedy, entertainment, golden boy, Humor, magazine, Movies, Neil Patrick Harris, Oscars, photobomb, photography, Robert Trachentenberg, statuette, Television
Wow. Crack me up.
Posted in Comedy, Comics, Commentary, Dieting, Food, Health, Humor, Life, Magazine
Tagged butt, butt crack, comedy, comics, commentary, crack me up, diet, eat butter, fat, food, Health, Humor, life, magazine, this just in, time
Yesterday Vulture looked at “Six Forgotten Teen Films of the Late ’90s and Early ’00s.”
Erika Christensen, who currently portrays Julia on TV’s Parenthood, starred in one of the movies on the list, a 2003 drama about a high school shooting called Home Room.
I missed that one — actually, I haven’t seen any of the films listed, making the article title really hit home — but I did see Erika in a movie she made a year earlier:
Swimfan
(Did you see it? If not, watch Lifetime any weekend.)
In the film, Erika’s character Madison transfers to a new high school, has a one-night stand with the school’s star swimmer (Jesse Bradford, whose character already has a girlfriend…dude), and then turns into this bizarre stalker chick.
It is a B-movie classic.
I recognized Erika in the first episode of Parenthood and sometimes still expect her to be that Swimfan stalker. There was even an episode where she took to the pool to teach her young daughter Sydney how to swim.
There was lots of screaming.
Posted in Blogs, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Magazines, Movies, Television
Tagged B-movie, blogs, celebrities, commentary, don't go in the water, entertainment, Erika Christensen, high school, high school shooting, Home Room movie, Humor, Internet, Jesse Bradford, Julia Braverman, Lifetime TV, magazine, Movies, online article, Parenthood, stalker, swim team, Swimfan movie, swimming, swimming lessons, Sydney Graham, teen films, Television, Vulture.com
Archie is dead.
Or he will be when Issue #36 of “Life with Archie” hits stores in July.
That’s the word from CNN and Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater, the son of the comics’ creator.
Apparently Archie, always the nice guy at Riverdale High, dies saving a friend.
Now, I read a lot of Archie Comics as a kid…so I was super sad when I first read the news. Then I found out that the “Life with Archie” series has been telling stories about Archie’s possible ‘future lives’ and ends, appropriately enough, with his death. The regular Archie Comics set in his teenage years at Riverdale will continue on.
Umm…that seems like a bit of a cheat. Or maybe a stunt to get some readers like me back who don’t know the difference?
Archie — say it isn’t so.
Oh wait, you’re dead. Well, one version of you is dead…or will be soon. I’m so confused.
Posted in Comics, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Magazines, News, Summer
Tagged Archie, Archie Comics, Archie is dead, CEO, cheat, CNN, comics, commentary, death, entertainment, friends, future lives, Humor, Jon Goldwater, life, magazine, news, review, Riverdale High, say it isn't so, stunt, summer, teenage years
It is a frequent (and very sad) Facebook status:
“I’ve dropped my cellphone in water. Email me until I get it replaced.”
This hasn’t happened to me yet. But as recently as last month, I heard similar tales from family and friends. And I am always sympathetic (to keep karma on my side).
Today I offer a possible solution.
It’s called DryBox Rescue, a service offered by authorized dealers around the country. Your soggy cellphone is placed in a patent-pending drying chamber. The moisture is then removed — at the molecular level — in less than 30 minutes.
It also works on other small electronic devices that are drawn to the toilet and sink — mp3 players, cameras, GPS units, etc.
Full disclosure: I’ve never used this service; I’ve just read about it in an airline magazine. But it sounds like a much better option than 1) rice or 2) throwing away your pricey smart phone.
So, give it a look. Other than the rather unfortunate name, I think it shows promise.
Posted in Advertising, Airplanes, Business, Commentary, Humor, Life, Magazine, Technology
Tagged airline magazine, airplane, authorized dealer, Business, cameras, cellphone, cellphone in rice, cellphone in water, DryBox Rescue, Facebook, full disclosure, GPS units, Humor, Internet, karma, life, magazine, moisture, molecular level, mp3 players, patent pending drying chamber, small electronic devices, smart phone, soggy cellphone, technology, unfortunate name, water water everywhere
I’m out-of-town, dog in tow, and something’s missing. Turns out it isn’t the first time I’ve had this feeling. Case in point: an excerpt from one of my very first posts from August 25, 2009.
I’ve been away on business with my dog Rory for almost a week. I thought I would pine for our daily walks in Central Park; my idle conversations with neighbors on their stoops; or the energy that is Manhattan.
Instead, I miss my mail.
What excites me most about my return home — besides sleeping on my own pillow — is seeing what treasures await in the stash of mail that is being held for me at the post office.
I don’t know if my feelings are unique to freelancers. I hope to see checks in the mail, of course. But I will be equally psyched to see letters, magazines, catalogs, theater and event postcards, and heck, even my bills.
I also miss the afternoon saunter to the mailbox; it’s a break I anticipate and enjoy. Here, in my friend’s apartment, there’s only email, and its constant stream — while immediate, necessary, and appreciated — doesn’t have the romance or charm of my daily snail mail delivery.
So, to my mailman back in Manhattan — I miss you. I appreciate you. And I hope you got my hold order. ‘Cause if I come home to an overflowing box of mangled mail…
I’ll have to kill you.
Posted in Blog, Business, Commentary, Humor, Life, Travel, Writing
Tagged bills, blog, Boston, Business, catalogs, Central Park, commentary, communications, email, freelancer, hold mail order, Humor, letters, life, magazine, mail, mailbox, mailman, Manhattan, New York City, out of town, post office, postcards, postman, snail mail, Travel, writing
To all travelers, business or pleasure:
I got a peek behind the curtain yesterday during my flight to Dallas. Discovered something that can turn a cold, distant flight attendant into a friendly and engaged conversationalist.
Cookies
It’s as simple as that.
Two pilots were deadheading on my flight from New York City, and they were in the row in front of me. After we achieved a ‘comfortable cruising altitude,’ the flight attendants started coming. One by one. Big smiles on their faces. Gratitude on their lips.
All because one of the pilots brought the crew cookies when he boarded the plane.
With the rest of the passengers, the flight attendants were polite, but we didn’t get those genuine grins. Or the frequent check-ins to see if we needed anything else.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve received a less effusive version of this treatment when I’ve given a flight attendant a magazine when I’m finished with it. But yesterday I learned an important nuance:
Do it at the start of the flight.
Posted in Airplanes, Business, Commentary, Food, Foods, Humor, Life, Travel
Tagged airplane seat, airplanes, Business, comfortable cruising altitude, commentary, cookies, Dallas, deadheading, flight attendants, flight crew, food, Foods, Humor, life, magazine, New York City, pilots, Travel
“Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth.”
Archimedes, considered by many to be the greatest mathematician of all time, said that.
Clearly he never loitered in New York City.
On two separate occasions yesterday afternoon, while shopping around my neighborhood in the Upper West Side, I became a person of interest…
….simply because I stood in one place too long.
The first incident occurred in Barnes & Noble. I was talking on my cell phone and moved to a deserted corner so I wouldn’t disturb anyone with my conversation. After a while, I noticed B&N security standing to one side, pointedly looking at me. The guard continued to stare until I moved to another section of the store.
I’m so gangsta.
Since they didn’t have the magazine I was looking for anyway, I continued walking down the street. When the wind picked up, I stepped into a deep window alcove to shield the phone’s mouthpiece. The window shutters were closed, so I didn’t pay attention to the folks inside.
Until I realized they had noticed me.
There was a kitchen on the other side. The cooks gave me curious looks through the narrow space between the slats. Eventually one moved closer to the window, stirring the batter in his bowl, squinting in curiosity.
That’s when I decided to move it along….and realized another wonderful advantage of having a home.
Sure, it provides shelter from the elements and a place to sleep. But it’s the one place you can sit on your butt or stand in place without moving — no explanation required.
So, that’s why we pay the big rents in NYC.
Posted in Books, Business, Commentary, Humor, Life, Magazines, Restaurants, Shopping, Walking
Tagged "Give me a place to stand, and I will move the Earth.”, Archimedes, Barnes & Noble, batter, books, bookstore, Business, cell phone, commentary, cook, gangsta, Greek mathematician, home, Humor, kitchen, life, magazine, magazines, Manhattan, New York City, person of interest, security, shelter, shopping, stand in place, Upper West Side New York City, walking
In the most recent issue of New York magazine — which features Jon Stewart mugging on the cover — a sidebar stat jumped out at me more than any feature story could.
It compared suicide rates nationally versus those in New York City. (The percentages quoted were per 100,000 population.)
Nation: 11.4 %
New York City 5.7%
(The numbers for Manhattan drop to 5.2% if you take away the out-of-towners who come to our lovely metropolis to off themselves.)
Surprised? I certainly was. I think we all assume that city living is more stressful, and higher stress leads to more thoughts — and acts — of ending it all.
And then you see these numbers.
But then — maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. Because even if New Yorkers think about ending it all, there is so much here to distract us from taking that final step!
Having a bad day? You can go see a Broadway show!
Is your job is driving you insane? Walk home through Central Park or just sit along the Hudson River and you’ll feel instantly renewed.
Life can seems meaningless and without merit…and then you have the opportunity to hear a great writer speak or witness an amazing piece of artwork up close and personal. Even when your world seems small and claustrophobic, you can look around and see the diversity and beauty that is New York City. I’m sure that fact alone saves people every day.
Oh…and Jon Stewart. He keeps us going as well.
Posted in Beauty, Celebrities, Commentary, Health, Home, Humor, Life, Magazine, News, Travel
Tagged beauty, Broadway, Broadway show, Central Park, commentary, feature story, Health, high stress, home, Hudson River, Humor, Jon Stewart, life, magazine, magazine sidebar, Manhattan, New York City, New York magazine, news, off themselves, out-of-towners, suicide, suicide rates, Travel
The Sticky Egg 
Too soon
Dear AARP:
This article in your latest edition of Bulletin arrived just a bit too soon after the “60 is the new 40” story…
Let me have my illusions, okay?
Geez.
(Or should that be ‘geezer?’)
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Posted in Commentary, Family, Humor, Magazine, Relationships
Tagged 60 is the new 40, AARO, AARO Bulletin, age, article, commentary, family, geezer, Humor, magazine, nursing home, Relationships, sex