I tend to be an apologist for “Saturday Night Live,” and there have been seasons that everyone else thought were cruddy in which I still found some enjoyment. It’s surely not easy to produce 90 minutes of live topical comedy every week, and it’s very easy to romanticize past seasons [...]
I’m getting ready to watch the Doctor Who movie on BBC America, and I’ve been watching the little documentary about the show that they have had on in advance.
They just showed the scene where The Doctor has to wipe Donna Noble’s memory and restore her to the shallow woman she [...]
We got a grocery store gift card at our company Christmas party this week, and I went and got groceries tonight. I’d been in the mood for lasagna all week, and it’s a good meal for this week because I can get a number of meals out of it.
In [...]
Well, this is just bizarre.
Garrison Keillor, author of “Lake Wobegon Days” and host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” has written a column expressing frustration with the co-opting of Christmas by non-Christians — from Unitarians changing the words to “Silent Night” to secular, holly-jolly Christmas carols by …. well, I’ll [...]
Some months back, the programmers at CBS re-jiggered their schedule in such a way that, immediately following David Letterman, Craig Ferguson came out and did a little three-minute teaser, followed by a commercial break, followed by the opening credits and the official monologue.
Sometimes the teaser would be like a little [...]
In the spring of 1983, a new slate of officers was elected for the Oral Roberts University Student Associations. After 2 1/2 years as campus film chairman, I had run for the office of vice president in charge of student activities, and had been elected handily, with 75 percent of [...]
I don’t have a radio in my car, and it’s actually been a while since I’ve listened to Gerry House and his “House Foundation” on WSIX, but I have to say that this news is truly lousy. Newscaster Al Voecks and sportscaster Duncan Stewart are being let go, apparently [...]
As a whole, I have been profoundly underwhelmed by most of the special correspondents and semi-regular comedians on “The Jay Leno Show.”
Tonight, however, they had a wonderful novelty song sung by two women who bill themselves as “Garfunkel & Oates,” which I think is hysterical.
The song was about those [...]
I am watching, on Turner Classic Movies, the terrific movie “The Lion In Winter” with Peter O’Toole, Katherine Hepburn, and, in one of his very first movie roles, Anthony Hopkins.
As is my custom, I looked up the movie on IMDb, and also on Wikipedia, and discovered that there was [...]
Well, we have good news and bad news about “Soapstone,” my self-published novel.
The good news is that CreateSpace, the Amazon-owned publish-on-demand company through which I self-published the novel, now offers expanded distribution, meaning that for the first time the book can be offered by independent bookstores, libraries, and online book [...]
As I get ready for work this morning, I am watching Carl Reiner’s appearance on last night’s “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.”
This appearance was sort of a milestone, because Reiner has been a guest on the “Tonight Show” with Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, squeaky chin guy and now [...]
I woke up about 3:30 or 4 this morning with gas pains in my abdomen. It wasn’t anything alarming, but I couldn’t get to sleep, and I didn’t have anything to take for it. I finally got up. I loafed around for a while (actually, I think I was able [...]
I had dinner with LEAMIS executive director Debra Snellen tonight at Applebee’s in Tullahoma to talk about the Kenya trip. I’m a little more reassured that I can do this, but I’m a little more overwhelmed at how much is involved.
Debra will be talking to our primary contact in Kenya [...]
Something made me think of “Barney Miller” the other day, and I did a search of the DirecTV DVR listings and discovered that WGN carries it. I haven’t seen it in ages, but I’m watching an episode right now, and I’m looking forward to watching more as the
DVR [...]
We had the children’s Christmas program and party tonight at church. My father and Don Spencer both brought their model train layouts for the party. You will see my father with his train layout in the beginning of the video; however, he had to leave unexpectedly soon after, which is [...]
Pete Docter of Pixar, the director of “Up,” is the “Not My Job” guest on this week’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!”
Happily, even though Carl Kasell is retiring this month from his role as the newscaster for NPR’s “Morning Edition,” he will remain as the announcer, scorekeeper, and prize [...]
I know that those of you who read this get tired of my occasional whining, usually about the same things, and usually about things that I should have fixed on my own by now. But heck, what’s a blog for if not to vent?
But I am a little down [...]
Well, after some hemming and hawing, I have agreed to lead a LEAMIS team to Kenya — by myself, perhaps with an assistant team leader to be named later — next summer.
This is a scary thing. On paper, I was the co-leader of this year’s team, but for various reasons, [...]
I was too sick to concentrate on the novel on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, and by the time I started to feel better Friday night, I realized my chances of making the 50,000-word target by midnight Monday were waning fast, especially since if I recovered, I would want to [...]
It has been a delightful day.
I am the oldest of four siblings. I have two sisters-in-law, four nephews and three nieces, and love all of them. Fortunately, my sister and my youngest brother, and their families, live here in Middle Tennessee, and I get to see them pretty regularly. My [...]
Turner Classic Movies will air “Christmas In Connecticut,” about which I blog at least once every holiday season, at 11 a.m. Central time on Sunday, Dec. 6. Set those DVRs now, before you forget it.
Most classic movie fans know about this 1945 movie, but I’m always surprised at the [...]
I found out about this from the Mental_Floss blog:
Amazon is selling a Laptop Steering Wheel Desk. The actual, logical use of such a desk is for truckers or business people who live out of their vehicles and can use this desk when they’re parked.
But the [...]
I am still under the weather.
At my parents’ today for Thanksgiving we had my sister, my local brother, sister-in-law and the boys, plus my sister-in-law’s father, and my brother from North Carolina and his wife and two kids, whom I don’t get to see that often.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to [...]
Well, here’s the problem. I’m tired and I want to lie down. But when I lie down, eventually I get congested. I have to get up and move around again to be able to breathe.
And I can’t take some of the cold medicines you’re about to suggest because of blood [...]
Well, I’m back at work today — I don’t feel good, but I feel better than I did yesterday.
One thing I watched from my DVR yesterday was the previous night’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” which included what I thought was a brilliant segment: Jimmy’s dead-solid-perfect impression of Neil Young [...]
By the time I went to bed last night (late, but earlier than usual), I had a scratchy throat. When I woke up this morning, the throat was worse and I felt entirely wrung out. I let the office know I wouldn’t be coming in right away, and called later [...]
I am like a maple tree. It’s not that I am tall, or beautiful, or sturdy; apparently, looking at the novel, I’m full of sap.
Amazingly, the month ends one week from tonight.
[...]It was an unusually busy Sunday, and I wasn’t in much mood to write when I first got home. But the point of NaNoWriMo is discipline, and I was able to get things moving as the evening went on.
Actually, doing the math just now I am still ahead of pace [...]
Yesterday, I fell behind my overall pace for the first time during NaNoWriMo. I was in a foul mood — and still am, to a lesser extent. But I caught up to pace today, and while I think I’m done for the night, it’s still early and I may [...]
Well, I got home early from work and managed to get some work done before covering school board meeting tonight, and that left me just a little more to do when I got home.
My plot has moved too quickly. There are a couple of things that have willed themselves to [...]
Well, I didn’t do too well tonight. I’m still ahead of pace overall, but I fell far short of my daily quota.
I’m not sure what happened tonight — a cross between things I was watching on TV, being stuck at a plot point, grocery shopping, laundry, and just general laziness. [...]
Between county meetings and the finale of “The Prisoner,” I worried I might not be able to make quota today. But inspiration struck, as has happened on several occasions this month, and I glided on past quota. The next thing I knew, I was 20 words shy of 30,000 — [...]
I have clucked my tongue in condescension towards those fanboys who actually would have preferred a “Battlestar Galactica” sequel, with the goofy simplicity of the original, to Ron Moore’s dark reimagining. No doubt, they felt betrayed, as a show they considered fun and heroic was turned into a mysterious tale [...]
I have a co-worker, Sadie, whose father is dying of cancer. Sadie is also expecting her first child, due in January. We’ve all been hopeful that Daniel would get to meet little Dani Rae, but the father has taken a turn for the worse and Sadie is headed to [...]
For some reason last night, I guess because of all the PR hype over the animated Jim Carrey version this month, I pulled out the DVD of my favorite version of “A Christmas Carol,” with George C. Scott as Scrooge and David Warner as Bob Cratchit.
One of the best things [...]
I am testing a way of embedding Google Waves into blog posts. You’ll only be able to contribute if you have a Google Wave account (and no, I don’t have any invites yet).
[...]Not much to report. Work continues. I’m burning another perishable vacation day tomorrow, so I’d like to build back up to where I’m a day ahead of pace. It’s hard to believe I’m halfway there, but now some of the changes I had anticipated over the course of the book [...]
Hey, kids! Here’s a great way to celebrate that important milestone, like passing 25,000 words in your National Novel Writing Month project. Just be sure and follow all the directions carefully:
1) Empty remaining portion of bag of frozen raspberries into a microwave-safe bowl
2) Sprinkle with a little sugar
3) Have [...]
Peter Sagal, host of my beloved “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” was a guest on one of my favorite TV shows on Friday.
(The first embedded video below begins with “Dear Aquaman,” one of Ferguson’s regular comedy bits, but the Sagal interview starts right after that.)
[...]I was disappointed last year that I had to miss Allen and Marijo Bond’s annual hayride, which I’d attended for a number of years, so I was delighted to get to go to this year’s event.
I’ve known Allen and Marijo ever since I first got involved with Mountain T.O.P. in [...]
In case you’ve missed the news reports, Walmart has been in an online price war of sorts with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It started with books: Walmart began offering deep, deep discounts on pre-orders for several highly-anticipated books, and Amazon and B&N had little choice but to try to [...]
I didn’t really do any writing last night — I had a sinus headache and just didn’t feel very good, and I knew I was ahead of pace and could afford to take the night off.
It was back to the grindstone tonight, though. I didn’t quite make my 1,667 words, [...]
Cruising along ….
I’m about a day and a half ahead of pace, which is good, because things happen, and it’s easy to fall behind. I’m not as far ahead of pace as my co-worker Mary Reeves, however.
I told Mary today that I’m not sure this novel is going [...]
Interesting day.
Today’s output was, in many ways, expository and self-indulgent, too much of a monologue and not enough of a dialogue. It was also sort of cathartic. It also pretty much sealed the deal that this book (if it ever turns out to be marketable) would have to be sold [...]
As much as I love the original, I remain cautiously optimistic, in large part because of the combination of the words “Ian” and “McKellen.”
[...]Well, my decision to take a break yesterday was validated. Today, with a day off work, I made up just about everything I had missed. I am once again more than a day ahead of pace, just as I was more than a day ahead of pace on Saturday.
When I [...]
A month ago, when I posted about Wayne Brady’s revival of “Let’s Make A Deal,” I joked about the trend of former “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” cast members getting game shows.
Well, my North Carolina brother — who, unlike me, is not particularly a game show fan — has [...]
Well, I had two events to cover for the newspaper yesterday, in addition to putting together the Sunday paper.
Today, I had two events to cover for the newspaper, plus Charge Conference at church, plus my nephew’s birthday tonight (we’re going to meet my brother and sister-in-law at an event [...]
This is getting to be a pattern: early in the evening I’m stuck, and I think, “well, I’m not going to make my goal tonight.” But then, at some point, I get a second wind or a burst of inspiration.
I was pretty sure for most of the evening that I [...]
The Discovery Channel has come up with an updated version of one of the greatest, most-watchable commercials ever made.
Adam Savage appears to be in some peril at the hand of his co-worker Jamie. I suspect it will all turn out OK, however.
[...]The mid-1980s revival of “The Twilight Zone” didn’t last long, but it had several quite good episodes. (Each episode was an hour long, but usually made up of several unrelated segments of varying lengths.) Not long ago, I was infuriated to catch just the last minute of “Shatterday,” a segment [...]
After a slow start, and breaks for “Community” and later “30 Rock,” the plot started moving again. I passed my quota for the day and then I was so close to 10,000 I decided to go ahead and cross that milepost as well.
For those of you who’ve never participated in [...]
I have four terrific nephews and three terrific nieces, and I am proud of all of them. On this particular occasion, I am writing about my oldest nephew, Jacob.
If you have a copy of this morning’s Tennessean handy, look at the “Scoreboard” page.
Jacob plays for Perry County High School, [...]
I wasn’t able to write until I got home from church tonight, and at first things were going very slowly and I thought I might have to miss quota. But I kept at it.
While I was in the bathtub, it struck me that I had two scenes in the manuscript [...]
The Coen brothers — the Coen brothers! — are going to do a new movie version of “True Grit,” although they say it will be a more faithful adaptation of the original novel rather than a remake of the John Wayne / Kim Darby / Glen Campbell movie. They say [...]
Well, I’m pleased with today’s output. I suppose I could have done more, having the whole day, but I’m almost a full day’s output ahead of schedule, and it didn’t interfere with me having a pleasant couple of days off.
Tomorrow, of course, I have to go back to work, and [...]
I posted a clip back when Craig Ferguson introduced a slick new credit sequence for “The Late Late Show,” including a new remix of his theme song (which Ferguson sings himself).
Here, with hat tip to Mark Evanier, is a YouTube of the complete song, the length of [...]
Yes, M*A*S*H fans, I made it to four-oh-double-seven today.
I didn’t do nearly as well as I hoped today. Despite not having to work, I really wrote only about the 1,667 words I will have to do each day of November. I’m still ahead of pace overall, because I was ahead [...]
My parents gave me a handful of homegrown peppers last week — a couple of enormous jalapenos and maybe 12 or 15 skinny little peppers. I love peppers, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with all of them before they [...]
I loved this video from the NaNoWriMo web site with tips for the first week:
I am hoping to continue to build up the cushion described in tip #2 today and tomorrow. I am already on pace for the second day, so whatever I write between now and bedtime is [...]
I am trying to burn off some vacation days which I will lose if they are not taken by the end of the year. I’m taking two of them Monday and Tuesday.
I figured this would be a great chance to get a head start on my National Novel Writing [...]
Well, it’s been a fine day and a half.
The lay speaking class was excellent. The Rev. De Hennessy was a terrific teacher, and my only regret now is that I didn’t get to know him back when he was stationed in Bedford County. And our class was terrific, including [...]
I posted this a couple of years ago, but it’s an evergreen: a discussion of the meaning of Halloween by two very funny gentlemen.
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Even Stevphen – Halloween www.thedailyshow.com Daily ShowAs a certified United Methodist lay speaker, I must take an advanced class every three years in order to retain my certification. I usually try to take a class every other year or so, so I don’t find myself in a bind. There are various topics, but usually only one [...]
Well, I heard from Debra Snellen today. Without going into all the details, it’s been proposed that I lead a trip to Kenya next year. I would have an assistant leader (not yet determined), but I would be the team leader.
That’s a very scary thought. Even though, on paper, I [...]
Well, there was a mixer tonight in Murfreesboro for people participating in National Novel Writing Month. I had a county government meeting scheduled tonight. Originally, I decided that would be a conflict, but yesterday and today I figured if the committee meeting got over with early enough I would still [...]
Well, the folks from relish magazine were swell when they visited Shelbyville last week for our cooking show and expo, but I have a bone to pick with them tonight.
Using directions from the handout that Jon Ashton distributed last week at Eakin Elementary school, I tossed my pumpkin seeds with [...]
We had our annual “Trunk or Treat,” chili supper and pumpkin-carving tonight at church. As I have the past few years, I came prepared to take pumpkin seeds from those who didn’t want them.
I like pumpkin seeds. I eat the store-bought ones year-round, but of course it’s fun to try [...]
Brian Williams — who could probably have a career as a comedian if the news thing ever stops working out — is, as expected, a very, very funny guest on this week’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” If you’ve seen Williams as a guest on “The Daily Show,” this [...]
The last time I was at a Mexican restaurant, I had the carne asada, a wonderful seasoned steak. When in the grocery store a day or two later, I saw Chef Merito carne asada seasoning in the Latino foods aisle and bought it. I tried it on beef and [...]
I’ve sort of wanted the Wesley Study Bible ever since I started getting pre-order offers for it late last year. It was officially released in February.
I have several study Bibles, although in the past few years I’ve left them at home and used them for sermon preparation but taken [...]
I went with my parents and nephews to the Shrine Circus tonight at Calsonic Arena.
We get two circuses here in Shelbyville: the Shrine Circus, just about every year, and the single-ring “hometown edition” of the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus every [...]
On the episode of “Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe” airing right now, Mike Rowe and his crew are assisting a crew washing windows on a skyscraper.
The thing that amazed me is that they showed, in its entirety, the brief but sincere prayer that the window-washing crew prayed together before [...]
Well, I’ve done a good deal of whining yesterday and today about having to work tonight and missing the Times-Gazette / relish magazine cooking show and expo tonight at Calsonic Arena.
Funny thing, though: I finished my county meetings right around 7 tonight, as the “show” part of the event [...]
Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, 10/11/09
First United Methodist Church, 10/18/09
Job 38:1-7, 34-41 (NRSV)
38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
38:2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
38:3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
38:4 “Where [...]
Over the past quarter-century, it has been my policy as a journalist not to wear my political heart on my sleeve. I’m a citizen, the same as you; I have just as much right to my own opinion as you. But my job as a reporter is to be fair [...]
There’s a particular station break during “Late Show with David Letterman” when announcer Alan Kalter usually says something funny, and tonight it threw me for a loop. He started talking about Worldwide Pants (Letterman’s production company) and Sesame Workshop presenting a prime-time special on PBS intended to help parents [...]
Why is it everyone who comes to Africa has to write a book about it? One silly beggar even dedicated his to me! Never came back or I’d have shot him in the pants!
– Johnson (played by Torin Thatcher) in “The Snows of Kilamanjaro”
I’d been meaning to post [...]
Letterman’s week-in-review video is pretty funny this week, including the “Beavis and Butthead” appearance I referenced in an earlier post.
By the way, Dave’s mock annoyance with Neil Patrick Harris is because there’s some sort of CBS promotional magazine called “Watch” — Dave hadn’t heard of it either — which [...]
A few months ago, there was a news item that the federal government was going to start coming down on various affiliate programs and paid bloggers. So let me state, clearly and unequivocably, that I have no connection to the product I’m about to endorse. They have an affiliate program, [...]
“I already tried [Rock Band: Beatles], and let me tell you, pretending to play Beatles songs on fake instruments, it’s just like being in the Monkees….
“It has three different skill levels. You can play hard, medium or Ringo.”
– From “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” Friday night
Even though the most recent court rulings took place during the buildup to and recovery from my Kenya trip, I’m still not sure how I missed the ongoing story (related to me by my brother tonight) that, unless a legal ruling is overturned or an arrangement is reached with the [...]
Although I made a quick pass through the Celebration Trade Fair on my way to the horse show Tuesday night, some of the exhibitors on the floor weren’t set up yet. So when two of my co-workers wanted to go at lunchtime today, I tagged along.
The trade fair, set up [...]
Jason Bateman was on Letterman tonight, promoting the new Mike Judge-directed movie “Extract.” Judge’s past projects, of course, include “Office Space” and the TV show “King of the Hill.” But when it came time to set up the inevitable clip from “Extract,” Bateman didn’t do it himself. Oh, no. That [...]
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson began airing in HD last night, which meant they had to shoot a new intro. It’s great — and includes a slightly harder-edged re-record of the whimsical theme song. Ferguson himself still sings the theme, of course, and the new intro also [...]
I had asked for prayer for Doug Dezotell, who is both a United Methodist minister and a co-worker of mine at the Times-Gazette. Doug had five bypasses last week. He made it through the surgery fine; he had a little bit of a heart rhythm problem today but it resolved [...]
I wasn’t there, but my parents attended (and participated in, as you will see) quite an unusual family gathering last night at the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna.
It was an engagement party for Rachel, my first-cousin-once-removed (her father is my first cousin).
Or, actually, it wasn’t. My parents had told me [...]
Mt. Lebanon UMC
August 30, 2009
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (NRSV)
7:1 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,
7:2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.
7:3 (For the Pharisees, and all [...]
Because of the election Thursday night, I didn’t get to go to the opening night of the Celebration. I went for a while last night, and sat in the press box, even though it’s my colleague Mary Reeves who’s doing our coverage per [...]
Looking at the blog, I realize I haven’t posted anything in three days. It’s been busy; I covered an election, two health care town hall meetings by federal legislators, and of course the Celebration also started this week. Oh, and this was the week our parent company chose to implement [...]
My nephew is attending the new magnet school in Shelbyville this year, and is taking to it very well. When his teacher mentioned the possibility of a school newspaper, the nephew mentioned that his uncle works for the newspaper, which is how I wound up talking to all three fourth [...]
I had heard for years about “Citizen Kane,” the greatest movie ever made, and had little desire to see it. I presumed it to be so artful that I’d never really enjoy it.
Well, I finally did see it, and it’s become one of my all-time favorites, not because it’s a [...]
I decided to bring you a couple of reviews of recent CD releases. I have scoured the globe to bring you the cream of the crop.
Well, actually, that may be a bit of an overstatement. These are the only two CDs I’ve purchased, well, all year. But they’re both great.
The [...]
