The phrase “going postal” has become part of American culture since those awful days in the early to mid-80s when there were news accounts of mass murders at American post offices — murders usually committed by employees or former employees. Wikipedia even has an entry on the expression “going postal” — which explains: “The expression derives from a series of incidents...

Peter Broelman, Australia This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibitied.

Few details yet. Earlier this week, Whitney was spotted leaving a Hollywood nightclub with scratches on her arm, blood dripping down her leg and her wig askew. Remember, I Will Always Love You…

The 5th Avenue’s new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! is a wonderfully disconcerting pleasure to enjoy and digest. Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong has referred to Oklahoma! as “. . . truly the quintessential American musical.” The 5th Avenue embraces this truth by weaving a quintessential American tension throughout the production. This...

I’ve been catching up on my reading and one of the books was so compelling I felt the need to commend it to the TMV crowd. The book is called Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea by Barbara Demick. We’ve all heard the stories out of North Korea about the famines or how the average North Korean is shorter than his South Korea brother, but this book takes a new tack that gives you a real...

As compared with the Brits, few Americans have made India their home. Among those Americans who became well-known, I wrote about the legendary Samuel Evans Stokes Jr who fought along with Mahatma Gandhi to free the country from the colonial rule, and also brought horticulture revolution in the hills. The other well-known figure is an Indian actor of American origin – Tom Alter – who is now a household...

Comics don’t mind making a fool of themselves, but first ladies? Yes, if you’re Michelle Obama, who has been making the rounds of talk show hosts and beating them in feats of physical fitnessl in the name of her “Let’s Move” initiative. Her latest victim was Jimmy Fallon of “Late Night,” who visited the White House to take on Mrs. Obama in a series of event, including...

I never thought that I would write a post defending Madonna, whose career successes I respect while not particularly caring for her songifying and dancing, but the deluge of criticism over her performance during the Super Bowl halftime moves me to declare that the criticism is sexist and ageist — and very unfair. I groaned when I read that Madonna would being doing the halftime show but ended up being...

If Charles Dickens had lived until 1888, he might have been among the select group of British eminentoes who recorded their voices for Thomas Edison’s newfangled phonograph. Robert Browning did it, though the aged poet forgot his own verses in mid-recitation. Alfred Lord Tennyson, even older at the time, recorded “The Charge of the Light Brigade” for posterity in a wrinkled sing-song voice....

One of the most anticipated and commented upon 2012 Super Bowl commercials was Honda’s which kind of updated “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”. Here’s the Honda explanation on You Tube: To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller’s Day Off back in a big game commercial. We cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and...

I have seen every single Superbowl ever played, going back to Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers. I remember quite well the empty seats in the Los Angeles Coliseum. And believe me, Madonna was perfect for this thing called the Superbowl, although it bears little resemblance to what I remember. Football game, blah, blah, blah. No, what I am talking about — divorced from a game that’s still...

NBC scored a media touchdown with its Super Bowl ad — a promo for its shows, using the show-stopping song from the smash Broadway Musica “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” called “The Brotherhood of Man.” It is witty, fun, slick, smart — and will rank as one of the best ever: < /center> Here’s an abridged version of the show stopper as performed by...

Chances are if you (among the millions) watch the Super Bowl today you’re going to see one ad that turns out to be highly controverial. The Hill: Super Bowl advertisements have a long history of attracting political controversies, and this year is no different. While the match-up between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants will be country’s focus on Sunday, the high-priced ads during the...

The economy is hurting everyone. And here’s proof: (us) ventriloquists feel it too. Just look at this report by my friend Justin Ver Burg: P.S. Ventriloquists aren’t the only ones looking for work. These days you see a lot of dummies clamoring for jobs, too (it’s election year).

Soul Train creator and television pioneer Don Cornelius died by suicide yesterday at the age of 75. Why? Some close to the smooth-voiced television host described a man hurt and distraught by bad business decisions, poor health, and an ugly divorce that took hundreds of thousands of dollars from his children and other family members…. In 1982, he underwent a 21-hour operation to fix a congenital malformation...

Dear Vice President Gore, et al. I’m concerned. More than concerned, in fact: deeply troubled. How can I say this, diplomatically? Hmmm. Your new news  shows look like crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And by “look” I mean the physical plant that serves as a backdrop for your hosts. They are an embarrassment, and, much as I’d like to be a fly on the wall for the sessions in which your “look”...

So former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was obliterated in Florida largely because of the brutally effective, millions of dollars worth of advertising primary winner former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney threw at him.Even with $5 million checks from a casino owner and the casino owner’s wife, it isn’t enough to effectively compete. Here is Gingrich singing his post-Florida theme song:

Here’s a little “gem” that’s camp — so say the least. In 1978, 30s, 40s sex symbol Mae West released her last film, “Sextette.” She was — depending on which account you believe — in her 80s or 90s (she reportedly had a hearing aid in her ear). She was shot through cameras that blurred her face a bit so she looked younger. West did all her old moves, her voice...

Enjoy:

Due to some logistical problems (I am now in Louisiana and will be offline until later in the evening) it’s unlikely I can do live blogging tonight, or if I do it’ll be the very last part of the debate. But check in with TMV often to get the takes on the debate from other TMV writers. Towards the end of the evening I’ll be putting together a roundup on the debate — with quotes from blogs,...

There are a couple of observations I have been meaning to make about Mr. Gingrich’s “magnificent, bold and fearless” debates performance. On the first observation, New York Times’ David Firestone beat me to the punch and I am glad because he elucidates it much better than I ever could. Firestone ascribes a lot of Gingrich’s “successes” in the two previous South Carolina debates to the (red-meat)...

In these days of ideology and partisan-based new and old media commentary, it’s extremely hard to find a book that lays out solid information, is packed with research that recounts and analyzes current events, is reliable as a valuable reference tool for anyone of any party or ideology, and is written in a style that’s lively but as seriously and skillfully as columns by the Washington Post’s...

At first blush, you may find this incredible, even impossible to believe, but, my friends, this “crackpot” story could well shake the political establishment of our nation to its very root touch-ups. L. Frank Baum, author of a series of beloved children’s books, admittedly snuck certain political and allegorical information into his writings. But other information has been included as well....

John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

A Sikh ready for the holy bath at Golden Temple in Amritsar in northern India. Ever heard of a place where you can enjoy live Western classical music round-the-clock? Perhaps there is none. However, if you are interested in attending a non-stop Indian classical music concert round the year, then the place to visit is the Golden Temple (or Harmandir Sahib) at Amritsar in northern India. This place is the rallying...