T.E. Lawrence (to Prince Feisal’s left) at 1919 Paris Peace Conference. The big dude in the back is Feisal’s Sudanese slave and bodyguard. What that Thomas Edward “Ned” Lawrence were alive today to see the changes sweeping the Middle East. While the man known as Lawrence of Arabia seldom showed emotion, he probably would allow himself a smile although, as a teetotaller, not a celebratory...

(This is the first in a series of video embeds showcasing America’s musical theater). One of my favorite (and increasingly rare) musical numbers is the “counterpoint” song. For younger TMV readers, watch these examples of a classic song, “You’re Just in Love” by Irving Berlin. The first singer sings one melody. Then the second sings a seemingly totally different one. And then...

Here’s an incredibly powerful statement of conviction about what goes on, still, in most classrooms and what educating is all about. I’d love to have him compose a similarly-toned response for me and other local electeds when we’re getting abused for reminding people about the finite nature of resources and the short and long-term consequences of making decisions for a municipality based purely...

An image arrives, the cover of a new book in French showing American icon Marilyn Monroe 56 years ago in a legendary Irish saloon, a convergence of cultures for St. Patrick’s Day. In that place, where my generation learned about life, Tim Costello was our teacher. One of us, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a budding sociologist and later U.S. Senator, would famously say when JFK was killed, “To be Irish...

Fine, I’m talking to the rabbits in my back yard again. The stresses of modern life, social dilemmas and impolite political discourse’ll do that to you. Rabbits are good listeners. They prefer pleasant conversation to confrontation and argument. And, yes, I know they are jackrabbits which are actually in the hare family and not truly rabbits. Lately I’ve adopted the hot tub just off the pool bath as...

What’s the connection between the women of Rio’s Carnival and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg? For Brazil’s O Globo, Mônica Geraldi Valentim writes that even if women have become more financially independent in recent decades, the lengths to which they’ll go to look attractive is proof that catching a mate still requires good old-fashioned thin waists, full lips and silky hair; and...

The insurance company Alfac didn’t think comedian Gilbert Gottfried’s wise quacks on Twitter about the Japan earthquake and tsunami were just ducky. So they’ve cooked his goose: they fired him. Gottfried thus becomes the latest talented show biz type who for about branding (and good taste, although that matters little in today’s comedy). You can’t just wing it on Twitter and not...

“Dying is easy, comedy is hard” goes the old saying. Even while Stewart, Colbert and SNL struggle, politics are making parody impossible. Standup routines at Washington’s Gridiron Dinner are tame as the weekend Oscar goes to a British think tank, which unveils (?) Jihad Cosmo magazine with beauty tips, mujahideen dating advice, complexion care and a guide for suicide-bomber child-rearing. My...

Texas State Representative Leo Berman, R-Tyler, has sponsored a bill “relating to the establishment of English as the official language of Texas” and the requirement that official acts of government be performed in English. The proposed legislation cites several reasons why such a bill is necessary, including: * the people of the United States have brought to this nation the cultural heritage of...

Recently, Bill Keller of the New York Times and Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post have been engaged in a squabbling match over whose empire is more respectable. This is where I use the word ironic to explain what is evident to the passive spectator. As each side fact checks the validity of their assertions, the tenor of their dialogue contradicts them. While perusing their carefully worded remarks,...

In eighth grade I fell in love with two Stephanies. Which really isn’t saying much, since in the early eighties 1 out of every 5 girls was named Stephanie. A week before the school dance, word reached me that both Stephanies had indicated to close friends that they might possible want to “go with” me. This was confirmed by further intel from other gossip ambassadors. For the first and last time of...

I had a great day off with my wife, Ann, even though some of it was taken up by an appointment with our dentist. The highlight of that visit came when the doctor and I sang some of ‘Red Rubber Ball’ by the Cyrkle to his hygienist. She hadn’t believed him when he mentioned this song and the band; she thought he was making both names up. Kids! (She’s thirty.) I had to sing to vouch for...

By Paul Simon, slide show by a YouTube user named Ilana:

James Dean, Marilyn, Elvis… Fifty years ago, a classic book defined celebrities in the TV age as “well-known for their well-knowness,” and, it often turned out, as disposable as Kleenex when their fame burned out. Historian Daniel Boorstin wrote “The Image: A Guide to Pseudo Events in America,” a prophecy now having its umpteenth replay as a survey shows Charlie Sheen getting more...

This will be a big hit:

Warner Brothers finally had enough of Charlie Sheen – the one-time rising actor, highest paid star on television, supplier of best-selling tabloid stories about his alleged drug and sex lives who was suspended from his smash show “Two and a Half Men” and who has been on a multi-platform gab and dissfest ever since. “After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television has terminated...

The buzzword has reached its entertainment destination, a Saturday Night Live skit spoofing Charlie Sheen’s obsession, but in American politics, no end is in sight. The Wisconsin standoff goes on along with the budget game of chicken to avoid a Washington shutdown, prompting E.J. Dionne to recall Nixon’s “‘madman theory’…a negotiating approach that induces the other side to...

How ‘true’ are Hollywood films that are based on ‘true stories?’ From Switzerland’s News, columnist Patrik Etschmayer rails against the Oscars for favoring films that spin ‘truth’ for the benefit of producers and studios, over movies that despite being fiction, tell us much more about reality and ourselves. For Switzerland’s News, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part: Colin...

SNL last night spoofed Charlie Sheen, showing what it would be like if he did a talk show: The problem here: Sheen did a live webcast that was reportedly unintentionally funnier than the SNL sketch — and boring.

Charlie Sheen did a live webcast. And reports and Twitters suggest that many concluded the “winner” is a “loser” — no matter how much money he has, how many porn stars are living with him or whether CBS ultimately kowtows to big bucks temptation and invites him back to resume filming on the mega hit show “Two and a Half Men” or not. Sheen has become a major cultural...

An email from a younger TMV reader about comedy and parody has inspired this post. One of the greatest song parody masters was Tom Lehrer whose melodies (which he wrote) and lyrics (which he wrote) still hold up, even though some incidental topical references are dated. Here are some You Tubes of a 1967 TV performance. First his hilarious take on National Brotherhood Week and a parody of a 20th century love...

Charlie Sheen is inspiring songwriters. To wit: Lyrics (truly) by Charlie Sheen: And there’s also this: And this: He even inspired this original song and original lyric:

Frank Capra would have appreciated the present moment. In two of his best films, Mr. Smith Goes the Washington and Meet John Doe, the political system is entirely beholden to big money. And in both films, those financial interests control media empires which can crucify inconvenient upstarts who rock the boat. In the end, the only thing which stands between those interests and doing the right thing is the uncommon...

Bill Schorr, Cagle Cartoons This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

No political or social infamy today but, as my odometer turns to 87, a memory about the sweetness of youthful longing. Seventy-four years ago, on my Bar Mitzvah day, I went to the movies to see the elegantly beautiful British actress Madeleine Carroll and, on the day the Jewish religion declared me a man, I fell hopelessly in love with the most golden shiksa of them all. A decade and a war later, at my alma...