Reading aloud is such a pleasure. I read entire books aloud.

Today, Valentine’s Day, marks the beginning of my fourth year writing for The Moderate Voice… as a journo, yes, as much so as a lover… a lover of The Bright Arts– a phrase I made up in my mind– to tell about my love of tatts as art, of running horses, of wild weather, of raptors, of water unpinned down by dams, of brave human beings who have little or nothing, but carry the gold...

In the days leading up to the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver there was a bit of speculation in the media as to what direction the event would take. Because the last games in Bejing were so over the top in terms of special effects and mega spending people wondered what Vancouver would do with much less of a budget For me, the Canadians came up with the perfect response, a ceremony that...

When you’re a book author, a journalist, or a person who writes occasionally, who ‘goes out to see what you can see….’ we’re gifted to often meet completely odd souls… who out-eccentric even us. Sometimes, you’re lucky to make friends of strangers. I’ve one such friend I met in an odd way. Since then, he sends me letters and poems every day. I wanted you to see...

I’ve recently started my fifth decade on this planet. In retrospect, I never expected much from any of our prior Republican Presidents. They certainly did not disappoint my low expectations. I have continued my up and down professional life in four different cities and always working in the private sector. I started Internet blogging about a year ago on TMV. I shied away from the public sector because...

A new poll confirms what we know: Two out of three Americans are “dissatisfied with or angry about the way the government works.” We are in a reprise of “Network,” in which a demented anchorman gets millions to yell their outrage. In the 1976 movie, Howard Beale rants: “Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their...

This comes from Bob Dylan’s appearance at a White House celebration of the Civil Rights movement. The use of the upright bass and the piano are exquisite. [Thanks to Ann Althouse for pointing me to this.] [I post things like this at my personal blog frequently.]

Graphic novels come in different forms. You see them in extended commercial comic book hero formats, where it’s like reading a mega-comic book -- a comic form novel that clearly is the result of extra time, effort and love put into its drawing and scripting. There are the ones that are descendents of classic “underground comics,” offering what the Comics Code Authority would never sanction...

Whether you’re a young, old or middle-aged man or woman, of any skin color, inexperienced or experienced, and possessing many or few degrees, you’re unlikely to be hired initially, or ever again, by any large private company as a full-time employee. Get over it and figure out how you’ll make a living by your wits, determination, charm and overall doggedness. We have to realize that persistently high...

RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Avatar has turned out to be a politically explosive film. By and large, most writers see the film as a challenge to militarism/corporatism/fascism and a rejection of colonialism that extols the values of indigenous people. Chinese viewers see in the film a challenge to corporate interests that pay off corrupt officials to raze the homes of people unable to defend themselves. Like an earlier article from Germany’s...

So for all the hype and panic the ad turns out to be nothing. All it was is Mom talking about how she had a rough time with Tim and almost lost him a number of times. Then some humor with her and Tim and a link to the web site. That’s it. No mention of abortion, no agenda, nada. Which likely explains why CBS approved it.

On my way to tennis this morning, I was listening to NPR and caught the end of an interesting conversation on an alleged correlation between the Super Bowl winner and the stock market. However, I didn’t catch the name of the professor who had done such a study. Curious as to how my stocks will be doing after tonight’s Super Bowl, I “Googled” the subject and hit the jackpot. The professor is...

Political satire started in prime time as Sarah Palin preempted SNL with a parody of herself at the Tea Party convention. “How’s that hopey-changey stuff working out for you?” she twinkled during a $100,000 standup (to be donated to “the cause,” destination unclear) for hundreds who paid $349 to hear her pummel Obama with one-liners about everything from bailouts to the Christmas...

Just to give you all a place to discuss, debate, etc on the big game. I’m not much of a footbal fan but by family loyalty I’m rooting for the Colts but I wouldn’t mind seeing the Saints win. If I had to guess I’d suspect the Saints win it but we will find out tomorrow.

On Superbowl Sunday there will be a huge audience watching the games — and the ads. This has led to highly anticipated and creative “super ads” that DO have an impact: Reuters notes that this year’s advertisers are going for the FUNNYBONE: Some of this year’s ads are already being “advanced” on the Internet via You Tube: Here’s the upcoming Gatorade ad: And...

For all of our debates, arguments, disagreements, let us all be glad we live in a society where we are all free to say what we think.

First NBC looked silly (and intelligence challenged) for creating the widely publicized Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien mess. Now there’s a less publicized tidbit that raises some eyebrows again — although this is a smaller part of NBC. UPDATE: The controversial sign was removed.

Is Mel Gibson beyond a p.r. handler’s help? He’s a great actor whose work seems to improve the older he gets, but someone whose real life is likely to cut down on some of his box office draw. To wit: , Gibson has issues. Note his comment to reporter Sam Rubin (who happens to be Jewish): Attn. Mel: There are people who “have a dog in this fight” who will refrain from going to to theaters...

When I saw Brian Williams was going to be the guest on last night’s Daily Show, I checked to see if I was watching a rerun — Williams has been on that many times before. The NBC Nightly News anchor is an affable fellow and he and Stewart clearly enjoy each others company. But I was brought to the point of yelling at the screen early on when, on the topic of Haiti, Williams smugly proclaimed: We...

Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead with 9 nominations each, including Best Picture. Inglourious Basterds got 8. The full list is here. While the academy has expanded the Best Picture category to include 10 nominees, The Razzie® Awards have put up only 5 for Worst Picture of the Year. Livestream has the archived version of the announcement on its site for one week. The embed is below. Last night’s original...

I recommend Noises Off. I’m not sure why I thought about it this morning, but I did and it made my day. I’ve seen it three times over the course of my life and laugh harder each time. The last time I had to stop watching it for about 10 minutes because my diaphragm was cramping and I was worried about it starting to spasm so much I wouldn’t be able to breathe. After the movie was over I looked...

This week’s Time Magazine arrived in the mail a little while ago. Here’s what the cover looks like. Accompanied by a big picture of a deflated football, the cover stories are “The Most Dangerous Game. How to Fix Football” and “The Crisis in High Schools.” My immediate thought was that somehow football is more important that education? Will football impact America’s ability...

So there! Bezos seems to be stamping his foot again. It’s big news in books that Bezos today decides to ‘punish’ a major publisher for not agreeing with his idea of loss leader pricing. Some related to Amazon’s sudden and unannounced sucking of Orwell’s 1984 right out of people’s pricey Kindle boxes, saying much later it was an illegally uploaded edition… apparently...

Two writers in their nineties died this week. J.D. Salinger, a recluse in New Hampshire, produced four books in his lifetime. Louis Auchincloss lived in old-money Manhattan, practiced Wall Street law and wrote more than sixty novels, biographies and works of criticism. Apart from being published in the New Yorker, they had little in common, Auchincloss the “chronicler of New York’s upper crust,”...