Aida’s Magical Tiramisu
Thanksgiving at my parents' house always comes with some surprises. Mostly because we invite a lot of strangers. Not strangers exactly. You need to know one family member to get into a Keane Family Thanksgiving. My mother has been teaching English as a second language for over 30 years. And she kindly invites students who don't have family nearby to our house for Thanksgiving. That invitation has then been extended to myriad friends, acquaintances and coworkers over the years. And sometimes, those guests don't behave themselves. READ MORE
Smarkland: "The Hills," Like White Elephants
It is fitting that the most intriguing character in "The Hills" series finale was a two-dimensional backdrop. On a show known more for its uncomfortable silences than anything that was actually said, the producers used the parting shot to pull away the Hollywood sign in the background and remind viewers why they ever cared about the show in the first place. READ MORE
Smarkland: 'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity'
Toward the end of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, one of the characters watches his friend in a wrestling match on TV while lying in bed with a girl. When the girl gets up to go to the bathroom, she warns that something more real best be on the television when she returns. READ MORE
Smarkland: Nic Rad
If you're looking for publicity, getting other people to do the work for you is a pretty good trick. In the case of Nic Rad, he simply painted portraits of people who are known for self-promoting. It appears that The New York Academy of Art grad subscribes to an age-old adage: If you rank people, they will care. READ MORE
Sex Offender Week: 'Celebrity Apprentice' is the Saddest Sex War
Sex Offender Week got a little derailed yesterday due to sad server problems. But we're back today with two more installments on the issues of being the men and the women today! READ MORE
Meghan Keane: 'The Office' is the Most Depressing Show on Television
Have you watched The Office lately? The NBC series has become a microcosm of how depressing this recession can get-and not just because The Dunder Mifflin Paper company may fold in the next few episodes. That, after all, seems a fitting end for a company based on a business model that stopped being relevant in 1992. Instead, the show has taken the story of a man with a promising future and given him an interminable present. READ MORE
Flicked Off: Wolverine Reconsidered
Enough with all of the scathing commentary and general derision aimed toward "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Yes, Gavin Hood seems to have further buried the X-Men franchise beneath the rubble Brett Ratner created with "X-Men: The Last Stand." But this film proves that someone in Hollywood thinks that the hetero female/gay men into bears demographic needed it's own cheesecake action film. And that is awesome. READ MORE
Entitlement Reform: Christopher Buckley
The rules of adulthood for those inhabiting the upper echelons of Connecticut nepotism are a strange puzzle. Required to mature ahead of their age for parental dinner parties and parlor tricks, it seems that a reversion to adolescence is only inevitable at some point. Case in point: the temper tantrum that Christopher Buckley ("Christo" to his dad) has woven into a tale of grieving his beloved "mum and pup," which appeared on the cover of the New York Times magazine and which will be available in extended memoir book form soon. READ MORE
