tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8328334130324260732008-08-17T21:21:42.027-04:00Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-60393879590080000962008-08-16T13:25:00.003-04:002008-08-16T13:31:54.031-04:00

OK, so the choices were a literary legend who is quite possibly the most influential writer of the 20th century. Instead you chose an actress who played second fiddle to Suzanne Somers in the double entendre-filled Three's Company. You could have chosen a psychologist who became one of America's most beloved advice columnists. But instead, the majority of you went with the actress whose main film

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-11353839488008437362008-08-16T12:35:00.004-04:002008-08-16T19:44:31.797-04:00

Want to know a stupid excuse that works? It's my heritage. It's what I'm sure I'd hear if I approached any of the redneck yahoos down here in South Florida who proudly display the Confederate flag on their trucks. I won't even get started on those hateful bastards flying it from their house. It's my heritage. Sure, it's easy for me to use, too, particularly if I've had a few too many beers and

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-71429440039168418602008-08-09T10:10:00.010-04:002008-08-09T10:30:22.094-04:00

Well, the Phillies haven't scored in 23 innings and look prepared to disappoint us all again. At least the football season started last night with the Eagles losing 16-10, but mostly playing well. Donovan McNabb looked sharp and Brian Westbrook got his new contract. I'm ready for the season. Can we fast-forward to September? For you non-Eagle fans (or non-football fans), there is another reason

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-11761886902285610772008-07-31T23:30:00.001-04:002008-08-01T07:30:49.885-04:00

If the saying "All politics are local" is right, I'm sure glad I don't live in Oklahoma County. That's where Brent Rinehart serves as a county commissioner and part-time comic book writer. I'm a big fan of the Miami Herald's Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts. His recent column tipped me off to Rinehart's campaign literature. Actually literature is too strong a word. Crap, excuse

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-6742472897117639752008-07-30T17:27:00.005-04:002008-07-31T21:30:03.561-04:00

During this election season, Distractions will be holding regular polls. Our first Dumb Poll -- Select an Elvis -- has finished and Distractions is projecting Presley as the winner. Presley gathered 57 percent of the vote. Costello had 35 percent of the vote. And Grbac, the former NFL quarterback, finished a very distant third with just 7 percent. This raises a couple questions. Would the

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-79967064346020831062008-07-26T08:05:00.010-04:002008-07-26T11:07:14.728-04:00

As a writer, it's embarrassing when you make a mistake that gets into print. Almost as bad is when your mistake doesn't get into print, but earns you the laughs of your editor. I was only a few weeks into my first post-college professional job when this happened to me. I had just sent my story, coverage of an afternoon high school baseball game, to my editor and breathed a sigh of relief. He

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-44052356830708072742008-07-18T20:44:00.008-04:002008-07-26T09:28:28.498-04:00

Yo La Tengo is not just a band. It's a great baseball story, one I didn't know until recently. From Wikipedia ... During the 1962 season, New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and Venezuelan shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into the 160-pound Chacón, who spoke only Spanish.

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-7039665418184622502008-07-12T09:11:00.014-04:002008-07-26T15:43:45.636-04:00

I first became a fan of the Old 97's music after listening to Fight Songs, an album that showcased their wry songwriting, alt-country swing and pop sensibilities. But I had a major problem with the band. I didn't like their punctuation. Really. They should have been the Old 97s (sans the apostrophe). Unless there was a word missing from their title that I was unaware of -- The Old 97's Engine

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-81206006432902452812008-06-28T11:12:00.024-04:002008-07-05T07:32:33.039-04:00

I started my professional career in the early 90s at a small suburban newspaper in the Gannett chain, first as a reporter, then as an editor. The rules for us in the USA Today farmlands were simple -- keep it short. At most, only one story could jump from the home page. A 10-inch story? Did it really need to be that long? Opponents thought we provided less depth. That was wrong. Cut out the

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-9113750066089921052008-06-28T09:44:00.011-04:002008-06-28T12:22:03.303-04:00

I can watch Steve Carell in almost anything. He adds tremendous nuance to the characters he plays, a rarity today in the Will Farrell comedy world, where big screen acting is just "goofing off." And Carell did a great job in Get Smart. But the movie just didn't do it for me. It seems a lot of the summer movies are turning into disappointments. I liked The Happening, but just about everyone else

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-52279200366849308362008-06-19T20:09:00.006-04:002008-06-28T08:43:00.359-04:00

I was on vacation. But the Playlist never really takes a vacation. Vacations just provide more time to delve into new books, discover new music or finally get out to the movies. Vacation took us to Philadelphia, New York and Princeton (with a short business trip to DC). Weirdly, those were the three locations hit by a certain happening in M. Night Shyamalan's latest thriller (see last item on

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-28564684539461989032008-06-02T20:07:00.009-04:002008-06-12T08:41:05.544-04:00

Welcome to summer with overwhelming humidity in Florida and temperatures set to cross the 100-degree mark up north. So stay inside. Turn up the air conditioner. And treat yourself to a good book or some good music. Here's what I've been enjoying this past week ... Getting to the Point is Beside It. I Love Math. This isn't calculus or trig. Nothing fancy. Just basic math. This Texas indie

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-13561467248981012792008-05-29T18:05:00.009-04:002008-06-01T08:26:00.063-04:00

A former colleague of mine decided to go back to grad school. One school essay asked him to name the three people, currently living, whom he would take with him on a cross-country trip. I've often thought of that question myself. Most of the names change, except for one -- Jimmy Carter. Friends and my mostly conservative family know of my admiration for the 39th president. My son's middle name is

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-3880159152600232582008-05-27T17:18:00.006-04:002008-05-27T18:00:20.002-04:00

Eight years ago, we had a man who invented the Internet running for president. The current Democratic president is finding himself a victim of hoaxes perpetuated by that same wacky World Wide Web. Take a look at Snopes.com's list of the hottest e-mail urban legends. It's a list that Obama has been a mainstay on. (Cue Casey Kasem's voice: And holding strong for the 30th straight week at No. 2 is

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-27578530250525453952008-05-24T07:56:00.013-04:002008-05-24T09:44:21.350-04:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their three-day holiday weekend. If you Tivo'd The Office or Desperate Housewives and haven't watched the season finales yet, you should skip the bottom part of this week's playlist, which begins right now ... Fanon. John Edgar Wideman. At the end of Part II, main character Thomas writes to Frantz Fanon. The letter clearly explains my struggle with the book. Dear

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-3411500312683486962008-05-18T10:21:00.011-04:002008-05-19T21:38:35.893-04:00

All over the Internet this month, people are talking about their stimulus packages. Heck, there is even a Web site called How I Spent My Stimulus where people are submitting photos of how they spent their $600, $1200 or $1800 from the government. Arjewtino blogged this past week that the stimulus is making everyone stupid. He's right. You know why? The stimulus package is just politics. You may

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-65267478180296245602008-05-17T08:41:00.012-04:002008-05-18T08:12:17.782-04:00

What a great week. How could it not be a tremendous, joyous, wonderful week when it included the great Free Iced Coffee Day? And the news gets better, Dunkin Donuts has extended this promotion to run on Thursdays through June 12. So pick a flava and make your order. My favorite -- hazlenut, one sugar, one cream. Now onto Playlist 25 ... Boing Boing Web site. Back in Playlist 20, we discussed

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-29489453489963554942008-05-10T15:10:00.008-04:002008-05-11T07:24:50.643-04:00

When I moved from Philadelphia to Florida so many years ago, I decided it was time to trade in my LP collection, which reached a few hundred at its height. I had already started buying CDs. And figured it was time for a fresh start. But it wasn't easy. At the last minute, I pulled out of the sale pile several slabs of vinyl that still meant something to me -- my Tom Petty and Led Zeppelin

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-52465871418712159462008-05-05T17:35:00.009-04:002008-05-05T18:05:55.973-04:00

On the eve of another primary that may once and for all settle up the Democratic nomination, but most likely won't, I return with another I Don't Get It. 1. CNN poll. Each day, I'm inundated on CNN and its Web site with the latest figures of the "national poll" between Hillary Clinton and Barack OBama. I can understand a national poll of how each candidate would do against John McCain. But why

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-36235684466096188812008-05-03T08:06:00.012-04:002008-05-05T18:04:43.925-04:00

What a wonderful way to start the weekend -- blogging and playing ball. As soon as I finish this blog, I'm going to head out and play some basketball with my son. But what makes this a great weekend was the Channel 25 weekend news show I watched when I first woke up this morning. The show included two interviews with "esteemed" (their words, not mine) local author Donna Gephart, author of As If

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-11544736080438168272008-04-26T11:06:00.016-04:002008-04-26T13:16:23.472-04:00

I was sick this past week, which meant nothing got done around the house. I was working, transporting the kids where they had to go, and, otherwise, in bed. It did allow me plenty of time to read. And I finished these two very different books that I highly recommend. The Learners. Chip Kidd. I don't know what small advertising offices in the early 1960s were like, but I sure hope they were as

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-17553398825296802512008-04-20T05:59:00.010-04:002008-04-20T09:54:44.868-04:00

My headline for this playlist was going to be Canadian Bacon -- seeing as I review the pig pun-filled Beet and two Canadian trios (don't worry, neither is Rush). I also thought of calling the post Give Peace a Chance. Not only is Peace the lead character in Beet, but the peace symbol is celebrating a monumentous birthday this month. Gerald Holtom's design, one of the most commonly used and

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-18509801810040815792008-04-12T08:10:00.018-04:002008-04-17T22:00:14.949-04:00

The Playlist inches toward drinking age. On the flip side, have you noticed that those old geezers The Rolling Stones are everywhere these days? Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. Cory Doctorow. Doctorow’s sci-fi comedy takes place in the not too distant future when death has been cured. You simply take the last reboot of your system and add it to a clone. And thanks to the work of the Bitchun

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-77897848270681666722008-04-06T12:32:00.006-04:002008-04-09T19:26:56.148-04:00

I'm writing this from my usual locale -- the wonderful state of Florida where we always vote, but the votes don't always count. It's also the state where our Legislature takes more seriously a bill allowing you to take your gun to work, than it does a bill to make sex acts with animals illegal. So I'm thinking of my home state lately, as a lot of people are. The Pennsylvania primary is just a

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-832833413032426073.post-89684309633092207852008-04-05T09:54:00.009-04:002008-04-05T11:18:49.117-04:00

I love "man on the lam" stories. I wish Nick at Nite or another one of the hundred or so cable channels I get would find a spot for the old David Janssen Fugitive series. And while they're at, why not add some Get Smart and the It's the Garry Shandling Show, too? Now, this week's playlist. Rogue Male. Geoffrey Household. Geoffrey Household's 1939 classic is a man on the lam story. The language

Distractionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024818345514308684noreply@blogger.com