I can remember growing up in the 1960s and 1970s in the capital city of California when the gay community was still very much underground. As far as one could tell in the world in which I was raised, the word “gay” did not even exist. If it did, it wasn’t used as much as…
Michael Lewis’ 2003 book about how the Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane used baseball statistics in complex, innovative and surprisingly winning ways was a phenomenal bestseller. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Gamehas remained hugely popular for years, not just because Lewis managed to write a good sports drama but also because he…
“I am wearing a pink tie. My opponent is not. Pink ties are the most important issue in this debate, so I should win.” In tournament debate parlance, this is known as the “Tie Paradigm” – pick a color that matches your wardrobe. It is an absurd point to make in an argument about pension…
thursday, sept. 22 Marc Anthony Marc Anthony is an American and Latin Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter, actor and producer. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Marc Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The five-time Grammy winner has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. He is best known for…
Remember way back in 1984, when Bonnie Tyler informed us musically on the Footloose soundtrack that “I Need A Hero?” Well, she must have been beside herself this summer with so many cinematic heroics to choose from. Let’s just say there were some good efforts, and at least one celluloid case of “better luck next…
In the Sept. 2 article, SignOn, U-T, moving to real-name comments, the Union-Tribune announced it was ending anonymous comments. They outlined why they were implementing their new, Sept. 12 onward policy: “But the veil of anonymity also enabled people to publish some dreadful, hate-filled and heartless comments on our pages and those of every other…
Remember that TV series, Mission Impossible? I just love that self-destructing mini-cassette player! Instructions were given once – and only once. Well, I’d like to give you a “Mission Possible.” I don’t want to talk about a mission impossible – but a mission possible! Imagine your little mini-cassette recorder playing the words: “Your mission, should…
I would hope that everyone has already seen the funniest movie of the year. But if by some bizarre reason you didn’t see Bridesmaids, it’s now on DVD. (Which means you can own it!) As I wrote in my original review, “Surrounding this tale of thirty-something angst are some of the most brilliant comic scenes…
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato’s documentary about the infuriating anti-gay military policy known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell examines, as HBO writes, “The consequences of the policy and the fight to overturn it, a battle that would last 17 years, span three presidents and result in the discharge of 13,368 active servicemembers.” The film’s perfectly…
In wake of the demise of the military’s discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, President Obama will address 3,000 attendees at the 15th Annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner. The hailed event will take place October 1, 2011 in Washington D.C. at the Washington Convention Center. “We are honored to share this night with…
