Is the Media's Excessive Use of Interrogatively Framed Headlines a Bad Reporting Habit?

Yes, yes it is. Not only does it contribute to the fallacy that every issue can/should be framed as a debate of two equal sides, but it serves as a media loophole for reporting on unsubstantiated topics not worthy of declarative coverage.
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I Don't Want To Say Goodbye For The Summer

It's beyond official: the 2009 summer movie season is over. Comparatively speaking, I'd say the 2009 season was good (not great), with a few gems surrounded by a largely mediocre slate of movies. Here's a recap of my tweet-size thoughts and grades for the movies I managed to see this summer:

* Inglourious Basterds ~ "Tarantino at his finest." [A]

* Star Trek ~ "J.J. Abrams does it again." [A]

* The Hangover ~ "Very funny...and novel unfolding of story." [A-]

* (500) Days of Summer ~ "Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel well cast." [B+]

* Bruno ~ "A solid follow-up to Borat." [B]

* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ "Mostly a bridge to final films." [B]

* Away We Go ~ "Dialogue tends to overexplain." [B-]

* Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ~ "Overly complicated story." [C+]

* Angels & Demons ~ "Significantly deviates from book, to detriment of movie." [C]

(Plus, a list of summer movies I'd still like to see: Up, District 9, Food, Inc., Public Enemies, Funny People, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Whatever Works, Julie & Julia.)

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Nine

As in "this film is going to be nominated for at least nine Oscars."

Let's evaluate the profound degree to which Nine has "Academy Award nominee" written all over it: producing by the Weinstein Company; directing by Rob Marshall; lead actor Daniel Day Lewis...I really could stop here, and yet...lead and supporting actresses Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz; screenplay writing (partially) by the late Anthony Minghella; adaptation of a successful musical; attractive story elements ("a tortured director," foreign setting, etc.). On the flip side, Kate Hudson and Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson will also be appearing in the film, however (not knowing the details of the plot) I can only assume their characters are minor and/or will die a horrible death...at least I hope so.

[UPDATE: As pointed out in the comments by the Oscar guru himself, Mr. Cooper, it turns out that the 1963 autobiographical film 8 1/2 by Federico Fellini, which served as the inspiration for the musical Nine, was itself a five-time nominee and two-time winner of the 1964 Academy Awards, including a win for Best Foreign Language Film. Case closed.]
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BREAKING NEWS: Twitter Has Flown The Coop

It is being reported that Twitter has been down for hours now due to "a denial of service attack" on the site. Equally alarming is the disappearance of the magnanimous Fail Whale, last seen being curiously airlifted from the sea by a flock of rope-wielding orange birds (pictured above). Investigators confirm the unidentified birds to be the primary suspects in the Twitter site attack.
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The Flavor Veridict Is In

The new Rita's Swedish Fish Italian Ice is amazing! As expected, it tastes exactly like the packaged Original Swedish Fish (which, as you can see in the photo above, Rita's was brilliantly handing out along with orders of the new flavor). I never thought I'd have the fortitude to voluntarily abandon the greatness that is Rita's Fudge Brownie Cream Ice, and yet abandon it I did.

And now for the bad news. All of the advertising for the new Swedish Fish flavor notes that it is "For a limited time only." Apparently Rita's giveth and Rita's taketh away, but hopefully we'll have at least until Rita's seasonal closing time in early Fall before this glorious creation departs.
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President Pullman Always Says It Best

Happy Independence Day!

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Sanford and Sun

The following is a comment I made to my wife yesterday during our discussion of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and his mysterious disappearance:

"I think Sanford is doing one of two things: either he's visiting with his mistress or he's taking a seedy trip to Mexico."

WOW! I'd say I hit that nail nearly dead center! The mention of Mexico was meant to reflect the general idea that Sanford was on some strange, clandestine getaway to South America, so the fact that the country involved was actually Argentina is largely of secondary importance. As I just expressed to @mlshapiro, I think I may be like the precogs from Minority Report, except my abilities only apply to grandiose political scandals.

Thus, I will now use these political precognitive powers to register a new comment: the GOP will continue to wander through the political wilderness for a long, long time.
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Yes, I Can Hear You Now!

'Broadcasters promise plan to
quiet TV ads by September'

The money quote: "The FCC has been investigating loud ads since the 1960s..."

That's right, the government investigation into loud television commercials is approaching the half-century mark. Wow.
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Obama: "I Will Never Be The Same After Denny's"

Obama Drastically Scales Back Goals For America After Visiting Denny's

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Ideas Worth Spreading

My wife showed me this video a couple years back and it's never quite left my mind. The speaker is Sir Ken Robinson, a "creativity expert," addressing an audience of educators at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) 2006 conference. He's like a British Michael Scott (which I guess is technically David Brent), except Robinson is actually quite funny and intelligent. Basically, forget the whole character comparison with The Office and just watch the video.

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Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of the 2009 Summer Movie Season

Graduate school has finally come to an end, and summer is just around the corner. Thus, the time to return to the movie theater is upon us!

The 2009 summer movie season certainly has the potential to be an entertaining one, even given the release of such embarrassments as Dance Flick (a spoof of the movie Save the Last Dance...seriously) and Rob Zombie's H2 (a Halloween movie in August...seriously). Below I offer my personal picks for the top ten most anticipated movies of the 2009 summer season. It's quite an eclectic mix, encompassing many of the typical summer movie genres - science fiction, mystery, animated, documentary, action, romantic comedy, raunchy comedy, fantasy, drama, Tarantino Nazism. Well, maybe they're not all typical. To the list!

1. Star Trek (May 8)
2. Angels & Demons (May 15)
3. Up (May 29)
4. Food, Inc. (June 12)
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24)
6. Away We Go (June 25)
7. Bruno (July 10)
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (July 15)
9. Julie & Julia (August 7)
10. Inglorious Basterds (August 21)
    

[Plus, a few matinee-worthy selections...X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Year One, Public Enemies, Funny People, Whatever Works.]

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Stop The Bullets. Kill The Gun.

An effective, gasp-inducing ad campaign for an issue of grave concern.
Visit the organization's website here.

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Congratulations NYU Graduates!

In my mind, my master's degree became official on Monday during the NYU Graduate School of Arts & Science graduation ceremony (photos will be posted shortly), but for all those students awaiting the university-wide graduation ceremony at Yankee Stadium today, good luck and congratulations!

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The Adventures of Max the Dog

It's nice how a simple project for a high school advanced video class has become a tribute to my childhood dog, Max. Thanks to a trail of Cheerios, some peanut butter, and a few dozen dog treats, Max was transformed into an amazing actor. As an added bonus, this video serves as a chance to revisit my old house, my old bedroom, my old car, and...well...a younger me.

After some minor editing and enhancement of the original version, I present to you the absurdity that is The Adventures of Max the Dog. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder why the "visual effects" were of such hilariously poor quality. But, most importantly, you'll be treated to a brief glimpse of the greatness that was Max.

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Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat Presents...

Two new video entries into the Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat series, edited by yours truly. Enjoy!

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When FAIL Meets Feline

Anything capable of breaking through my stoic composure while riding a packed NYC-bound commuter train is worthy of note. Earlier today, the Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat sent me into an uncontrollable, tear-streaming laughing fit during one such commute. Below is easily one of the best iterations thus far, featuring the already amazing video of Glen Beck's guest passing out during a live broadcast. The unique editing in of "wait for it...wait for it"-style visuals of the cat is simply classic.

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The First 100 Days

View slideshow here.

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Disney's 'Loris-atouille'

When Pixar gets a hold of this video they will have officially found the subject of their Summer 2014 animated movie.

(By the way, that's two animal video posts in a row. New blog theme? No, just a coincidence, fortunately or unfortunately depending upon your perspective.)
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The Blog Is Back

And so is the squirrel that is desperately trying to live in my home.

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Please Stand By

We are currently experiencing high volumes of master's thesis writing.
Blogging will resume shortly.

We thank you for your patience during this difficult time.

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