Spare Parts

Ladies and Gentlemen of American Idol Fanaticism ---- Season 9 is upon us, folks! Have you been watching? This year, for the first time in its history, 'Idol' judge, Paula Abdul, will not be the Queen Bee in the hive of boys. New judge, Kara DioGuardi, has joined the cast, perhaps to boost ratings in a show that has seen a microscopic drop in viewership in the last two seasons. A lot of folks believed that bringing on a new judge would hinder the formula that has kept the show on this long. Some compared the risky move by the FOX network, which carries 'Idol', to be the kind of jumping the shark move that signals the end of a once good thing. It now appears that this is not so with DioGuardi. It is looking more and more like Kara DioGuardi was just the right missing piece arriving at the very best time for the show. This recognized singer-songwriter seems to have found her own place in this band of judges being the perfect center for the ext...

What a week! When I woke up this morning, it was with the knowledge that a new president was waking up, as well, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Along with his wife Michelle and their two little girls, Malia and Sasha, I imagine this little family is as perplexed by their reality as we all are by our recent choices. I imagine they are smiling and we are, too. It is just two days post the January 20, 2009 inauguration and we – The United States of America – have a man in the White House upon whose shoulders we have placed all of our long beleaguered trust and expectations. The task at hand for the newly elected and sworn in 44th president is of mammoth proportions. It is perhaps the worse that history has ever seen. At the very least, no other time recorded seems as challenging than that which we are living right now. A war rages on, security is a constant reality and fear, we have made enemies around the globe, we have faced betrayal in our own big businesses and our economy is threate...

This blog is about a week late, but just in time for Jack – Week 2. Jack is back in 7 hours, 51 minutes and 19 seconds (right now). If the title to this entry means nothing to you, then you shouldn’t bother reading the rest of this piece. However, if the mere mention of Jack being back sends thrills through your bones, then welcome to the unhinged world of the ‘24’ fanatic. For those of you with zero knowledge of FOX TV’s electrifying series, who’ve decided to read on despite my warning above, allow me to use some good journalistic skills and elaborate a bit about this phenomenon of series television. Twenty-four (‘24’) is a series in its long-awaited 7th season. For a while, following the painfully long writer’s strike, we thought Jack would never be back!! The series is unique in format simply because it takes place in real time. It is because of the unusual format that writers for the show didn’t know how they could swing a half season and so ...

In 1987, a low budget film entitled Dirty Dancing took to movie theaters and created a small revolution. Since its release, Dirty Dancing has become a cult phenomenon, seen countless times on cable and released for personal ownership on DVD and the long forgotten VHS. The movie, a cheeky, somewhat corny tale about a couple of kids from different sides of the track who fall in love through seductive dance, caught parents off guard and their teenagers by surprise. The setting was an upscale country club in Upstate New York in the 1960s. Soon after its release, people were quoting lines from the silly film and finding ways to engage in some of the hip gyrating dances they’d witnessed on the screen. I was 17 years old when it came out, but it would be several years – when I went to college - before I would feel the full effect of it and be able to, not only enjoy the film without hiding from my parents, but also understand its critics and passionate defenders alike. Dirty Dancing wa...

How did we never see a thing? A couple of days ago, I learned from someone in my family, that the demise of her marriage started many, many years before it ultimately collapsed. Into the depths of a marriage, only two people ever go. It is not the 'norm' to be able to stand outside of the marriage and know its inner workings, it defects, its true joy, or darkest secrets. It is far simpler to stand outside the marriage and point in with an accusing or critical finger when we feel that the ideal has been lost. It is far more convenient to be the ones with all the answers to none of the real questions. When I was younger, I used to look to my older female relatives for the clues on what to do and not to do with regard to romantic relationships. As I became the observer of these entanglements, it suddenly occurred to me to start a list (mental mostly) of the things I would and would not accept in my relationships, when the time came. I was eight, maybe nine years...