television
Movie Review: The Bob’s Burgers Movie
4 stars out of 5 In its decade-plus on the air, Bob’s Burgers has never reached the giddy pop-culture heights of The Simpsons, South Park, and that one with the sassy baby and the dog. But, like King of the Hill before it, Bob’s is one of those IYKYK deals, with a secret society of […]
Movie Review: Jackass Forever
3.5 stars out of 5 It’s not that I was opposed to Jackass; I just never tuned in. I certainly noticed the show’s influence on my young friend [TRIGGER WARNING: obscure name-dropping], then-aspiring filmmaker Van Neistat. I dug the Minutemen song they used as theme music. Names seeped into my awareness: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition XXI
Though life is a lot more normal now, thankfully there’s still plenty of TV time. Oh who am I kidding, there’s always TV time! (Plus my newish WiFi extender and Amazon Firestick made it much easier to watch streaming stuff on my television.) Here’s another annotated rundown of shows I’ve checked out in recent months. […]
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition XX
Remember the first half of 2021? Yeah me neither. But I did keep track of all the TV shows I checked out, and herewith will share my thoughts on them with you. LOVED Pretend It’s a City (Netflix) This felt like a real pandemic gift, a cranky oasis. Fran Lebowitz became a huge fave of […]
Movie Review: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
4.5 stars out of 5 Even the trailer made me cry, so I couldn’t wait to see this documentary. I guess I had two main Mister Rogers periods in my life: I would’ve been among the second batch of devoted O.G. viewers in the early 70s. Then, in my college years, I wound up in […]

Missing a Few Screws
My TV crapped out. Purchased in 2008, it was my first HDTV. Oh the times we had together. But recently, I noticed some distortion on particularly bright parts of images. And then Monday, just after Jeopardy!, the whole screen went psychedelic. Now, I need my TV. As my friend Karen said, “Dude, TV is important!” […]
My Internet Radio Playlist, 1/26/16
EPISODE #217: THE X-FILES The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME] Mark Snow — “X-Files Theme” Graham Parker & the Rumour — “Waiting for the UFOs” Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers — “The U.F.O. Man” Hüsker Dü — “Books About UFOs” Tullycraft — “The Lonely Life of the UFO Researcher” The Misfits — “I Turned […]
My Internet Radio Playlist, 5/19/15
EPISODE #181: DAVID LETTERMAN TRIBUTE The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME] Paul Shaffer — “Late Night Theme” The Beach Boys — “Johnny Carson” Booker T. & the MG’s — “Time Is Tight” Keith Richards — “Take It So Hard” R.E.M. — “So. Central Rain” David Sanborn — “The Dream” Bruce Springsteen — “Glory Days” Tom […]

Thanks, Dave
Did David Letterman have an impact on my life? Well, he changed the way I speak, so I guess that’s kind of a big deal. You see, I unconsciously drop the word “the” into sentences where that word isn’t really necessary, just like Dave does. “Are you familiar with the Instagram, Paul?” “I finally signed […]
Movie Review: Monty Python Live (Mostly)
4 stars out of 5 Pallbearers carrying a coffin along a country road. This was my first memory of Monty Python. I was too young to watch it—my parents were watching, I suppose?—but the scene caught my eye. One of the pallbearers collapsed. The other pallbearers took notice, put the coffin down, opened it, put […]
Jack Silbert, curator