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Letters
Stephen: You're an idiot. Why do you even care? I was just at a party in National City where a guy said that Off the Cuff was the only thing he reads. Off the Cuff recently had The Mole in it. It had Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, Michelle Shocked, and other celebs. Not to mention, it was shown a few times on The Tonight Show. And so many newspapers and weeklies have this type of "man on the street" feature. Cheech & Chong may be more known for comedy but they do songs, too. And Blurt has radio station news, celebrity news, etc. Bill: I would've interviewed them if I saw them. I had quotes and things that were edited for space. If families felt they couldn't go to the beach because people there drank alcohol, that is about as stupid as the logic of people that felt they couldn't drive because a few bad drivers were on their cell phones instead of driving. Barb & Ollie: Do you guys have a book of quotes by your computer or do you just pull them out of your head? If that's the case, you need to go on Jeopardy!— August 21, 2008 11:59 a.m.
Tropic Thunder Controversies
Well, a few things. Why did you like Brokeback Mountain? This is a question I ask anyone that likes that movie. It did about 20 things wrong, which surprised me, since it got so many Oscar nominations. For example...why were we supposed to hate Randy Quaids character? Those guys didn't do the job they were hired to do. Why should I feel sympathy for the main characters, when they treated their wives like crap? Sure, in that time it was probably hard for homosexuals, but that doesn't lay fault with their innocent wives, who were caught in the crossfire (same for the guy in the truck that honks, and then gets punched by Ledger, for no reason other than he's mad he can't be with the one he loves....should I be mad at the truck driver? or the guy that just throws punches when he's angry?) Too many problems with that movie to even list. Cinematography was all it had going for it. And...regarding black women getting parts. You could make the argument that it's hard for "women" of any race, to get good parts. I haven't seen a good role for a Middle Eastern woman, since that wonderful performance in The House of Sand and Fog, opposite Ben Kingsley. So, to bring race up, is just idiotic.— August 21, 2008 1:54 a.m.
Tropic Thunder Controversies
You think you're handing me a shovel. You are not. Here's my explanation. I'd be willing to bet, if you went out and found 100 random black guys that were cops. And 100 random black guys that were in the military...I'd be willing to bet that 90% of them have black wives. Therefore, a movie is trying to create a character that seems realistic. I'll give you a perfect example as to WHY you don't have interracial couples in movies (unless, like this new movie coming out with Samuel Jackson, it's a main part of the movie, in dealing with a racist neighbor that torments them)..... In one of the Jurassic Park movies (maybe the second one), Jeff Goldblum has a son or daughter (I forget), that's a black girl. Siskel & Ebert had the biggest fight about this (Ebert is married to a black lawyer). One of them felt that this was distracting, especially since it was never explained as to why he has a daughter that is black. The other thought that argument was insane. He said, "He could have a black daughter for a number of reasons. His wife could be black. He could've adopted her. It could be a stepchild, why is it important?" To which the other replied, "Well...they have that character in there, and everyone watching the movie thinks about it. So why not address it." When you have people watching a movie, you don't want them thinking about things like this. You want them getting into the characters and escaping. Not wondering why a child is a certain color, or whatever. In regards to Halle and Denzel winning the Oscar, I thought it was so ridiculous that Halle gave that speech when she won, that she was breaking down barriers for blacks. Come on. How insane is that? I mean, Sidney Portrier won an Oscar in the 60s!!!!!!!!— August 20, 2008 11:18 a.m.
Dear Ardith
I got home tonight just in time to see The Office. That middle eastern girl (who also is a writer on the show), was in another cubicle saying she wanted to name her kid "Usher Jennifer Hudson the first". Awesome. Hey...I just read a story in the sports page of the Union Tribune today. Some guy with the last name Field, is naming his son "Wrigley"...of course, he's a Cubs fan. But still.— August 19, 2008 11:18 p.m.
Used Cars
I never heard of that sticker. Funny. But...my bro was such a stoner, that when the doors opened, it was like Spicoli's van in Fast Times. You'd just see all this smoke come pouring out of there. Well...my old Jaguar XKE is in the shop. The repair guy is telling me a valve job, that's going to cost me $2,500. Yikes!— August 19, 2008 11:17 p.m.
Get a Life -- An Autograph Blog
I once had Stew's partner in crime (bassist/keyboardist) Heidi Rodwell, sign a CD after the Adams Avenue Street Fair. She said, "Oh my God, thank you! People usually just ask for Stew's autograph." I flew to NY recently to see Stew's play and chatted with him and Heidi for a bit. I saw Spike Lee there, and my girlfriend wanted a photo with him. But he was acting like a jerk. I had heard that he had seen the play 10 times. I told him, "It's cool that you're being so supportive of Stew." He just looked up at me, with those nerdy Urkle glasses, and stupid Yankees cap, and didn't say a word. I mean...he couldn't even say he dug Stew. Couldn't say anything to me. What a jerk. A few days later, his fight with Clint Eastwood came out. Man...I wish Clint would kick his little squirly ass.— August 19, 2008 11:15 p.m.
Tropic Thunder Controversies
That would be a good wrestler name. I just read a few days worth of LA Times, and I didn't realize how big this controversy is. The funniest thing though, is an African-American writer that complained during his rant on Tropic Thunder, about how Hollywood has finally gotten to a point where an actor like Will Smith or Denzel can do a movie, and nobody says "black actor" before their name. He then complains, that "they still can't have a white leading lady, though." First of all...if you are making a movie and Denzel is a military guy, or a cop...it makes more sense to have him married to a black woman. Second, a black woman wrote an article for Entertainment Weekly, complaining that every time those two guys do movies, they have a love interest/wife, that isn't black (Will Smith has Charlize Theron in Hancock, and Rosario Dawson in another picture, and in Hitch, Eva Mendez. So, which is it? Two black people, complaining about the exact opposite things. Hollywood can't win no matter what they do.— August 19, 2008 11:12 p.m.
Still Smokin’
Cool...thanks for putting the link up there. That's awesome. Did they ever do a video for the Santa Clause thing?— August 19, 2008 11:07 p.m.
Movie Critics
Bottle Shock is getting bad reviews. Stay away from it. Yeah, it looked good. And great cast. But, I'd avoid it. So...after seeing Man on Wire, do you agree, that 9/11 should've been mentioned? Not during the story, obviously. That had a nice flow going. But...in the closing credits, to hear him talk about 9/11. Even Richard Nixon resigning. It happened THE VERY NEXT DAY....why not show that on a TV, the way they showed Nixon early on in the movie, on a TV, talking about how he records and destroys everything.— August 19, 2008 12:13 a.m.
Used Cars
So, you did sob, when the Saab wasn't available, huh? Andy told me miles aren't as important as people think. I tend to agree with him. In the old days, yeah. If a car was nearing 100,000 miles, you had to worry how much life it had left. I have an ongoing debate with my stepbrother, about how long an engine will go for. He thinks that after 170,000 miles, it'll be ready to die any day. I think cars built today, if properly taken care of, can go well over 200,000 miles. We sent our debate to Click & Clack, and they said they agreed with me. Although, the way they answered the question, seemed to more go with what he was saying. Anyway...cars aren't supposed to be about how cool they look. If you're a woman, anyway. I doubt anyone would ever make fun of a woman for the car she drove. Now, in high school, my brother had a Pinto station wagon. An ugly peach color. And, it was missing the front passenger seat. He put a bean bag chair in its place, though.— August 19, 2008 12:10 a.m.