And so it goes...

My friend Jay's grandmother died a few days ago. Here is his eulogy. It will break your heart.

Going Print:

Looks like Readerville.com (which some have suggested is Central Booking's nemesis. It is not) is morphing into a print magazine The Readerville Journal. I'm guessing the online component will stay the same but the article doesn't really say

I've met with Readerville founder Karen Templer and she seemed very nice. I suppose I should be freaking out about competition and such but I told myself I wouldn't when I started CB so I won't. We've got our own thing going on.

One Sentence Movie Reviews #1

Wherein we summarize a movie in a single sentence. Today's film...

Say Anything (1989)

Assesment: The boombox is an underrated instrument of romance.

O-My!

My friend Heather, the brains behind The Mirror Project got it all featured in the upcoming issue of Oprah Magazine. Way to go girl!

The wisdom of "The Big Chill"

Call an old friend today...

Just the first five minutes...

Anyone know a way to download movie trailers and save them on your hard drive? I'd like to have my favorite trailers (yes, I have favorites. Quit giggling) saved somewhere for posterity.

Let me know.

Ebert got Nothin':

My first review for Film Critic.com is up. The movie is Baraka, a film you absolutely cannot afford to miss.

Ira, as you never seen him before...

My favorite public radio program, This American Life, has signed a two-year "first look" deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. This means that Warners gets the first shot at adopting TAL stories into film.

That faint whiff of snobbery in the air says that a public radio program should not be climbing into bed with the world's largest media conglomerate. Bollocks to that. WB isn't dictating the content of This American's Life's program nor does the show (one of public radio's most successful) need this deal to stay afloat. Plus, perhaps this means the show doesn't need to fundraise to the extent it has which frees up grant money for other deserving parties.

Does this mean that shows ostensibly "in the public interest" will now start targetting their content towards mass market consumption? Unlikely. What Warner Bros wants from TAL is great stories. What I've always liked about the show is it's dedication to non-topical narrative instead a humorless, slavish interest in "important news." And really, who is interested in a movie about corporate accounting reform (via Travelin' Dave)?

Flying Away:

'Steady Ed' Headrick, the inventor of the Frisbee Flying Disc, has died. His will asks that his ashes be pressed into flying discs. Wham-O, the company that makes the disc, says it might not be "technically feasible" but screw them. Everything is "technically feasible". They're sjust aying they can't make money off it. I say honor the man's wishes and press away.

Just where would we be without the Frisbee? I shudder to think.

Well, that's a relief:

Apparently the Catholic Church has decided that trying to convert us Jews to Christianity is not allowed. Yesterday, I was thought to be going to hell. Today, well today is another day (via Jer).