I followed The Apprentice avidly during its first couple of seasons, but the show has gotten progressively more annoying. Among the things that irritate me most is the fact that the contestants all speak some weird dialect of Business English that seems to consist mainly of clichéd baseball metaphors. Some of the phrases I hear [...]

Morgen and I recently returned from a month-long trip to Indonesia and Hong Kong. It’ll take us a while to sort through all our photos and write about our experiences. But we’ll say this much: we’re alive and well. This despite the fact that before, during, and after our trip, Indonesia has made international headlines [...]

With the release of the latest James Bond movie, Casino Royale, moviegoers were reintroduced to 007’s favorite tipple, the martini. However, this reincarnation of James Bond (a laconic, rough-edged Daniel Craig) eschews the familiar request for a “shaken, not stirred” martini, instead opting for the Vesper martini (gin, vodka, and Lillet) described by Ian Fleming [...]

2006 was a banner year for “good” movies–that is, movies with the word “good” in their title. I’m sure it’s just coincidence that all these “good” movies were released in one year, but it’s tempting to believe there is some kind of conspiracy afoot. Perhaps these filmmakers hoped to gently convey the merits of their [...]

Every year at Christmas it seems there are at least one or two items that are the “must-have” toy or gadget of the season. This year, the Sony PlayStation 3 appears to hold this position; in the past month there have been numerous reports about the lengths people are going to in order to obtain [...]

Of course most of us store our music digitally on a computer or iPod these days, but some people still think having physical CDs (or even—gasp—vinyl) is a pretty neat idea. If I learned anything from reading/watching High Fidelity (book | DVD), it’s that there’s more than one way to organize one’s albums, and an [...]

You’ve heard of the Book-of-the-Month Club, no doubt, a handy way for bibliophiles to feed their obsession without leaving the house. I’ve personally been a member of a fruit-of-the-month club and a chocolate-of-the-month club too. But the range of items you can receive by mail, once a month by subscription, is truly staggering. This list [...]

Halloween is just around the corner, and for those of you already making plans to carve a jack-o-lantern, I’ve got some suggestions for you. Sure, you could make a traditionally spooky pumpkin, or you could create a pumpkin that expresses your political views, your love of George Lucas films, or your weakness for southern-born country [...]

As moviemaking technology gets more and more sophisticated, filmmakers are better able to create works that can scare viewers out of their seats. I provide the following list as a warning to those of you who may have specific fears likely to be triggered by these current blockbusters. I recommend that you find an alternate [...]

Like most people, I always assume people are telling the truth and have my best interests at heart. So naturally, I have been delighted at the large number of highly enticing offers that appear in my inbox every day. People sometimes call these spam, which must mean they enjoy them as much as that delicious, [...]