Posted 10:42 AM by Matt
Beyonce. Fighting crime AND shaking her ass! Details here.

Also, the New York Times review of Britney Spears' new tour is priceless, if just for the sentence "Before sitting down to pretend to play the piano for the next song, Ms. Spears turned more serious." More here (registration required).

Finally, Daytime Emmy nominations are out here. My favorite category--original song, in which the songs "Dance Again With You," "Tad the Cad," "Fasten Your Seatbelts," "Flash of Light," "I Ain't Sorry," "Last Piece of My Heart," and "Momma, Gotta Let Her Go" face off. Oddly, NONE of those songs is from children's programming. Also, Martha Stewart is nominated as Outstanding Service Show Host--wonder if she'll have to accept from prison.

Posted 4:35 PM by Matt
I was taking the 5 train in to work this morning, and when I stepped on at Fulton Street, I got to listen to a profanity laced tirade against gay marriage. "Fuck that! I'm GLAD they arrested that mayor. That's just WRONG!" I did not point out that shouting profanity on the subway was equally (if not more) WRONG!

Posted 10:52 PM by Matt
I was rewatching the great great season 2 finale of "West Wing"--"Two Cathedrals"--tonight. What's remarkable about it is how there's a new layer of meaning every time you watch. Tonight, due to current events, subplot 4, about a coup in Haiti takes new resonance. Just amazing stuff.

Posted 3:33 PM by Matt
Did you know that Jackie Mason once sued the Tony awards for determining that one of his one-man shows was not a "play?" The case was thrown out of court. Supplementally, I find the plaintiff "not funny."

Posted 2:34 PM by Matt
After seeing it, I have a feeling that "Welcome To Mooseport" is going to be one for the history books. On paper, everything seems like it should work. Solid premise, incredible cast, and you seem headed in the right direction. Yet somehow, it all derails. Maybe it's because the film can't make up its mind who the hero is--is it Monroe Cole, the ex-president conned into running for mayor, or is it Handy Harrison, the local hardware store owner and rube. The film can't seem to make up its mind as to whether Cole is an utter cad or a decent guy. Now, the film might well have worked (quite well) had Cole been a utter cad. Instead, he's just oblivious to his advisors' own machinations. What I left the theatre thinking is just how much I'd enjoy a smart sitcom starring Maura Tierney and Marcia Gay Harden as mismatched sisters. Don't quite think that was the goal.

Also, if you're easily amused, you may enjoy "Night of the Living Constitution." Link courtesy of Volokh.