‘Teeing it up’ and other cringe-worthy corporate lingo
I am sitting in a meeting. “Did we land the plane on that one?” I feel a sudden twinge in my chest as the marketing manager speaks. I search my...
All Stories
You’re a good man, Harvey Schmidt
"Happy New Year! An unnamed tutelary angel is called the Angel of Media. This angel became corrupted through "national bias," or so it says in "The Dictionary of Angels." Such...
The holiday season’s guilty pleasure: ‘The Guilt Trip’
"SURPRISES ARE FOOLISH THINGS. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable," said Jane Austen. Well, I always hate to disagree with the usually astute Miss Austen,...
Still dreaming of a white Christmas
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas," wrote Irving Berlin. IF YOU think of the beloved song "White Christmas," you might like to remember that it was written by a Jewish...
How well do you know Christmas?
"What if there had been room at the inn?" So many people have asked this question that I don't know who to attribute it to. QUICK! What are the names...
The ‘Pink Panther’ at 50: Still prowling!
"I AM into comedy!" declared model Heidi Klum. Anyone who has ever watched -- or participated in -- "Project Runway," might disagree. Sometimes "P.R." seems to be just a teeny...
Ben Affleck’s ‘Argo’ dazzles — Oscar bait for certain!
"IS THAT your best bad idea?" "That's the best bad idea I've had today!" So goes one of the many surprisingly funny exchanges between Ben Affleck and Bryan Cranston in...
Are movies better than ever? — Actually, a lot of them are!
"EVERTHING I learned, I learned from the movies," said Audrey Hepburn. BELIEVE IT or not! I have seen three movies I actually liked in this era of diminished movie-going. (Hollywood...
N.Y. turns out for Penny Marshall’s ‘My Mother Was Nuts’
"Whatever you have read I have said is almost certainly untrue, except if it is funny in which case I definitely said it." -- Tallulah Bankhead. Speaking of old-time stars...
In tribute to Marvin
"OH, THE stories, I have. But ... they'll have to wait. They make me too sad; maybe later when it doesn't hurt too much." That was Liza Minnelli onstage at...