Category Archives: Pop Geek

I went to the movies last week to see “The Avengers.” This was a film I had been looking forward to for quite awhile. I even splurged and saw it in 3D. Strange as it may seem, I hadn’t seen … Continue reading →

In the last few years, the subject of bullying among our nation’s youth has been in the news quite a bit. I don’t remember bullying being particularly newsworthy when I was growing up. As I recall, it was just part … Continue reading →

In the last couple months I’ve been reminded of how important music can be. The releases of new albums by Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen have reinforced what I’ve always believed: that there is some music to which I connect … Continue reading →

I went to see a lovely film last week called “The Artist.” It’s the story of a silent movie actor (Jean Dujardin) who dismisses motion picture sound, and suddenly finds his career disintegrating before his eyes while the career of … Continue reading →

All of us at one point or another have wanted to be a hero. And why not? The hero saves the day, gets all the attention, gratitude and adulation, and, oftentimes, gets the girl. But what exactly makes a hero? … Continue reading →

An open plea to the AMPAS I’m departing from my usual format this time. There will be no Top 5 list today. In case the headline on this commentary seems a bit presumptuous, I don’t actually expect anyone from the … Continue reading →

In the last 30 years, it has become possible for us to stay home and watch movies instead of going out. This is incredibly convenient. You can watch the movie on your own schedule as opposed to a theater’s schedule. … Continue reading →

“Popular music can be very confining. There’s an orthodoxy in rock and roll which does not allow you to really grow that much. ‘Well, you can’t be too jazzy, you can’t have too many classical elements, you can’t be too … Continue reading →

When I was 13, my father gave me the first two galleries of Gary Larson’s “The Far Side” cartoons for Christmas. Looking back on it, Dad always had a slightly bizarre sense of humor which I clearly inherited and “The … Continue reading →

Every genre of music, from classical to rock, has its own unwritten rules about what is acceptable for that genre. One of the things I love about the music of the 1960s is that the rules began to be challenged … Continue reading →