Thank goodness I have Rafael Nadal as my BPB (Backup Pretend Boyfriend) since I may have to demote Gov. Chris Christie from CPB (Chief Pretend Boyfriend).
Gov. Krispy Kreme – as I affectionately like to call him – is in deep political doodoo after his henchmen (oh, sorry, aides) apparently sought revenge on Fort Lee, N.J. Mayor Mark Sokolich by snarling traffic on his city’s stretch of the George Washington Bridge after he declined to support their boss’ bid for gubernatorial reelection. It is a measure of how far our civilization has come, or fallen, that men now avenge themselves not by decapitation or declaring war but by traffic jams – although if you’ve ever sat in one on the GWB, you might be yearning for the guillotine.
More is at stake here, of course, than Gov. Krispy Kreme’s potential presidential candidacy. There’s the whole issue of a relationship that exists only in my mind. Ever since he burst onto the scene, I have felt that we were kindred spirits. Read more
Read MoreThe football season is still going strong, but already I’d like to give Colin Kaepernick – whose San Francisco 49ers take on the Carolina Panthers Sunday, Jan. 12 – the Tim Tebow Award for Most Unjustly Criticized Quarterback.
Really, people, what’s with all the hate? I understand that haters gonna hate and that the Interweb is the medium of hatred, where anyone can hide behind the venom he or she spews. But really, the criticism of Colin – ranging from “overrated” to the d----- word, which I despise – absolutely baffles. It is, of course, the inevitable byproduct of his having risen quickly and been embraced by the media. Still, that doesn’t explain it. Earlier this week, I was reading this post from Raphael Denbow:
“I love when people point to Kaep's ‘ego.’ Always code for black dude thinks he's a hot shot. Nobody talks about Cutler's ego, Rivers' ego, Brady's ego. Never!! The black dude has to smile and be meek to be accepted. That's bull---. DUIs? Nope. Raping girls? Nope. Drug problem? Nope. A million kids all over the place? Nope. Standoffish with the media? Nope. He's a model citizen from all accounts. Why hate the kid?”
OK, now we’re getting somewhere. Read more
Read MoreI’ve always hated winter, but for a long time I made my peace with it by rereading the middle section of John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace,” a novel that was in a sense the inspiration for my forthcoming novel, “Water Music.” Indeed, Knowles’ novel has had such an effect on me that although I haven’t reread it in years, I think of it often when I pass the local high school athletic fields but especially in winter when the fields are blanketed by snow.
“A Separate Peace” is very much a story about the games men play, or rather, the games boys play, in this case a group of Devon School (i.e. Phillips Exeter Academy) students, at loose ends during the summer of 1942. The story is bracketed by that summer and the one that follows. But its heart is the winter in-between, a winter that will both insulate the boys from the war that is taking a terrible toll around the world and isolate the rivalries and jealousies that are at the heart of all wars.
Phineas – Finny to his friends – is the charismatic athlete around whom the story and the boys’ extracurricular life revolve. Gene is the introverted, intellectual best friend who admires Finny’s intangibles – until he feels that they are striking at the heart of his own identity. Read more
Read MoreBaby New Year is still in swaddling clothes and yet, certain things are already trending:
Indigo – The deepest of blues is everywhere, from catalogs for stores like Nordstrom and Pottery Barn to a recent Thames & Hudson book, “Indigo: The Color That Changed the World” by Catherine Legrand. Makes sense. Blue is always a good color to take you into spring and summer. And its inkiness makes it such an intriguing alternative to black.
Cancer – Is it just me or does it seem like everyone you know has it or is being tested for it? Turns out, according to The New York Times, that it’s the inevitable byproduct of the genetic mutations that have made evolution a success. Gee, that’s comforting.
And bisexuality – Also per The Times, it’s hip to be bi, except to gay men, who suspect bi men are just in deep denial of their gayness. Read more
Read MoreCongrats to Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers for taking it to Aaron
Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers Sunday in frigid Lambeau Field, 23-20. Give Aaron, who must still be smarting from that recently broken collarbone, credit for keeping the Packers in it. But once again, Colin was able to beat them with his head, arm and legs – a complete performance.
Maybe now we can stop hearing about how the Niners made a mistake getting rid of QB Alex Smith (whose Kansas City Chiefs lost, by the way, Saturday) and keeping Colin. It’s like the guy who’s been divorced and remarried for 20 years and all his family and friends can do is talk about what a great woman the first wife was.
Look, it’s over. As Hugh Grant would say, “That train has sailed.”
Right into Colin-land – a country in which I’m happy to dwell. Read more
Read MoreI had a magical New Year’s Eve in part because I went to see the film “Saving Mr. Banks,” which tells the story of how a folksy, wily Walt Disney cajoled – actually, “prevailed upon” would be a better choice of words – a frosty P.L. Travers to sell him the rights to her “Mary Poppins” books so that he could make the film we all know and love. This movie features superb performances led by Emma Thompson’s commanding turn as Mrs. Travers – never P.L., Pamela or Pam, a nom de plum anyway; a subtle one by Tom Hanks as Walt – never Mr. Disney; and a charismatic appearance by Colin Farrell as the imaginative but alcoholic father who gave Mrs. Travers so much material to work with. (The title refers to the character of the father in “Mary Poppins,” a put-upon bank executive who learns the importance of being a parent, and indeed Mrs. Travers’ father was a bank manager, though not as successful as the father in the “Mary Poppins” film.)
Like the clumsy novel and movie “Atonement,” “Saving Mr. Banks” asks you to consider whether art can redeem the past. Unlike “Atonement,” “Saving Mr. Banks” understands that the answer to that question is “Alas, no.” Read more
Read MoreSo after losing to Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic elected not to play the first round of the Davis Cup against Wawrinka and Roger Federer, who had chosen to descend from Mount Olympus for the occasion, thereby virtually ensuring that his beloved Serbia would lose to Switzerland.
Nole claimed exhaustion and instead went skiing. (His parents were skiers under the old Communist system in the former Yugoslavia.) And while the Serbian Davis Cup team coach Bogdan Obradovic defended that decision, saying Nole has always been there for his country, others wondered why.
“I’m sure he’s exhausted after playing five matches,” one poster wrote sarcastically. (I love how the Internet has given us ignorant snark the way swamps once bred yellow fever.) Read more
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