entertainment | Mostly Bright Ideas

Browsing All posts tagged under »entertainment«

Pick a Career, any Career

June 10, 2014

I’ve always wanted to be a magician. I’m not talking about one of those big-name Las Vegas stage performers with the three-year contracts and the expensive haircuts. Those guys are masters of melodrama, and a little too impressed with themselves, if you ask me. Besides, they make aircraft carriers disappear from parking lots, and I […]

Exposure Control

January 6, 2014

There are these people called paparazzi. It’s a word that always makes me think of Italian police cars, or small deep-fried desserts. But, no, they’re actually human beings. They can also be thought of as punching bags with zoom lenses. The paparazzi would prefer to be called photo-journalists, I imagine, but that makes it sound […]

What to Expect in 2014

December 29, 2013

Predicting the future is a risky thing to do. You’re going to be wrong most of the time, and people – especially your closest friends — will happily point out how far off you were. In 1974, I said Richard Nixon would never resign. Ten years later, I announced that Walter Mondale would defeat Ronald […]

Where Has All the Magic Gone?

April 5, 2013

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Someone sends me a link to a video. I click on it, and within seconds I’m watching a man who seems to be striding on foot across the surface of the Thames River. Onlookers in the video are leaning over railings and peering from windows, pointing at him, astonished at the sight. I ignore the […]

I Remember Boredom

July 10, 2010

I love history, partly because I enjoy seeing how people lived long ago. I’ve visited dozens of mansions, homesteads, and estates, as well as simpler homes, taking the guided tour whenever one is offered. I pay special attention to the descriptions of the kitchen, of all the related jobs and how they were done. You […]

Looking Down On Subtitles

June 24, 2010

I read a lot. At any given time, I may have four or five books going at once. So when I watch a movie, I want to sit back and be lazy. Having to frantically read subtitles doesn’t seem relaxing. Now I realize that sometimes they may be unavoidable. Foreign films are made in another […]