The Top 10 Bizarre Children Names of Celebrities
1 Moon Unit - Frank Zappa
2 Apple - Chris Martin/Gwyneth Paltrow
3 Misty Kyd - Sharleen Spiteri
4 Geronimo - Alex James
5 Heavenly Hirani Tiger Lily - Michael Hutchence/Paula Yates
6 Dandelion - Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
7 Dweezil - Frank Zappa
8 Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q - Bono (U2)
9 Zowie Bowie - David Bowie
10 Rufus Tiger - Roger Taylor (Queen)
For details on how the survey was conducted, click here.
Continue ReadingCollege is for Life
Everyday our brain fabricates stories for ourselves about who we are and what we should be doing with our life. Only imagine what would happen if suddenly the national media starts covering your life. Just as everyone else, your brain will feel pressure to tell different stories, stories whose plotline is driven more by what others want to hear. On the front page of today’s NY Times is one funny example. Much of the richness of the story lies between the lines.
For One Student, a College Career Becomes a Career
By SAM DILLON
WHITEWATER, Wis. - Nearly every college has some screwball who never seems to graduate, lingering year after year as classmates move on. And then there is Johnny Lechner. In his 12th year of college here, Mr. Lechner has parlayed life as perpetual student into a lucrative personal brand. His genius for self-promotion might have earned him Phi Beta Kappa - if only it had been applied to his studies. He has appeared on “Late Show” with David Letterman, “Good Morning America” and other shows, describing a roisterous campus lifestyle of beer and merrymaking. National Lampoon is promising to pay his tuition, and the makers of Monster Energy Drink deliver 30 cases a week, along with advertising posters and condoms, to the house where Mr. Lechner lives and parties, in exchange for his endorsement of Monster as “the official energy drink” of his 12th college year.
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The Sea Inside
I had no knowledge what the film was about. After an intense day of work, I needed to distract myself and The Sea Inside seemed to be the most promising motion picture on the new title shelf in the video store. I would have written a somewhat different review, had I not found out after seeing the film that it was based on the real-life story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die. As a real-life story, the hands of the writer and director Alejandro Amenábar were somewhat tied to stay reasonably close to historical fact. When I first evaluated the film as a fictional story that tries to argue that people should have the right to end their life, the film failed in my view because it does not convince you that Ramon’s life is not worth living for. I am a supporter of the notion that people who experience every second of the wake existence with the intensity of pain you would feel when your arm is cut off by an electric saw should be allowed to end their life with the help of others. But the viewer does not see Ramon suffer horribly. The real-life Ramon may have gone through hell, but we only see him during a time when one woman after another throwing herself at him although he cannot perform what the bible tells us men were created for. (A side note to my female friends: yes, the evidence is strong that you are the better creatures when compared to men, but to go on and say the only women were created by God is clearly not a view endorsed by the Bible!). Ramon’s life seems pretty darn good. I would have wanted to go on living in the kind of situation he was in. This is not a must-see film, but if you have some time to spare, I recommend it. It stimulates reflection, Javier Bardem gives a wonderful performance as Ramon, the movie at times is deeply moving, and it has one of the most erotic scenes in film history without anyone getting naked.
Farewell to “The Sopranos”
Five years ago “The Sopranos” became a surprise TV hit on HBO. Who would have guessed that America would tune in every week to watch the family life of a New Jersey mafia family “cope” with the challenges of upper-middle class while keeping a crime ring running. Even for a mafia family, it is tough to get the manipulative grandma into a retiring home, the teenage son onto the football team and the daughter into Columbia University. Having the police breath down daddy’s neck is not helping either. The show was exceedingly well-conceived and written. The creators had a good ear for contemporary American culture. A couple of weeks ago, I began to watch Season 5 on DVD. But after two shows I gave up. The team of directors and writers were simply out of ideas to make the show move forward with dramatic force. Good night Anthony Jr., good night Meadow, good night Camilla, good night Tony… The first four seasons will always remain one of the highpoints in the history of TV.
A Lady who Pratices what she Preaches
The other day I strolled in the gothic quarter of Barcelona and came by a tattoo shop. I was very impressed with the lady who stood behind the counter. She was the best advertisement that anyone could have thought of for this kind of establishment. I wondered: Did mom and dad already have a tattoo and this is simply the second generation of making one’s own body the canvass of an artistic impulse? Or did mom and dad absolutely not want her to have any tattoo on her skin and the lady wanted to show her folks that she is truly independent? Or did she fall in love with a guy who was into tattoos? Be it as it may, next to the cathedral of Barcelona, the phrase “my body is my temple” took on a whole new meaning.
Finally a Politician who Speaks his Mind
Some of Putin’s spades, taken from his first four-year term, have been collected in a slim volume called “Putinki: A Short Collection of the President’s Sayings,” and they suggest that quite a bit is going on inside that dour black suit.
After a trans-Atlantic trip, Dec. 24, 2001:
I wasn’t that excited about spending the night at Bush’s ranch. He must have thought to himself, what’s going to happen if he invites in a former intelligence officer. But Bush himself is the son of a former head of the C.I.A. So we were a nice little family circle and felt pretty good.
Addressing deputies of the State Council, May 28, 2001:
I know perfectly well that I’m guilty of everything, even if I’m not guilty. That completely applies to everyone who sits in the hall today. You are also guilty even if you don’t know what it’s all about.
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The Island
The Island takes you on a surprising trip. You think that you will end up on a tropical paradise, but the films takes you to lands that you never expected. And it will make you think about your own life in ways that you may have never dared before. It’s a journey worth taking.
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Wedding Crashers
If my eyes did not fool me, Senator John McCain made a very brief cameo appearance in this average comedy that in the end takes a big bow in front of the institution of marriage. But there is a lot of loose behavior and fowl language (sometimes funny) that will not please the
Attention Soccer Moms and Dads
If your son or daughter does not want to go to soccer practice today, here is an another argument you can use to convince your couch potato and possibly too intellectual child: “Sweetie, if you become really good at soccer, you can become rich and one day even have a private meeting with the pope.” Yesterday, the Pope received Germany’s most glorious person, the former soccer player Franz Beckenbauer. Within German society he plays a unique role for an athlete. A few weeks ago, Beckenbauer turned 60 and every single German newspaper had a story congratulating the so-called “emperor” on his illustrious career that is still in full swing. Presently he is one of the chief organizers for next year’s soccer world cup in Germany. Unlike other star soccer players, Beckenbauer has turned his sport abilities into a money gold mine. The man is truly blessed by the gods. This must be the reason why our new pope received him yesterday and reportedly even held a little private audience with the star. Beckenbauer later told the press: “To talk with the pope about soccer was the most important moment in my life.” Emperor, I hate to break it to you, but your most important moment was 30 years ago when you helped Germany win the world championship in 1974! Without that glorious achievement, the pope would have asked you yesterday how you plan to go to heaven if you marry so often, all the while scoring illegitimate children.
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