I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry reminded me of an episode of the Love Boat in the 1980s. After yet another romantic disappointment, a lady decides that she had it with men. She meets a notorious womanizer on the boat. To get the woman “into the sack”, the gigolo plays the role of a man who claims that he also never wants to start a new relationship. To make their commitment to abstinence even stronger, the womanizer proposes after a few encounters that they should sleep in the same bed andprove to themselves that they are capable of foregoing sex. The lady agrees, but her hand reaches over to his side of the bed before longThe next morning the love boat has a new romantic pair. Back to Chuck & Larry. Chucks wife has died and he no longer is entitled to spousal benefits from the City of New York, which would help his children in case he would also die. Chuck asks his womanizing best fried to pretend that he is his domestic partner.
I am not there
About three years ago I acquired a collection of the best Bob Dylan records. I was surprised how many songs I knew, reminding me just how influential Dylan’s music had been during the past four decades. I am not there is an artistic experiment that manages to be a total failure. Todd Haynes wants to tell the story of Bob Dylan by showing him through entirely different characters, ranging from a young black vagabond kid to middle-aged cowboy. At the end of the film I yearned to simply listening to Dylan’s songs rather than seeing the collage of biographies of different people that are supposed to stand for the life of Dylan. Dylan’s songs tell you more about him than this “art-film”. The one saving grace is Cate Blanchet, who plays one of the characters representing Bob Dylan. She does a much better job than all of the other stars (Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger) who had signed to represent through a role Bob Dylan.
The Neural Buddhists
This is one of DAVID BROOKS’S best columns. He has done a lot of reading for you to be able to write about a revolution in our understanding of our brain and what this means for our view of the meaning of life. Enjoy.
In 1996, Tom Wolfe wrote a brilliant essay called
Continue Reading
David Brooks Explains the Reemergence of the Conservative Party in the UK
I had not followed British politics and until I read this column by David Brooks, I did not know why the Tory party won the local elections in Great Britain last week.
The Conservative Revival
For years, American and British politics were in sync. Reagan came in roughly the same time as Thatcher, and Clinton
Continue ReadingIt is definitely over for Hillary Clinton
It was an exciting day of politics. I stayed glued to news coming in over the internet. After Indiana had already been called for Clinton, it seemed like the voters of Gary might come out so strongly in favor of Obama that he might take the state after all. Contrary to reports that Hillary will fight on until the convention, I think she might drop out as early as tomorrow. Does she want to ruin her career in the senate.
Hillary Clinton, Fairy Princess
Timothy Noah on Slate.com walks you through the numbers why Hillary Clinton does not have a real shot to win the Democratic nomination. If she wins it in the end, Hillary Clinton will be a true princess and Timothy Noah will be transformed into an ugly frog, living unhappily ever after.
Can we please stop pretending she has a plausible chance to win the nomination?
“Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.”
Continue Reading
Hancock
You have never seen a super hero movie like this one. The people who made this film re-invented the format. I admit it: I was jealous of the creativity the writers show off in this cool film. Hancock is a homeless drunk with real temper issues. Watch him as he is trying to work out his issues while is keeping LA safe.
Behind every Animator lies an Actor
It did not occur to me until I read the obituary of Ollie Johnston, apparently one of Disney’s finest animators, that behind every good animator lies a good actor.
Ollie Johnston, last of Disney’s elite animators, died on April 14th, aged 95
IF YOU interviewed Ollie Johnston in the last years of his life, sooner or later he would start to change. The trim body, lean as a whippet’s, would begin to prowl and strut, then round on you with an accusing, pointing arm, just like the evil prosecutor in
What Does a President Really Do All Day?
This is a great reflection by Joel Achenbach (Washington Post) on the job of the president and how it has changed over the past 200 years. It makes you wonder. No one can really prepare for this job. My preferred candidate is still Barak Obama. But I recognize that we are all taking a leap of faith that our choice will be able to make the right decisions.
A simple and deceptively tricky question: What does a president do?
If you had to put together the Help Wanted ad for the position of chief executive, what would you write? Something like: “CEO needed to supervise 3 million employees. Must be at least 35, native-born, willing to work at home. Spectacular public failures likely.”
Continue Reading
© 2026 Peter Murmann. Powered by ExpressionEngine.
