Can one be good without God? Those who have no doubt – whether yes or no – shouldn’t bother reading Wendy Kaminer’s Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety (Pantheon Books, $24). Those who do will find it thought-provoking. Kaminer, author of five books, is like a preacher looking for sinners [...]
Movie Review: Chimpanzee
If only Chimpanzee, released by Disney under its Disneynature brand and opening this weekend, was half as exciting as its premise, trailer or press notes. As it is, the 78-minute movie, shot in three central African nations including the Ivory Coast, is a bit lacking in chimpanzees. Oscar is the cute young chimp we meet [...]
Cathie Wright, 1929 – 2012
Former California State Senator Cathie Wright died this morning at 9 a.m. from complications of dementia at her home in Simi Valley, her daughter, who was at her side, told me earlier today. She was 82. I first met her a few years ago at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum during an event [...]
Movies: ‘Hitchcock’ Set to Roll
Principal photography for a new Hollywood drama about one of the greatest motion picture directors in history will start tomorrow here in Los Angeles. The film, titled Hitchcock and based on the book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello, is set to star Academy Award® winners Anthony Hopkins as Alfred Hitchcock [...]
Remember Whitney for Her Ability
Note: two months ago today, singer Whitney Houston died (which I wrote about here on that date). The following is a piece I wrote to remember Whitney at her best. Remember when you first heard Whitney Houston sing? Was it “The Greatest Love of All” or “I Will Always Love You”—or maybe her Super Bowl performance [...]
- Obama on Same-Sex Marriage May 10, 2012
- Obama, the Nothing Man May 2, 2012
- Anticipating ‘The Avengers’ April 27, 2012
- Los Angeles: Hollyhock House by Frank Lloyd Wright April 25, 2012
- TV and DVD Review: Eight is Enough April 24, 2012