we were blessed with quite possibly one of the best Jane Austen adaptions ever, Clueless. An updated version of her book, Emma, Clueless follows the trials and tribulations of Cher, a pampered 15-year old Beverly Hills student, who can't help but try to play matchmakers to those in her world, often with hilarious results and misunderstandings. Twenty years later, the film has become a teen class and remains a fresh, funny take on the social mores of Jane Austen updated to a then-contemporary set
Just taking a moment to mention the 20th Anniversary of Clueless, which came out on July 19th, 1995. Truly one of my favorite movies from my childhood!
Years later, as a teenager, I discovered it was an updated version of the Jane Austen book, Emma. I love Jane Austen so I guess this movie served as my entry into that world.
Vice President Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, has died at the age of 46.
Beau Biden Passes Away at the Age of 46
It's weird. I'm pretty shocked by it, although not shocked. His health had seemed sketchy for the past couple of years, but I didn't think it was like life-threatening because he was still so active.
I have a very vivid memory of watching the 2008 Democratic National Convention on the t.v. with the Delaware Young Democrats Club at Kildare's Pub in Newark, DE, and just the be
I'm just got off my third shift as a concessions guy at a large movie theater. I can't stand it. I don't feel like I'm particularly good at this and I'm just not feeling it. I also don't really fit in as a guy who's 29 among a bunch of teenagers.
Should I just up and quit? Or should I just see it through to the end of the probation period, and then quit? I do really need the money but I really don't know if they'll keep me. I'm thinking about asking the managers for advice so they know I'm tryi
Hey guys, this movie's currently on my radar right now...it's called Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and it won the Grand Prize at Sundance Film Festival. I'm always on the lookout for a good new indie film, and this is looking good. It's the story of a guy in his senior year of high school, who is forced by his parents to befriend a classmate that has cancer. Here's the trailer:
I'm digging it. It's a well-done trailer- letting you know just enough to know what kind of movie this is,
The iconic show about advertising ended with the most iconic commercial of the 20th century. In honor of the finale...check out the single version of
Seriously though, I'm thrilled Mad Men referenced that ad. I think it's such a brilliant piece of advertising with a message that still resonates today- share a Coke with a friend and make a bond for a little while regardless of who they are.
Here's the real origin story behind the ad- Bill Backer was on a flight layover, and noticed that the
I posted this on Reddit, in a sub that talks about pleasant encounters you've had with people that left a good impression on you. Here's a tale of an platonic stranger encounter I had when I was 21...
***
When I was in high school, I was a hormonal gay teenager who had two minute crushes on any cute guy that crossed my path. There was this one guy, I can't even remember his name now, who was a senior when I was a freshmen. He was an artistic type, with auburn hair with sideburns that framed
Hey, I came across this Young Adult book that Adam Phillips recommended to me a year or two ago, called Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg. I was in Barnes and Nobles, and I basically devoured the book in about two hours. I honestly loved the story.
It's the story of a guy, named Rafe, who after being Mr. Openly Gay Guy, decides to get a new fresh start by going off to boarding school and just being regular. Because of his resemblance to a very former popular student, he's embraced by the jock
YouTube is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, and to celebrate, I thought I'd post my favorite 10 videos from YouTube. What are yours?
10.
by Jenna Marbles, 2010
I love how Jenna Marbles packs insightful social commentary into a dumb blonde persona. Well-done.
9. "
, 2008
Twilight brought much laughter during its run, least of all the many, many spoofs that existed.
8.
, 2007
For context: Britney Spears 2007 VMA's
7. "Oakland!", 2009 (A Tourism Guide)
Today is the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, which is the largest domestic terrorist attack that has happened in the U.S. On April 19th, 1995, 168 people died when Timothy McVeigh parked a van in front of a federal building filled with explosives.
Bill Clinton, who was president when the attack happened, lead the memorial ceremony today.
20th Anniversary of Oklahoma City Bombing Remembered
I was 2nd grade when this happened, and its the first big tragedy that I remem
I have this close friend, Jack, who relayed to me a pretty terrifying tale of something that happened to his friend a long time ago. My mentor, Jack, is now a retired former HR community college guy in his mid- 60's.
Thirty years ago, however, Jack was working as a bartender in a bar in Portland's gay community. That's how Jack met Randy. Randy was a good-looking, well-spoken customer in his mid-20's...pretty attractive 80's preppy type. Randy lived close to Jack, and the two went on a coupl
Everybody knows Simple Minds for their big single, "Don't You Forget About Me" from the Breakfast Club, but did you know they had another hit single and were not actually one-hit wonders? Yup, they had a tune released in the fall of 1985 and it was a hit- not as big as their signature tune, but still successful. It's been largely forgotten, but I heard this tune many years ago on a show called Glory Daze, which was set in 1986 and followed guys pledging a frat. I heard a snippet on the show, bu
So I thought I'd try something a little different than my "music playlist" stuff. I thought it might be interesting to highlight a particular song that brings back a very vivid memory. So first up...
"Sweet Jane" by the Cowboy Junkies
It's mid-March, 2012. I'm 26 years old. I'm in some non-descript, beat up car from the 1990's(I think blue, maybe black), traveling with two or three other guys as we were coming back from our Spring Break. We had spent the week in Tennessee, build
I came across this pretty neat story about a Blue Jays prospect, who despite having a 2 million dollar signing bonus, lives in a van at a Florida Wal-Mart and leads a spartan lifestyle by choice.
The Man in the Van by Eli Saslow
I really do admire people who live such free, minimalist lifestyles like that. I find the guy a throwback to the 1970's, when some people rejected the materialism of American society and went off to try and live off the land in nature. He's not quite doing that,
Hey, for those of you that were interesting in following the story about my friend Tim who got arrested during an Unfortunate Sidetrack, I talked to him on Facebook recently.
Tim is generally doing okay. He told me that Nassau County (New York) is still dragging their feet on giving him a plea bargain so he can avoid being charged with a misdemeanor, but he can put things off for awhile now. Tim's still hopeful they'll give him the plea bargain, and he doesn't think this will go to trial- mo
I've now paid off two of the four private student loans I took out from a Lehman's Brothers-based company called Campus Door (which eventually got bought out by Wells Fargo)...many more federal loans to go after that, but it's always a small little victory when I see a loan balance of zero. I made the decision to make postponements on my federal loans so I could focus on the private ones because they often have a higher interest rate and they are able to make rules that federal one can't. Namely
I just got invited to my 10-year high school reunion. Oh my god, I can't believe it went by that fast. 19 just feels a couple of years ago. Does this mean I'll be 39 before I know it?
Anyway, here are four tunes I associate with my senior prom. (We're actually having our reunion at the same place, apparently. That'll be a trip.)
"Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing
Prom theme. 80's nostalgia was riding high in 2005. They played this on the fake red carpet they set up in front of my s
In honor of SNL's 40th anniversary, I thought I'd post my favorite 10 sketches.
10.) To Love, Honor, and Stalk: The Gillian Woodward Story
Senator John McCain kills it as the "personal space infringer" in this 2002 skit of Lifetime movie parodies.
It is such a dead-on parody of Lifetime movies. I've watched plenty of those.
9.) Schmitt's Gay
Two guys get the best (gay) surprise of their life when they house-sit.
This one made me tingle in ways I didn't quite understand a
So in honor of Valentine's Day...here's my mix of sappy love tunes...
Love Tunes 2015 Mix List
1.) "Everything I Do" (I Do It For You) by Bryan Adams
2.)
(Yeah, I didn't go for the obvious one here.)
4.)
5.)
6.)
7.)
8.)
9.)
10.)
11.)
12.)
13.)
14.)
15.)
The bulk of these tunes are from the 80's. They were definitely great at sappy love tunes that decade.
They just announced that Philadelphia is going to host the DNC in 2016.
Pretty cool. If I'm still in the region then, I want to be there.
Philly's really gaining ground as a world-class city. I'm so glad.
These tunes are basically what I'd consider the core of my heart. They're tunes I can't ever get sick of. Check 'em out.
"Heart Songs"
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
(1997 live version)
6. "
7.
8.
9.
10.
The mass bulk of these songs are from the 1990's. Shocker. LOL
I've never come across a song that depicts youth in it's pure, beautiful form better than "1979" does. God, I can't tell you how much I love that song.
There's a new t.v. show on VH1 called Hindsight,
. It's a pretty cute, charming show if you're into fluffy romantic comedies, and ESPECIALLY if you're into 90's nostalgia.
Anyway, this is the theme song.
I'm enjoying the hell out of the soundtrack. The 1993-1996 era of music was so damn good. Anybody remember this tune? I had totally forgotten it, but yet it sounded so familiar when I heard it.
Anyway...if you were given a time machine and traveled back in time, is there anyt
There are no words.
It makes me think of a former gay erotica author who decided to "become" straight and dumped a really great guy in order to run screaming back into his closet.
But at the very least the women are going into this knowing that they're marrying guys "struggling" with same-sex attractions. That's progress, as opposed to the Baby Boomers who faked being straight because they really had no other choice unless they wanted to be outcasts.
I like to think that tw
Fault in Our Stars actor Ansel Elgort posed for the cover of Town and Country Magazine. Check out his photos and the accompanying write-up!
He just seems like such a down-to-Earth guy despite his rich New York City upbringing and his bourgeoning fame. I love how tall the guy is as well.
It's interesting to see just how fast this guy's fame has come on- Divergent and the Fault in Our Stars were literally his second and third IMDB credits. I actually think he has a pretty good shot
My mother found out today that her long-time companion, who lives with us, is going to die of leukemia in a few weeks. He's 83, and he's had awful health problems for the last two years, so more than anything, I feel relief for him that he's going to be released from the constant pain he's had.
I just feel bad for my mother,. It's going to be hard for her. She really did depend on him. When I said it was going to be alright, she cried, "But I wanted him to live long enough to pay off his car
