Movies, Television & Broadway – Page 5

October 5, 2013

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What do Catholics Have in Common with The Incredibles?

One of the top ten movies on my recommendation list for Catholics is The Incredibles. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in November 2004, The Incredibles won two Academy Awards and was the first entirely animated film to win the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Performance.

August 24, 2013

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You Call This A Dynasty?

I finally did it. I sat down at my computer and watched an episode of Duck Dynasty. I couldn’t take it anymore. I gave in to my curiosity. For the past year there have been several occasions when I’ve read or heard about the show. I knew I was going to eventually see what it was all about, but when I saw two recent headlines, I couldn’t put it off any longer.

August 17, 2013

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New Rules for Digital Dating

As I mentioned last week, during the time I was growing up in the 1960s and ’70s, we had limited access to telephones. Most of the communication that occurred between couples who were dating was in person. Parents were able to exercise a reasonable level of control over the amount of time their teenagers spent on dates by limiting the use of the family vehicle and by imposing curfews.

August 10, 2013

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The New Rules of Dating

June 29, 2013

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What Does Madonna, Brad Pitt, and the Supreme Court Have in Common?

I graduated from high school in May 1975 and began my freshman year at college in August of that same year. During the fall semester, the gay rights activists on campus set aside a day that they designated as “Gay Day.” They put an announcement in the school newspaper that on Gay Day, anyone who was in support of gay rights should show their support by wearing jeans to class. At that time, there were over 20,000 students attending classes at the university, and approximately 80 percent of them wore jeans to class every day.

May 30, 2013

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School Is Never Out

Cavett Robert (1907-1997), a lawyer and founder of the National Speakers Association, used to say, “School is never out for the professional.” During the time he was on the national speaking circuit, Cavett sold courses that consisted of workbooks and cassette tapes for people to take home to listen to and study on their own. He and other well-known speakers emphasized the importance of “spaced repetition,” a learning system that encouraged a person to listen to each cassette a minimum of seven times so the material that was covered would become imbedded in the subconscious mind of the listener.

May 18, 2013

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A Lesson from Iron Man 3

Last weekend, I saw Iron Man 3 with Georgette and two of our daughters. Iron Man 3 is the seventh installment of the Marvel Comic Universe of movies that includes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers. The lead character in the Iron Man series is Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), a self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist.

April 27, 2013

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My Life as a Prisoner

On the Saturday before Easter in 1969, I picked up the telephone and dialed the number for my Uncle Tony Couri’s house. At that time, I was 11 years old. I wanted to ask my cousin Gene Couri, who was the same age as I was, if his family was planning to go to our grandparents’ house for Easter. Gene and I shared the same grandparents, Tom and Effie Williams, and they had invited their children and grandchildren to join them for dinner on Easter Sunday.

April 6, 2013

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Does It Take Money to Make Money?

You may have heard of Shark Tank, the television series that premiered on ABC in August, 2009. The show features business owners who make presentations to five potential investors, who are referred to as “sharks.” Each of the sharks is an experienced entrepreneur who became wealthy by inventing products or by successfully starting and growing one or more businesses. Shark Tank is now in its fourth season, and is the most watched television program among 18 to 49-year-olds on Friday nights.