The Trouble with MacGruber

I went to see “MacGruber”, the recent movie that spoofs the 80s icon TV show “MacGyver”, and hated it.  It was deeply flawed.  It was almost to the point of my wanting to gouge my eyes out, but not quite that bad.  I did walk out because I didn’t give a rat’s ass how it … Read more

Steve Kaplan, Comedian Extraordinaire

During Kaplan’s Comedy Intensive, Steve breaks down scenes from movies–those that work and those that don’t– and together with the class he discusses ways in which the tools might have helped the funny bits work in the situation. What he generally believes to be wrong in most romantic comedies is that they portray beautiful people doing foolish things which have little hope of helping their situation.

Mystery of the Runaway Prius Solved

Last week, a man spent more than 20 harrowing minutes in a Toyota Prius with a stuck accelerator on a highway, going more than 90 miles per hour. Here in Michigan, that’s referred to as “getting to work,” but I’m not going to split hairs. The mystery as to why that Prius went that fast … Read more

The Adventures of Face Painting Man

I volunteered to paint faces at the children’s Christmas party hosted by my company. I enjoyed it, but it was strangely intense because the line of children never ended until the party was over, and, while painting, the parents scrutinize your every move. I also felt a mild competition with the other face painters who … Read more

Garbage Scow

Two of the happiest people on earth at the moment have got to be Richard Heene, from “Balloon Boy” fame, and Jon Gosselin, formerly of “Jon and Kate, etc.”, whose unseemly behavior had cast them, figuratively and literally, in unfavorable and unforgiving light. Their publicity aside, Richard seemed to be perpetually in need of a … Read more