Did it work as television? Am I the only one who thought this halftime performance was a dud? There are hosannas all over the media, then again a lot of these outlets are just looking for clicks. And I get that if you’re a hip-hop fan, if you like Kendrick Lamar, it was great to […]

This is why the Democrats lost. I’m not watching the Grammys, and who cares. Of course I tuned in for the lame opening. I heard it was going to be “I Love L.A.,” but I expected the man himself, Randy Newman, instead of Dawes and a coterie of the half-dead. Either do it right or […]

Are you watching this Hulu show “Paradise”? I take notice of the volume of hype. If a show is reviewed everywhere, that means the producer/distributor has a lot invested in it, and I need to pay a modicum of attention. I usually look at the last paragraph of the review. And maybe the first. Oftentimes […]

Last night I started reading the new Adam Ross book “Playworld.” It’s gotten great reviews, best of the year so far, and I loved his previous novel “Mr. Peanut.” And I was hooked by the very first sentence: “In the fall of 1980, when I was fourteen, a friend of my parents named Naomi Shah […]