A Steal at Twice the Price

It’s somewhat strange that, after three years working at a place that switches to flexible hours during the summer, I haven’t found a proper way to take advantage of the fact that I don’t have to work most Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Through Mark at the Long Cut, I knew of WXPN’s Free at Noon Concert series, but I never thought it would be worth my afternoon to take advantage.

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Magic to Do

Welcome to the summer of J.K. Rowling. This week, fans of the Harry Potter movie franchise experience the wizard’s fifth and most precarious year at Hogwarts, and in 9 days, Rowling’s faithful readers will be rewarded for their vigor with the terminal chapters in her seven-book series. For those of us who are interested in both media—and honestly, the cross section is humongous—it’s a ten-day festival of bewitching anticipation and, if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is as good as the movie adaptation of …and the Order of the Phoenix, satisfying payoff.

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Eats, Shoots and Leaves

It’s been a while since I updated my blogroll, largely because I haven’t been looking for new and interesting sites lately. Today, one fell into my lap – or, more appropriately, my IM client. Please go check out The Grammar Vandal, a blog in which my sister’s college roommate tries to save the world from itself by stealthily (some times more than other) correcting its grammar. Kate is officially my hero.

Also worth checking out is O.K. Critic, written by Movie Hawk reader Heather, occasionally/formerly of The Typewriter and more often of her pregnancy/baby blog. I think it’s Heather’s goal to one day have as many active blog accounts as ESPN has networks.

Back later today with a review.

On Notice: Anthem Atrocities

Dear Major League Baseball,

On the night that you so aggressively market as one of the most important in your sport – the All-Star Game – I encourage you to choose a singer who can properly pay tribute to our nation. Tonight’s version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” sung by San Francisco native Chris Isaak, was a disgrace. It is shameful that a grown man does not know the words to his national anthem, and reprehensible that executives would put someone on the field unless they were certain he knew the words. Mr. Isaak’s version follows:

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Bon Appétit

In Ratatouille, the newest joint effort by Disney and Pixar, the late, legendary chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett) was famous for his assertion that “anyone can cook.” Following Gusteau’s recipes and adding a bit of flair, that ideal is proven by an unlikely pair. More notable, though, is how the statement can also apply to the way that Ratatouille and its Disney-Pixar kin are produced: anyone can make a movie, but with the right ingredients added into the mix, Pixar continues to do it better than anyone else. That becomes even more obvious considering the fact that the film is orchestrated by Brad Bird, perhaps the genre’s most innovative director.

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