This Can't Be Broccoli

Now that summer's drawing to a close, I thought I'd mention some of my favorite (and not so favorite) things that happened in the pop culture universe over the past three months. ~ Dark Knight Rises lived up to all my expectations--even after Gawker skewered it.  Did it make as much as Dark Knight ?  No.  Should anybody really care?  Absolutely not. ~ On the flip side, I don't care how much money The Amazing Spiderman made.  It was still an unnecessary remake (and yes, I refuse to use the word "reboot.")  "Reboot" may be my least favorite word of the summer. ~ "Call Me Maybe?"  Still good. ~ "Some Nights?"  Still good. ~ "Chloe" by Grouplove?  Should be a hit.  Get on that hipsters, this is your jam. ~ Louie on FX keeps getting better, whereas True Blood and Weeds are so bad, if you still like them, I may have to question your ability to see and hear. ~ And the "TV Show I'm Sure Is Enjoyable But I H

Dear Taylor Swift, I didn't think it was possible, but you've done it.  You've really done it. The "Milking a Break-Up for All It's Worth" Award always seemed like it would be held by Alanis Morissette, but after listening to your latest single "We Are Never Getting Back Together" I think we finally have to hand that title over to you. Bravo. Now, if you would, I'd like to suggest that you find something else to write about. I know what you're thinking--what else IS there to write about? Tay Tay, I have you covered. I'm sending you this list--it's a variety of things I'm sure you've experienced that I think you consider exploring musically.  Surely it'll expand your range as a songwriter, but more importantly, it'll stop me from cringing whenever I turn on the radio, worrying that I'll be assaulted with "You Left Me" or "You Left My Heart" or "My Heart, Your Hurt" or what

"It looks like we're going to have to remake Spiderman ." "Didn't we just remake Spiderman ?" "No, we rebooted it." "Huh?" "New cast, new director--" "But we told the same story we told in the first one." "Exactly.  We rebooted it.  When you reboot, you have to go back to the beginning." "Okay." "Or 'a' beginning.  You can't just pick up where you left off." "So Superman Returns was a--" "Continuation." "And Batman Begins was a--" "Reboot." "And Sparkle ?" "Remake." "And when a rapper redoes a hit song?" "Remix." "Why don't we just come up with something new?" "Look, nobody wants to stop making Spiderman movies more than me, but whenever we make one, people go see it, so we can't stop making them." "So why not just continue the story?" "Because people

Last week while working at the Johnston library, I overheard two women talking about Jersey Shore cast member (and Johnston native) Pauly D. WOMAN #1:  He used to be at my house all the time when he was a kid.  These people who get all excited over him don't even know him. WOMAN #2:  They're always taking credit.  He took me to the prom. WOMAN #1:  I went to the prom with him too.  He's like my brother's best friend. WOMAN #2:  And he takes care of his parents. WOMAN #1:  He's very good to his parents. WOMAN #2:  Nice to have something to be proud of. I wish I could tell you what they said after that, but my head had already exploded. Of all the odd Rhode Island behaviors that mystifies me, the obsession with being proud of anybody that just happened to walk through the state at some point is the one that confuses me the most. It took everything I had not to yell--"If someone's a millionaire, and they're parents are still living in Johnsto