No Rain Man

I love the movie “Groundhog Day.” One of my favorite scenes comes when Phil Connors, the irascible weatherman played by Bill Murray, tries to explain his predicament to his producer. “It’s the only possible explanation. I’m a supernatural being.” He was talking about living the same day over again. I don’t have that problem, but […]

Flipping Over March Madness

Sometimes when you spend money, don’t you feel like just throwing it down the sewer? I mean, aren’t there purchases or investment decisions that you know will go wrong even before you hand over your money? That’s exactly how I felt when I turned in my NCAA basketball brackets a little more than a week […]

A Real Immigration Test

Apparently, the people in charge in the Netherlands have the funny feeling that new immigrants to the country have a little bit of trouble adapting to their liberal ways. They have developed a new immigration test that will try and make sure people entering the country have a grip on how things work in Holland. […]

Call Me Coach

I fear for my sanity. Can anyone tell me what I have gotten myself into? I signed up to coach my daughter’s soccer team. I entered into this fray willingly. I actually ticked off several boxes for volunteer options when I signed Bridget up to play a month or so ago. But it all hit […]

The 2006 Brians

Do you know how some years, film experts talk about the lack of good candidates for The Oscars? Well, it’s that kind of year for The Brians, now celebrating their fourth year. Actually, the quality of the films eligible remains very high. The number of films, not so much. In fact, I have had to […]

Guy, Regular Guy

People sometimes develop unhealthy obsessions with entertainment figures and fictional characters. I have never really understood it, but I don’t let it bother me. Well, I didn’t until recently when this hero worship hit a little too close to home. I don’t really care if people spend their days obsessing about James Bond, but they […]

Stop the Whining

Now that the Olympics have started, Americans can put on display the thing they do better than anyone else in the world. Whining. I love a good chance to complain as much as the next guy, maybe even more, but we really ramp it up as a nation when the Olympics roll around. It seems […]

Super Bowl Dilemma

I don’t know what to do today. Well, I’ll naturally go to a Super Bowl party and eat too much. That’s a given. But I don’t know what to do during the game. I might actually have to root for the Steelers. I know. Things are that bad.

Smile!

I had to send an e-mail to a co-worker the other day. I needed to include a funny comment, but worried that she might not get the joke. I started at my computer screen for a few seconds. She has a great sense of humor, so she would have to get the gag, but she’s […]