Search Results for: truman

The Truman Show (1998)

What if you discovered that your whole entire life was a lie, and that nothing you thought was real, was real? Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is living a pretty ideal life. He has a nice house, a pretty wife, a good job, and no real conflict of any kind. What he does not know is that he is the main character in a television show. The place he believes to be his hometown is actually a television show set, built inside a huge dome by the Hollywood sign. Everyone he meets is an actor who has been hired to play … Continue reading →

Truman Capote – Thoughts on Marriage

Truman Capote is one of the great writers of the 20th century. His pithy remarks are often quoted and referenced in popular culture and literature. He writes and has been written about. While he may not specifically write about marriage, the following quotes offer an interesting perspective on marriage. A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet. All literature is gossip. Even an attorney of moderate talent can postpone doomsday year after year, for the system of appeals that pervades American jurisprudence amounts to … Continue reading →

Ways for Kids to Celebrate Flag Day

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Flag Day is celebrated every year on June 14. It is a holiday that was designed specifically to honor the American Flag. How much do you know about the history of this holiday? Here is a quick review of the history of Flag Day, and some suggestions about how children can celebrate it. The first Flag Day occurred in 1885. BJ Cigrand, who was a schoolteacher, was the first to get it started. This teacher arranged for the students in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 as “Flag Birthday”. The date was selected because it … Continue reading →

Romney, Huntsman and Perry – All Related to Former U.S. Presidents

In 2010, researchers from Ancestry.com discovered that President Barack Obama and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin were actually related to each other. Now, researchers from Ancestry.com have discovered that several of the Republican candidates are related to former United States Presidents. A few years ago, a genealogist for Ancestry.com named Anastasia Tyler discovered that President Barack Obama was distantly related to the former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. The two are each other’s tenth cousins. They share a common ancestor named John Smith, who was one of the early settlers in Massachusetts. John Smith was the twelfth great-grandfather to both … Continue reading →

Turkeys: “We’re Going to Disneyland!”

Thanksgiving is an all-American tradition, full of family, turkey, cranberry sauce, parades, floats, and the blissful tryptophan-induced nap we all sink into at the end of the evening. New traditions are added to the holiday all the time, such as the Presidential Turkey Pardon. Since 2005 another all-American tradition has been added: a trip to Disneyland. When President Obama pardons two turkeys today the birds will then fly to Disneyland in California to serve as honorary Grand Marshals of the Disney Thanksgiving Day Parade. Afterward they will retire to the Big Thunder Ranch in Disneyland’s Frontierland. Some claim the presidential … Continue reading →

Reality Star Jade Goody is Dying

British reality star Jade Goody has shown the country her personality through reality shows, now she is choosing to die just as openly. Twenty seven year old Goody appeared on the British version of “Big Brother” in 2002. She became well known, but not always for good reasons. The press hounded her for her lack of knowledge of British geography and criticized her for running around the Big Brother house naked and drunk. However, she became popular with the public. (This image, by Keira76, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.) She went on to star in … Continue reading →

Scary Places: The White House

Right now, most people are focused on the White House for one reason – who’s going to be the next president. But, you know me – I am focused on it to talk about the ghosts of the White House. That’s right, one of the most famous houses is America is reportedly haunted. Over the years, visitors as well as staff and residents have reported seeing ghosts and experiencing strange phenomena in the White House. The White House became livable for presidents in 1800, with John Adams being the first to move in. Since then, every president has lived in … Continue reading →

The Majestic (2001)

Jim Carrey is a phenomenal actor. It doesn’t seem to matter whether he’s doing a goofy or a serious role—he takes it to the limit and doesn’t back off. I think one of his best performances is in “The Majestic,” a PG-rated film set in 1951. Peter Appleton is a screenplay writer. He’s been creating B movies for most of his career and has just finished the script for a film he believes will get him on the A list at last. But just as the film is getting ready for production, Peter is blacklisted—Congress wants him to admit to … Continue reading →

This Week in History – July 5, 1998

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It was the week of July 5, 1998 – were you getting ready to party like it was 1999? Let’s see what was happening in the world of pop culture. In national news, Dow-Corning finally reached a settlement with women who had received silicone breast implants. The company was ordered to pay more than 170,000 women $3.2 billion dollars. In international news, Hong Kong’s Kai Tak airport closed after 73 years in service to make way for a new $20 billion dollar facility. In computer news, the introduction of USB ports had computer users very excited. The USS Harry S. … Continue reading →

Mad Money (2008)

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes star as three federal reserve employees who get away with the impossible: they steal hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of three years from the Federal reserve. The Plot Thins Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) is the typical rich housewife/socialite married to the typical self absorbed husband who has lost his job. He sits around and becomes depressed. . .in exactly the way that you might think someone that self absorbed would do. Bridget is the mastermind behind the heist with the mantra, “Crime is contagious.” Nina Brewster played by Queen Latifiah, … Continue reading →