Jonathan Miller's Blog, page 441

The RP's Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of the Screen

The Politics of Film

You may have noticed that the time it takes between the release of a film in theaters and that film's home release has gotten considerably shorter over the past few years. Studios want to cut that down even further.  Theaters, on the other hand, don't want that at all.  [The Movie Blog]

Jesse Eisenberg, who was widely acclaimed for his performance in The Social Network, is teaming up with Ellen Page (from Juno and Inception) in Woody Allen's next film. I am pretty excited a...

The RP's Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Swing

The Politics of Swing

You may have heard that professional golfer Kevin Na took 16 strokes to finish a par four hole last week. He is truly the new hero of all hacks and duffers out there. Unbelievably, though, his is not the worst score ever on a single hole on the PGA Tour. Know who owns that inglorious record? (The RP wonders if alcohol may have played a role?) [About.com]

And by the way, if you missed Na's ordeal, you've got to watch this painfully fun video with great audio. [Bleacher...

The RP: My Five Favorite Basketball Books — What Say You?

My teenage daughter and I BOTH love it. So go forth, click, buy & read!

Furiously patting myself on the back for sucessfully introducing Nick Hornby's masterpiece, High Fidelity, to my 17-year-old daughter, I've decided to make a tradition of aping the protagonist's habit of breaking down pop culture categories into top five lists. (See my post on Top Five Breakup Songs here).

And now that the depression of March Madness has dissipated, and the ennui of the NBA playoffs has set in, there's no b...

The RP's Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of the Media

Greg Mortenson, author of inspirational memoir Three Cups of Tea, defends his book against accusations of fabrication. [New York Times]

Sidney Harman, the entrepreneur and philanthropist who saved Newsweek, died last week after a battle with cancer. [The Daily Beast]

Sometimes the media gives us gems like Jersey Shore and Dancing with the Stars that we will love, regardless of how crazy they are. Time magazine documents the 2011 Reality Rocks Expo: [Time]

Not on the Twitter bandwagon yet? With 2...

The RP's Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Fashion

The Politics of Fashion

Preparing your ensemble for Derby? Well, there is a fashion line designed just for you! Check it out:   [Fashionista]

You might want to start saving your pennies – companies are now charging customers to try on clothes:   [news.com.au]

What? Kim Kardashian wears Spanks? Who knew?  [Green Celebrity Network]

Feather Extensions: Fashion or Faux Pas?   [SHEfinds]

The latest couture dress is made out of toilet seat covers, and I'm not even kidding. Check it out:  [Fashionista]

Yo...

BREAKING: Jeff Smith & The RP Featured in New York's "Approval Matrix"

Pardon the interruption for some HUGE RP NEWS:

Contributing RP Jeff Smith, his stunning inaugural piece on his journey from politics to prison, and The Recovering Politician Web site, were highlighted this week by New York magazine's The Approval Matrix, a leading national arbiter of the pop culture zeitgeist. (And now a TV show on Bravo.)

Best yet — Smith's piece received the top rating: The Approval Matrix deemed it "Highbrow" (vs. "Lowbrow") and "Brilliant" (vs. "Despicable").

A pretty...

RPTV: Fifteen Minutes of Fame with Jeff Smith

By popular demand, today's guest on RPTV's Fifteen Minutes of Fame is contributing RP and former Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith. Jeff's inaugural post for The Recovering Politician has electrified the blogosphere; already more than 10,000 people have read Jeff's stunningly candid retelling of his post-political experiences in a federal prison.

In this morning's interview, Jeff addresses many of the questions that our readers have posed since his article's posting on April 4. If you are...

Tomorrow at The Recovering Politician

We lead off tomorrow with the latest segment of RPTV: Fifteen Minutes of Fame.

By popular demand, our guest is The Recovering Politician's very own contributing RP, Jeff Smith.  Jeff will be answering many of the questions you have posed since publication of his well-received post which has drawn attention (and links) from a wide variety of national sites across the blogosphere.

And for you sports fans (or spouses of sports fans who wonder what the fuss is about), I will offer my five favorite ...

Happy Passover from The Recovering Politician!

Tonight begins the eight-day long celebration of Passover, one of the most religiously significant Jewish holidays. (Far, far more significant than Chanukah — but we'll get back to that in December.)

Jews around the world celebrate tonight with a family seder, a dinner in their homes during which they read the story of Moses, the Pharaoh, and the exodus from Egypt.

What would the exodus have looked like if it happened with today's technology and social media? The following video (h/t to my...

The RP's Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Tech

The Politics of Tech

If you are interested in science and technology, but don't know who Jamie Hyneman is, I don't know where you have been. He is the co-host of the hugely successful Discovery channel show Mythbusters and an excellent ambassador for science and education. And now he has been contacted by the US military to work with them on developing armor for military use. Cool stuff. [Discovery News]

Now that Spring has sprung we are all ready to do some cleaning around the house. Make...