Billy Joel Even though I rank in at a pretty low Billy Joel-fandom-rabidity percentile, I appreciate the man and his work; it’s hard to pick another artist who’s written indelible pop-rock songs whose lyrics read like a primer on the most main of mainstream American values. Despite the false start that was Atilla and the sordid, sad-sack “Captain Jack,” Joel’s …

West Side Story (1961) While Shakespeare has been condensed, re-imagined and performed without words by brave directors over the years, few have made the bold move to reframe his essential love story to be about gang warfare and then set it to show tunes. West Side Story restructured Romeo and Juliet’s teenage love tale turned tragic; instead of families feuding …

It by Stephen King It, the book, is pretty frightening and even manages to say something about childhood fears and the bonds of friendship, but the 1990 made-for-TV miniseries…goddamn, it doesn’t even come close. It’s awful, the type of awful viewers have by now come to expect from the small screen. Most of the principal actors play their characters as …

Zeno’s, State College, PA A good measure for a dive bar is its graffiti in the bathroom. It has been a decade since I used to frequent Zeno’s in State College and that graffiti may be gone or covered over, but its axioms and adages have stayed with me. These surreptitious scrawlings were mostly comical: “Jameson’s was invented to prevent …

Fight Club Original Soundtrack When David Fincher began work on Fight Club, he was adamant that the movie be scored by someone who had never worked in film. Although a year prior Darren Aronofsky had made a similar choice when he asked Pop Will Eat Itself founder Clint Mansell to score Pi, the decision to use someone like the Dust …

Hot Fuzz (2007) One of my cinematic pet peeves is films that make half-assed attempts to blend genres only to come off as flat, visually uninteresting comedy movies. There are too many of these to name. I have Hot Fuzz to blame for these feelings, because the film not only tackles the idea of the action comedy ambitiously, but incorporates …

Ballast Point Brewery, San Diego, CA I found my favorite San Diego brew almost as soon as I moved here and this is my only excuse for being as yet woefully unfamiliar with the endless array of excellent beers brewed more or less in my backyard. I arrived all bright eyes and thirsty taste buds, fully aware that I’d moved …

“Queen of the Supermarket,” Bruce Springsteen The bread and butter of the Boss’ songwriting has just about always been the hardships, uncertainties and finally, the glory found in the struggles of the common American – be they spiritual, financial, marital or familial. Born to Run romantically documented that fever pitch of youth, just when young punks are old enough to …

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr (1977) What’s worse than accidentally calling your teacher “Mom?” Accidentally making your teacher cry. When I was in third grade we had this lottery where dear, sweet Mrs. Brown would pick a name out of a hat and the student whose name was chosen got to decide which book she would …

Dirty Vodka Martini Never one for girly drinks (no, not even in my early days as a legal consumer of that delightful invention, the alcoholic beverage), I turned to the “manly” cocktail repertoire soon after my 21st birthday in search of a strong yet sophisticated go-to drink. Thanks to a childhood steeped in classic movies and a year spent living …