Trailer for the new James Bond Film: Spectre
Posted on July 22, 2015 at 10:11 am
Happy 20th Anniversary of the Movie Mom Website!
Posted on July 22, 2015 at 5:00 am
Twenty years ago this week, when there were only a few thousand websites and not one from a corporation or publication, I decided to publish movie reviews online from a parent’s point of view. In honor of that anniversary two of my ebooks will be free from today through Sunday. Check out 101 Must-See Movie Moments
Enjoy!
In 1995, just about every site on the Web was put there by a college student or someone in the military or was part of a university’s in-house system for publishing notices of meetings and conferences and trading papers and data. I had been online since 1986, when it was just pre-Web bulletin boards and listservs. I was very interested in the technology, but I didn’t want to create a the typical “Here is a picture of my dog and my coffee pot and here are my ten favorite links” website. And I wanted to write movie reviews. So I decided to combine the two. I still remember that first URL: http://www.prodigy.com/rcpj55a/moviemom
It is hard to remember now how new and exotic and primitive the web was in those days. I did all my own code for the first four or five years, and was very proud of myself for figuring out how to post pictures of movie posters and embedded links. And I watched the Web grow up all around me. When I began, there was no Yahoo and no Google. AOL was Macs only. I had to use dial-up. There were no cable modems, either. My first site even pre-dates the Internet Archive and the Wayback application. It was via Prodigy.
Five years later, Yahoo asked me to become its film critic, around the time that I began reviewing movies on radio station across the country (thank you, Froggy in Fargo for getting me started) and seven years after that, I got a call from Beliefnet, where I am living happily ever after.
As I typed away on that little computer in the study off our bedroom, the desktop that had less power than I currently have in my iPhone, I could never have imagined where it would take me. I am blessed by this journey and by all of you who are kind enough to visit me here. On to the next 20!
Tribute: Theodore Bikel
Posted on July 21, 2015 at 4:26 pm
We mourn the loss of actor/singer/activist Theodore Bikel, who has died at age 91. The multi-lingual performer was the original Captain Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” on Broadway and played the role of Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” more than 2000 times. He was born in Vienna and his family moved to then-Palestine when he was 13 and became an American citizen in 1961.
Bikel studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and developed a passion for guitar and folk music. He became one of the world’s best-known folk singers and a founder in 1961 of the Newport Folk Festival, and he performed 50-60 concerts a year, often with full orchestras. He was active in the civil rights movement, served as an elected delegate to the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, and was Senior Vice President of the American Jewish Congress, President of the Actors’ Equity Association (1973-82), Vice President of the International Federation of Actors (FIA), (1981-1991), a Board Member of Amnesty International (USA), and, by Presidential appointment, as a member of the National Council on the Arts (1977-82).
May his memory be a blessing.
Amy Schumer Talks to Michael Ian Black on “How to Be Amazing”
Posted on July 21, 2015 at 8:55 am
https://soundcloud.com/audible/how-to-be-amazing-with-michael-ian-black-episode-6-amy-schumer/
Amy Schumer appeared on Michael Ian Black’s brilliant interview series, “How to Be Amazing.” In this clip, she talks about creating her stand-up persona and “tricking people into listening.” You can download the hour-long interview for free, as well as other episodes featuring Elizabeth Gilbert, Brian Greene, Megan Mullally, Kevin Smith, Frank Rich, and many others.
Trailer: Joy with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro
Posted on July 21, 2015 at 8:00 am
“Joy” reunites Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, and writer/director David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle”) in a multi-generational story, opening in December 2015.