Trapped in the Booth: The Plight of the Working Stiff DJ
Disclaimer: This is a semi-fictionalized version of my all-too-real experiences working as a DJ in New York City. Most of the names of venues, organizations or people mentioned herein have been changed...
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Friends, Rain Plans, Love Songs & Lullabies: Conversations with Smokey...
A Conversation with Smokey Robinson Mike Ragogna: Just the other day, I picked up your Icon sampler, the little collection that Universal released. Though I know all those songs by heart by now, it...
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7 Trilogies That Are As Good As 'Lord Of The Rings'
I wonder how many authors set out to write trilogies. Tolkien, for instance, intended the Lord of the Rings to be the first big ass volume of a two-volume set (the second being the equally big ass The...
View ArticleThe 2014 Emmys: An Okay Show, But Was It Really Appropriate to Single Out...
Watching the Emmys was for me a mixed bag, with Seth Meyers struggling with pat jokes contrasted with Bryan Cranston bringing down the house with laughter as he passionately smooched Julia...
View ArticleOrange Is the New Black: Howard Jones Is Bringing Synthy Back
When Howard Jones asked his fans on Facebook to wear orange to his performances this summer, he was not alluding to the Netflix series about women in prison. The 59-year-old British pop star -- who...
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The Funny Politics of Faith and Change: An Interview With Cherien Dabis
May in the Summer is a comedic drama about a Palestinian-American writer who goes home to Jordan for her wedding. The unconventional bride's impending nuptials are the inopportune occasion to air out...
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Primetime Emmy Bash Ruled by the Color 'Orange'
("Orange is the New Black" cast members enjoy the moment with Angela Bassett and Sarah Paulson/Credit: Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images​) Saturday night saw yet another in a string of...
View ArticleDefinitive Proof that Rory Gilmore and Hermione Granger Would Be Best Friends
1. Seven seasons. Seven books. Did we just become best friends? If you're a true Potter fan, you know the significance of this powerful number and that coincidences such as these should never be...
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Digging Deep on Swimmin' Time, Shovels & Rope Kick Some Grass
For a married couple of countrified rock 'n' rollers who stick to the bare essentials while taking turns banging the beaten drums and trading off other instruments onstage that look like hand-me-downs,...
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The 2014 Emmy Awards, As Tweeted
I hosted yet another Twitter party during the 2014 Emmy Awards at #EmmyExp. The gang gets together mostly to talk about the marketing, but we end up rapping about just about everything related to the...
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How a TV Show Reminds Us How Cool Libraries Are
Once upon a time, TLC stood for "The Learning Channel," and while that's no longer the case, that hasn't kept the network from sneaking a little book-learning into this season's "Who Do You Think You...
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Why Scott Wolf is 'All in' As a Father and Family Man
When it comes to his wife, Kelley, and his three children, Jackson, 5; Miller, almost 2; and Lucy, 3 months, actor Scott Wolf is "all in." He enjoys sharing equally in the day-to-day duties, including...
View ArticleOnce Upon a Time There Was You: A TV Writer Reflects on the Stories That We...
Here's what I'm thinking. We are all in the middle of a story at any give moment. We're both the protagonist and the antagonist, given the time or place or emotional conditions. Even if we're at the...
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Making Movies Matter
Each Spring, I am invited to help judge a media festival held at one of my alma maters. It is great fun. Lots of coffee and lots of pizza and lots of long and short movies made by aspiring graduates...
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Olivia Newton John's Summer Nights Concert in Vegas Is a Major Hit
By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Backstage at The Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas Nevada She sings with Grace and Gratitude for her special...
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I Will Never Forget Robin Williams, One of the Great Doctors of the Soul
Robin Williams on the cover of Laugh Factory Magazine, August 1986 When I first heard about Robin Williams' death, I went into my office, closed the door and cried. It felt like I had been punched in...
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The Most Important Man You've Never Heard of
Photo Credit: REVOLT TV Hip hop music has gone from a small genre of music that got no radio play to a cultural phenomenon that you can find traces of on every part of our planet. In the 30 years that...
View ArticleFACE IT: A Different Kind of Emmy Snub
A Different Kind of Emmy Snub By Michele Willens There are many things to complain about regarding the Emmy Awards: the show's predictability, the surprising un-funniness of people like Stephen Colbert...
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In the Days of Sam Smith, We Rediscover Sam Sparro
The world has fallen in love with British singer-songwriter Sam Smith since his appearance in the hit dance track "Latch" by Disclosure. However, unlike his club beginnings Smith has become the new...
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