Great New Editorial

Here's a great new editorial from my friend and colleague Hoyt Hilsman. I heartily recommend it.

Courier Journal Hilsman "Our Town"editorial. (now in paper's archives, registration required.)

FYI: My latest from The Huffington Post...

As many of you know, I do a regular column for The Huffington Post. Here's the latest....

Click here: Dennis Palumbo: Hate-Speech: The Real Pandemic

Philosophy On The Air!

I missed this story when it first appeared in the Los Angeles Times, but it's a cool one. A couple of philosophy professors have a radio show in which they discuss--what else?--philosophy.

Here's the link to the story: Click here: Yeah, these philosophy professors will give it some thought - Los Angeles Times

In these uncertain times, people are struggling to make sense of their lives, to find sources of meaning and solace. I've read that so-called "philosophy clubs" are springing up all over the country, in which people get together to discuss the issues of the day in the broader context of idea and meaning that philosophy posits. There's even a guy going around hosting what he calls "the Socrates Cafe," a kind of philosophy seminar on the road.

More power to them. If the perennial treasures that the pursuit of wisdom offer were ever needed as a balm to a troubled world, now is that time.

Sorry...I meant JOHN Pinette!

Regarding my previous post:

I guess I was laughing so hard at stand-up comic John Pinette, I mistakenly wrote his first name as "Jim." Sorry about that!

I "Discover" Jim Pinette

Sometimes, in the midst of all the gloomy news about the economy, global conflicts, and pandemic scares, you just need a laugh. Not a chuckle, or a wry smile---I'm talking big, hearty, fall-out-of-your-chair laughs.

 

A few days ago, I happened to catch a Comedy Channel special featuring a cherubic, sharp-voiced stand-up comic named Jim Pinette. Maybe you know him. Hell, maybe he's been around for years. All I know is, I'd never heard of him.

 

But that's changed now. Believe me, I haven't laughed so hard, and with such real joy, in a long time. Tremendously at ease on stage, Pinette uses his rapid-fire timing, vivid word pictures and hilarious sense of outrage to puncture myriad sacred cows. And yet, while a truly modern comic in the usual sense, his booming voice and clownish facial expressions bring to mind the classic comics of vaudeville, the Borscht Belt and the Catskills. He's part Bert Lahr, part Jackie Gleason, and part Buddy Hackett. 

 

Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's a paisan. Though, trust me, you don't have to be Italian to enjoy his hilarious riff on getting over-fed at a small, family-owned cafe in Italy. It's not only fall-down funny, it makes you want to jump up afterwards and find the nearest Italian restaurant.

 

Like I said, up until a few days ago, I'd never heard of Jim Pinette. If he's new to you, too, I recommend you go check him out. In my clinical opinion, it might turn out to be the most therapeutic thing you've done for yourself in a long time. 

 

 

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We found the real 'Hotel California' and the 'Seinfeld' diner. What will you find? Explore WhereItsAt.com.

The Dick Cheney "Problem": A Modest Proposal

To my teenage son's chagrin, I'm kind of clueless about computers. In fact, I half-jokingly refer to myself as a Luddite when it comes to technology.

 

Well, I'm upgrading from Luddite to full-blown Quaker, because after watching and listening to former Vice President Dick Cheney's relentless attacks on President Obama's policies, I'm now in favor of bringing back public shunning. If anyone needs to be shunned, it's a guy who favors torture,

unnecessary wars, and outing CIA agents.

 

Hell, maybe shunning isn't enough. Maybe we should take a leaf from the Bush administration playbook and subject Cheney to the "enhanced interrogation technique" known as putting people in stocks. It could be that a couple days in an enforced sitting position, locked into wooden stocks in the public square, while outraged citizens and bemused school-children point and laugh would prompt an attitude adjustment on Cheney's part. Though, admittedly, I doubt it.

 

Seriously, what Cheney is doing with his frequent attacks is nothing less than attempting to undermine the presidency, which-—paradoxically, given his so-called concerns—-has the net effect of making us less safe. By emphasizing his lack of trust and belief in the current administration, he makes strengthening our ties to allies a more difficult task. It also makes Obama's goal of clarifying our commitment to national security, while maintaining our core values as a nation, all that much harder to attain.

 

After 9/11, former Vice President Gore admirably threw his support behind George W. Bush, and urged everyone, including his still-dispirited supporters, to do the same. Where is this same sense of patriotism and putting-America-first from Dick Cheney? Usually only too happy to wrap himself in the flag, Cheney apparently has no compunction about trying to undermine this new administration, even before it's been in office six months.

 

So I say let's put on our colonial peaked hats, break out the wooden stocks, and make a statement of our own. Maybe then Deck Cheney will have the decency shown by his former boss and just slink back to some ranch somewhere, start clearing some pesky brush, and save his self-serving vitriol for his inevitable memoirs.

 

 

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Recession-proof vacation ideas. Find free things to do in the U.S.

If You Want My Opinion....

...on the current economic meltdown, and its effects on my patients, here are two recent items. The first is a short interview I did for The Business, NPR's show about the entertainment industry. It comes about mid-way through the program. Here's the link:

 

Click here: New TV Season, New TV World; Taking Hollywood's Temperature - The Business on KCRW

 

 

The second is my contribution to a New York Times article from last week, highlighting how therapists are helping their patients deal with these career concerns.

Here's that link: 

 

Click here: Therapists Get an Earful About Career Anxiety - NYTimes.com

 

 

Hope you find each of them of interest. Let me know what you think!

 

 

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Recession-proof vacation ideas. Find free things to do in the U.S.

Mark Evanier, Gabe Kotter, McClean Stevenson and Me

FYI, here's a link to a blog just posted yesterday by my former writing partner Mark Evanier. It's a wry look back at the beginnings of our TV-writing career (such as it was). Brings back a lot of memories of a time when network television was the only game in town, and everything seemed a lot simpler...and a lot more innocent.

If you go to this blog, just scroll down to the section headed "Today's Video Link." Not only will you get Mark's remembrance, you'll also get a video clip from the late, unlamented sitcom starring the late, and somewhat lamented McClean Stevenson.

Click here: news from me - ARCHIVES - February 09, 2009#016637

A Moving, Inspiring Story...

Whether or not you're a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, or even of professional football, this story from The New York Times about the origin of the Terrible Towel is a must-read.

Click here: The Terrible Towel's Wonderful Legacy - NYTimes.com

Here's to an exciting Super Bowl this Sunday...with the Steelers coming out on top!

The Role of Mystery in Writing

FYI, to start out 2009, here's a link to an interview I did with author and psychologist Dr. Susan Perry for Psychology Today Online. We discuss not only the writing of mysteries, but the role that mystery itself plays in the creative process.

Click here: Mystery's Role in Writing | Psychology Today Blogs

Also, for those who might be interested, I invite you to check out my blogs on Huffington Post. I'm a regular blogger there now, writing about---what else?---topics related to Hollywood, the media, and the creative process.

Here are a couple recent posts:

Click here: Dennis Palumbo: NBC Cancels Christmas!

Click here: Dennis Palumbo: The Male Therapist, Hollywood-Style

And, finally, here's my belated wish that 2009 is a happy, healthy and successful year for all of us!