Here’s my annual Christmas message — a shorter version of this article recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

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By Dave Shiflett (for The Washington Post)

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Men under fire in a new book called ‘Manthropology,’ which says modern males are weak sisters compared to earlier versions.  

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By Rick Bass

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SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED

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Here’s my Wall Street Journal review of a new biography of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton — actors, fighters, boozers.

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Elvis wasn’tnothing but a horndog.

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(pre-edited version) 

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Duty calls, and I got called upon to review a new book about Tom Cruise. The good news is that the review is real short. here’s the lede:

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HBO’s The Wire’s in its last seaon, and it looks like it’s going out with a bang — and an indictment of the press and our leadership class. Here’s the lede from my Bloomberg review:

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If you’re looking for a reason to ditch those New Year’s resolutions, tune into a new Cinemax film that airs Tuesday night. It’s about life and death in an assisted living facility, the likely destination for long-living Boomers. Here’s the lede to my review.

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The political yack is warming up and should hit the boiling point by early evening. Cooler heads may want to take a break to watch a PBS show on the pursuit of Absolute Zero, which is much more interesting than what we’re likely to see on CNBC, FOX, etc. Here’s the lede from my review for Bloomberg:

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Night-owl TV returned last night, reminding some of us why we hit the rack early. Here’s my take for Bloomie.

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As we snore toward the primaries, PBS offers a pretty interesting show on our seventh president. Not an endorsement, by any stretch. Here’s the beginning of my review:

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The war against Old Scratch has extended to the toybox, at least according to one perhaps self-interested merchant i interviewed for this wall street journal piece. it ran a short time back but has seasonal relevance. here’s the kick-off:

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Readers who have trouble sleeping well, and whose brains seem to be losing a bit of edge — or maybe a lot of edge — may benefit from a pair of PBS shows airing this weekend. Most of us of a certain age suffer from at least one of these conditions, and probably both.  Here’s the start of my bloomberg review:

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Many readers of this esteemed page are familiar with Westboro Baptist Church, whiich is infamous for picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Showtime’s airing a film on the church Dec. 4 which will likely get your blood boiling. I’ve got a review today on Bloomberg that starts this way:

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We’re into the season of ferocious retailing, so in that spirit a few gift ideas might be appropriate.

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Tom Brokaw, who squeezed the Greatest Generation for a couple of books, has out a new book called “Boom” featuring “voices of the sixties.” It’s pretty long — over 600 pages — and not always captivating. There are some amusing anecdotes, including Tim Russert’s experience at Woodstock, and Pat Buchanan’s recollections of his old drinking pal Hunter S. Thompson.

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Those of a cynical bent are forever suspicious of anyone who appears to be excessively “normal” — the types who seem to have just stepped out of a Rockwell painting. We are especially wary of politicians, almost all of whom (Tom Tancredo being a current dissenter) try way too hard to seem like the boy — and girl! — next door. As readers of this site are well aware, politics tends to attract loons and outright psychopaths,  a tradition that seems alive and well as one contemplates the antic and sometimes otherwordly gazes of Edwards, Clinton, Romney, et al..

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     PBS has a fairly interesting show on tonight about the 2005 Dover, PA court case pitting advocates of ‘intelligent design’ against the FOCD — Friends of Charles Darwin. Here’s the start of my review for Bloomberg:

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johnny cash, that is.

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Like most other hacks, i found myself required to hold forth on the paris hilton phenomenon. as it is written:

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Greetings

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For discerning readers interested in deep analysis of the Trump wrestling spectacle, a review:

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Fairly interesting show on the ‘boomer’ generation tomorrow night on PBS. Among others, includes interviews with immanences including Eve Ensler and Oliver Stone — plus Tony Snow, who many might not know plays flute in a rock band. Here’s part of a review for Bloomberg, all of which can be found at

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Anyone with a cultural interest in the disputes that have riven the deaf world (Alexander Graham Bell was at the center of one) may find a new PBS special worth watching. Here’s part of a review from Bloomberg (www.Bloomberg.com).

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Tonight’s the night for Cameron’s Jesus movie. To mark the event, here’s part of a review for Bloomberg for anyone interested.

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In responding to Mike Long’s suggestion of linking to Songs For Aging Cynics, I failed to provide the link to the AppleItunes outlet, which I believe allows customers to purchase individual songs. Those interested in the anti-Madonna masterpiece should go to Old Man Moan. Overall link is:

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Mr. Long’s praise of my humble musical talents is greatly appreciated, praise being a rare thing. His suggestion that I provide a link to my latest CD, entitled Songs For Aging Cynics, is also warmly accepted, though I’m not sure I know how to link anything besides my lips to a bottle (on Fridays, at any rate). The disk can be found at www.cdbaby.com/cd/karmafarmers.

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Mr. Judge’s comments on the demise of rock music certainly seem to apply regarding the status of corporate rock, and for that matter other forms of popular music created and marketed by the large labels and their pals in the radio industry. In that world the goal is to create hits which to no surprise tend to resemble one another as closely as possible without committing outright copyright infringement.

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