Baby in the Air

"This would be bad"

George Marks, Getty Images

Two days from now my wife and I are going to become the Most Loathed People on Earth. This is because we're going to be those parents who dare to bring an infant child aboard an airplane. From what I've been seeing online, people do not appreciate this. It looks like things can actually get pretty ugly if our little girl starts crying. Strangely enough, my fear of ruining the flight for everyone is shared by Jessica Alba.

Then I read stories like this that compound my fears even more. Airports might not be the most kid-friendly places.

I think what aggravates people the most is when they think the parents aren't doing anything to stop the crying. I just pray that our hour and a half flight from DC will be filled with other parents who give us that "oh-we've-been-there-too!" empathic smile and not some angry dude who wants to document my parental struggles on Youtube.

My plan if disaster strikes is simple: I'm going to make a big show of how I'm doing my best to calm my baby. I'm thinking of buying a tactical vest and filling it with pacifiers, snacks, and toys to show people, "Hey I'm really trying here." My other idea is to buy a big bag of lollipops and hand them out to everyone in the rows around us.

But who am I kidding? In reality, my wife will likely be the one calming our baby down by nursing her. But I'm still going to do whatever I can to help. I'm planning to entertain the little one with some of the new toys we're going to "unveil" on the plane. Let's hope it goes well.

5:50 PM ET | 09-24-2008 | permalink

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What Would Rob Do: To Avoid A Chick Flick?

Now Showing "The English Patient"

Rob Sachs, NPR

For my latest podcast I speak with Howie Deutch, the director of "My Best Friend's Girl," which is now in theaters. The topic we discuss is how to know which movies make great date movies and which ones are cringe-inducing chick flicks sure to emasculate even the most macho guys out there.

Deutch says that where most movies go wrong is in being overly sentimental. He qualifies this by saying movies can have a sentimental scene, but the characters have to earn it. When you're watching, you have to buy into the idea that the two characters really like each other and that there's a real romantic connection. In case you're wondering, Deutch assured me that this is, of course, the case with My Best Friend's Girl. If anyone sees the film this week, let me know your thoughts. I, sadly, won't be going to see it because I have a 7 month old at home.

But back to the topic -- how disappointing is it when you watch one of those movies where the characters haven't "earned it," as Deutch puts it? I think what really doesn't work for me is when I just can't believe that the two people would actually be going out. For example, in "Lost in Translation" Bill Murray's character seems way too old to get Scarlett Johansson. I'm sure there are countless movies that fit this category of mismatched romantic leads. Anyway, you can listen to the rest of my podcast for more on this topic.

3:11 PM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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It's Tough being A Philly Fan

Ryan Donnell, Getty Images

At the end of my last post I mentioned having time to watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys during Monday Night Football. In case you missed it, they lost. Thus begins another Autumn of Torment. As any Philadelphian will tell you, being a devoted sports fan is not an easy job. I think this video tribute captures what I'm talking about. Much has been made of the fact that Philadelphia currently has the longest championship-less streak of any city with the four major sports leagues (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL). But not all losses hurt the same. For instance, when the Flyers got whooped in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Penguins it wasn't so painful because Pittsburgh was clearly the better team (and they're also Pennysylvanians). The ones that really hurt are the ones when I truly believe we've got a chance only to be crushed at the very last minute. Here are six losses that still make me cry.

1) 1993 Phillies. We were so close to winning Game 6 in the World Series and then they sent in The Wild Thing. I can still hear myself shouting at Jim Fergosi not to bring in Mitch Williams against Joe Carter. DON"T DO IT!!

2) 2004 Smarty Jones getting licked at the last second and losing the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes.

3) Also in 2004 The St. Joe's Hawks go 27-0 in the regular season only to lose 62-64 to Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament failing to make it to the Final Four.

4) Donovan McNabb's interception during the final drive of the 2005 Superbowl once again sealing the fate of my poor Eagles.

5) The Flyers losing against the Devils in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals after being up 3-1 in the series.

6) Joe Paterno's Penn State football team's perfect 2005 season ruined on a last second play. (And yes, they're not in Philadelphia but they have a campus in the area so I count them, too.)

I've often wondered why Philadelphia has been so cursed. Maybe it's because we've had the bad luck of having owners like Connie Mack, who once famously said, "it is more profitable for me to have a team that is in contention for most of the season, but finishes about fourth . . . a team like that will draw well enough during the first part of the season to show a profit for the year and you don't have to give the players raises when they don't win."

Or maybe it's because we have superstar athletes who don't care about practice.

Or maybe it's because the ghost of William Penn is really peeved about his statue being shorter than other buildings.

But even in the midst of such upset, there have been some notable victories from the city's other sports teams. Here are a few:

The Philadelphia Soul are the 2008 Arena Bowl Champions.

The Philadelphia Wings (Philadelphia's professional lacrosse team) has won no less than six championships since 1989.

The Philadelphia Phantoms (minor league hockey team) won the Calder Cup in 2004-2005.

And the Penn Quakers have had great runs in both basketball and football. Check out the Franklin Field goalpost being tossed into the Schuykill River after they won the 1998 Ivy League Football Championship. They've won since then, but the goalposts are now cemented down.

Right now the Phillies are looking to make the postseason for the second year in a row. Yeah, I'm watching -- and yeah, I'm prepared to have my heart ripped out once again.

10:58 AM ET | 09-17-2008 | permalink

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Bad Chick Flick - 27 Dresses

20th Century Fox

So I was going to do my list of all-time worst chick flicks that I've endured over the years, but I had a hard time remembering them. I then looked around and found out that list has already been made. Looking it over brought back some painful theater-going memories. Especially that movie How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, which I really really did not like. That was at the top of my list until recently.

Thanks to my wife and the good people of On Demand TV, I have a new top entry on my personal Top 10 chick flick stinkers: 27 Dresses. This one had it all, cheesy music montages that made me scream at the TV, cringe-inducing dialogue about how "you're the first person who really gets me" and yes, even a "we're so zany we can get a whole bar in the middle of nowhere to sing and dance with us" scene! Yeah, it was that bad.

And, yes, acute observers will notice that it does play on the whole misunderstood lyrics thing that I blogged about last week. While this topic can be funny of course, let me be clear that watching it in this scene was very unfunny.

I checked out the Razzies discussion board on the movie and found other people shared my abhorrence of this film, but then there were also those who came to its defense (but I have no idea why). I'm not just a bitter guy (I admit I liked The Notebook), but I'm just saying there wasn't a lot for me to work with here. I mean they could have at least thrown in a car chase or something (the car crash doesn't count, they didn't even hit anything! I'm rating the film WOF as in Watch Out Fellas. If your lady friend starts to linger over this film in the video store, tell her to keep moving, nothing to see here.
There is, however, a silver lining for me as a result of enduring the full 107 minutes of 27 Dresses. Tonight I get guilt-free uninterrupted viewing of my beloved Iggles. E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!

1:03 PM ET | 09-15-2008 | permalink

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Making a Movie Poster

Lionsgate

I recently interviewed Howie Deutch, the director of the movie My Best Friend's Girl, which comes out next week. The topic: Picking a good date movie. Already "My Best Friend's Girl" is getting some buzz but not for the reasons the studio had hoped. Dane Cook, the movie's main star, is unhappy with the movie poster. Creating a movie poster can be a tough thing to do as I learned a few years back when I interviewed Tony Seineger for a piece I produced for Day to Day. He's the guy who did the Jaws poster, among many others.

Lionsgate

But as you can see Mr. Cook seems to be somewhat cursed in terms of movie posters. He didn't really get rave reviews back in 2006 with this Employee of the Month poster either.

3:00 PM ET | 09-11-2008 | permalink

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WWRD To Not Botch A Romantic Mix Tape?

Click here to download to my podcast on making a mix tape

Okay, so I finally finished up in the studio and posted the mix tape podcast. This one took me a little longer than usual since it involved a little more production, but hopefully you'll like it.

In researching this podcast I stumbled upon two hilarious websites Am I Right? and Kiss This Guy. The name of the last one refers to the often misheard lyric in the song Purple Haze. The site Am I Right? lists the most commonly misinterpreted songs with Manfred Mann's Blinded By The Light coming in at number one.

Here are five songs that always trip me up, some of which are mentioned in the podcast as well.
A Tribe Called Quest's Electric Relaxation
What I hear: "Relax yourself girl, peace out come here".
What the actual lyrics is: "Relax yourself girl, please settle down."

Bob Marley's Redemption Song
What I hear: "Oh Pirates, yes they're rabbis."
What the actual lyric is: " Old pirates, yes, they rob i."

John Mellencamp's Jack and Diane
What I hear "Oh yeah life goes on, long after fifth grade and living this song."
What the actual lyric is: "Oh yeah life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone."

Pearl Jam's Even Flow
What I hear: "Feeling, like something's churning so someone better pour the concrete."
What the lyric is: "Freezin', rests his head on a pillow made of concrete"

The Kingmen's Louie, Louie
I haven't a clue what they're saying, but then again I don't think I'm supposed to know.

And the bonus track is Sophie B. Hawkins' As I Lay Me Down -- I get what she's saying, but I have no idea what her backup vocalists are saying; Have a listen, and it sounds like they're ordering food at a Mexican restaurant "Una Taco!"

Alright, so the audio is up for the podcast. Hope you enjoy.

9:03 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Lessons from Squeeze on Making a Mix Tape

So a few weeks ago I checked off an item that's been lingering on my to-do list for, I don't know, maybe a decade or two. I finally saw the band Squeeze live in concert. Here's a not-so-great pic I took with my camera phone pic during the concert at DC's 9:30 Club.

Rob Sachs, NPR

Before the concert I had chance to interview Squeeze's front men, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook about a topic that I've always wondered about: how do you make a great mix tape for someone without sending the wrong message. I figured Squeeze would be particularly good to interview since their songs while poetic are sometimes hard to figure out. Take the lyricsof" Pulling Mussels from a Shell" for instance:

Two fat ladies window shop
Something for the mantelpiece
In for bingo all the nines
A panda for sweet little niece

I mean what the heck is this all about? Turns out they use a lot of British colloquialisms I was not catching onto (but basically the song is about Difford's boyhood experiences on the beach).

Anywho, I have a lot more to say about mix tapes and my interview with Squeeze, which you can hear in the podcast. Look for it on Monday (just ran out of studio time today).

8:00 PM ET | 09- 5-2008 | permalink

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Can I Still Like Michael Jackson?

Getty Images

Okay, so I was thinking more about my mix tape list of falsetto singers and how I declined to include Michael Jackson. While it's great to celebrate the former king of pop (who just turned 50 BTW), I ultimately didn't include him because, as a new dad, I find the way he invited children over to sleep in bed with him to be creepy, at best -- criminal, at worst.

But does that mean "Billy Jean" is still not a great song or that you should deny that it's an even cooler video? What about his work when he was even younger, like "Human Nature?" Surely he wasn't doing anything weird back then (that we know of). I mean, I can still enjoy The Jackson 5, right? When listening to that great song "ABC" that's so catchy, should I feel guilty about what he did later as an adult? He was just a kid when he sang that, so I think that should probably still be kosher.

What about that Gary Glitter song "Rock and Roll Part 2"? It's a known fact that he's a convicted paedophile, but sometimes that one side of my brain that's very aware of that forgets to tell the other side that gets the song stuck in my head. I find myself tapping along to catchy tunes such as these -- but should I separate the song from what the singer does in their personal life?

When thinking about this topic, the band Milli Vanilli comes to mind as well.

Now I clearly remember a time back in elementary school when a sizable contingent of my class saw Milli Vanilli in concert and said they had an amazing time. But when it came out that they were frauds, it wasn't just Rob and Fab who became big losers, but their song ""Blame it on the Rain" took a hit as well. Hey, I slowed danced to that song! Nowadays, you almost never hear it on the radio, which is a shame.

This really goes to a larger idea of whether it's possible to like a piece of art, but have issues with the artist.

Continue reading "Can I Still Like Michael Jackson?" »

9:46 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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Trying Dilemma?

Rob Sachs, NPR

So I received a plea this week to stop using the word dilemma incorrectly. Interestingly, in the two years that I've been podcasting no one has ever brought up this point to me. But it got me thinking: am I mistaken about how the word dilemma is defined? So, I did what any person in my position would do -- I looked it up. To be thorough, I referenced three different sources: Webster's, The American Heritage Dictionary, and Dictionary.com.

Reading through these definitions I discovered what might be at the heart of the claim that the word dilemma is misused. Originally the word describes being faced with a tough decision between two difficult choices. And to be sure, the origin of the word which uses the "di" Greek prefix (meaning two) would suggest that as well.

But I think we can all agree that in our society words are sometimes used in ways other than their strict original meanings -- they can evolve over time, and broadened meanings can become more commonly accepted. In fact, looking at the many definitions I found for the word dilemma I see that it doesn't necessarily have to be a choice between only two possibilities; having to make a tough decision where none of choices are all that desirable is an acceptable meaning -- and certainly this sounds like the kind of thing my podcast deals with.

Regarding the original two choice meaning for the word dilemma, let me quote the good people at Dictionary.com:

"Nevertheless, 64 percent of the Usage Panel in our 1988 survey accepted its use for choices among three or more options."

If there's one thing I've learned over the last eight years of working at NPR, it's that there are more than a few loyal listeners who are sticklers for language. And I've also learned that this is a good thing. NPR is a place people trust deeply, and so we do our best to get it right. NPR's amazing team of reference librarians are accustomed to getting frantic phone calls that sound some like this: "Um, hi, okay so we're about to go on air in 30 seconds, is it Nevada with the first "a" sounding like cat or with the "a" sounding like spa?" (the correct answer by the way is the former).

I guess my point is that when it comes to how you pronounce proper names -- there is usually a right way and a wrong way. My last name Sachs, for instance, never should be rhymed with "patches". Your name may be spelled Michelle, but you may pronounce it "me-shell" not "ma-shell" and other people need to honor that.

But with word meanings it's often more of a fluid thing. Case in point, Dictionary.com lists 83 meanings for the word "run." Each year dictionary editors survey people to see how the language is currently used and then they debate the usage of a word to decide its meaning. That's why new words and new meanings are added to the dictionary every year.

I even found this interesting blog posting about how the spelling of dilemma has apparently morphed over the years.

So to the dismay of one commenter, I'm sticking with "Life's Most Trying Dilemmas" as my tag line -- but if it makes you feel better you can think of WWRD as "Life's Most Confounding Conundrums" or "Life's Most Detestable Decisions," or whatever other alliteration works for you.

2:00 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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