FUNNY FILMS: Today is the 4th anniversary of 9/11. It is a somber day and importantly so. Later in the week, when you need to cheer yourself up and have time to laugh, you might consider some of my all time favorite comedies. These are just recommendations, feel free to disagree.

1. What's Up Doc - early 70's slapstick farce with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. Her comedy is great in this film, but Streisand's politics have always been lousy.

2. Better Off Dead - the best of the 80's teen comedies. John Cusack is a great leading actor and there are numerous quotable lines from this film.

3. Sister Act - Whoopi's best. A good story that even manages to respect religion in the process. As with Streisand above, enjoy Ms. Goldberg's acting and completely ignore her politics.

4. Fletch - Chevy Chase is an LA reporter with a penchant for undercover disguises. Absolutely hilarious and the plot is top-notch.

5. Bowfinger - Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin. Need I say more?

6. Steel Magnolias - the best ever chick flick (from this man's perspective anyway), and some good laughs to boot. I have already written about this film's great dialogue on my blog. Hey, that rhymed. Caution: it's not all comedy -- be prepared for tragedy as well.

That's enough for now. What are some of your favorite film comedies? What classic did I leave off my list? Please put the "me" in media and let me know what you think.

COLOR COMMENTARY: I was glad that this week the White House decided to strike back by having the First Lady denounce as "disgusting" any claims that President Bush was a racist. I was also pleased, and surprised, that last week on Fox News Sunday panelist Juan Williams said basically the same thing. He said the President and the Administration were definitely not anti-black. It was encouraging to hear such clarity and honesty from a Lefty that I normally disagree with. Mrs. Bush and Mr. Williams' words were in response to criticism started by rapper/musician Kanye West. During an NBC telethon to raise money for Katrina victims West ad-libbed that President Bush didn't care about black people. Other Hollywood celebrities of color, including Don Cheadle and Oprah Winfrey, have had harsh things to say about the government's handling of the Katrina disaster. And they've been joined by Celine Dion, Sean Penn, Pierce Brosnan and others who have been quick to bash Bush. This is an old and tiring Hollywood game. In the process of sharing their "wisdom" with us, they alienate half their audience. Sure, it's frustrating that they feel this way, but even more frustrating that they're given a platform to share their views, as if they are more important than yours or mine. Attitudes may be shifting. West reportedly got booed during his performance on opening night of the NFL season. Maybe responses like those Laura Bush and Juan Williams gave will continue to put a muzzle on the "Bush is a racist", "it's all Bush's fault" mantra. One can only hope.

Please put the "me" in media and tell me what you think. And visit my companion blog Mr. Media Matters.

FRUSTRATING FRAMEWORK: It frustrates me that the MSM ignores stories, or angles of a story that don't fit with it's agenda. If a story bashes a Christian or a conservative or a Republican (and yes, you can be all 3 at the same time), then you can bet it will get wide play. Senator Trent Lott's comments that cost him his Majority Leader position is a prime example. On the other hand, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd said the N-word on Fox News and used to be in the KKK, but no one is forcing him to pay a price for his actions. If it bashes a liberal or a non-Christian or a Democrat, then in my opinion, it is less likely to get reported. Having said that, I wonder what the MSM will do when the End Times are near. The Bible (which, as a Christian, I believe) states that there will be signs and wonders that the end of the world is approaching. My guess is that even though those signs/miracles may make for wonderful visuals, they won't get much air time or coverage. Or they at least won't be portrayed in such a way as to validate biblical prophecy. Because the MSM has too much invested in their anti-Christian, celebrate diversity, pro-choice, the environment is a god mantra to spend time on something that refutes or embarrasses their agenda. For example, the Air America scandal is significant and the impact that it could have on a possible Senatorial campaign from liberal radio talker Al Franken is newsworthy. But you haven't heard much about it in the news, just from a few select newspapers and hard-working bloggers. If the MSM had existed in its current form back in Old Testament days, would we have seen many images of the parting of the Red Sea? My guess is that it would get limited exposure, and any coverage it did get would focus on the environmental damage it did to the Eqyptian water cricket. (I just made that up, I don't know if there is such a cricket but it sounds good to me.) They would intentionally miss the obvious point, that they are witnessing a miracle, so that they could spin the story into the mold of their philosophical framework. AARGH!

Please put the "me" in media and tell me what you think.

Because this post covers both the media and politics, it is cross-posted on my political blog, Mr. Media Matters.

MY WISH FOR THREE WISHES: The new Amy Grant hosted reality series Three Wishes debuts on NBC at 8 PM on Friday, September 23, 2005. You can bet I will be watching. Ms. Grant, a multiple Grammy Award winning singer, has mesmorized me since the age of 14. I own almost all of her CDs and I have seen her in concert 5+ times. But besides my crush on Ms. Grant (don't tell the Mrs.), the show seems promising for other reasons as well. It got a solid review in TV Guide's fall preview issue. And it has been compared to ABC's hit reality show Extreme Makeover:Home Edition. I looooooove that show. It encourages me every week. (Truth be told I'm usually bawling my eyes out by the end of the hour.) Three Wishes promises to do more good deeds, granting surprises to deserving people all over the US, all while the cameras are rolling. With Grant and do-gooding, what more could you ask for? (I'm ordering extra Kleenex right now.)

Please put the "me" in media and tell me what you think.

THE WHOLE KIT AND KABOODLE: Thanks to Kitty Litter's post from today, I have decided to further the book discussion. My wife is one of those people who read only one book at a time. And they don't start a new one until the first is finished. How boring! Me, I've got a dozen books started at once. Currently my list includes:

1) Shut Up & Sing by Laura Ingraham - I love her radio show and her common sense conservatism

2) Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell - her first novel and she is one of my wife's favorite authors, think CSI in book form

3) Brainlock by Jeffrey Schwartz- scientific look at facets of anxiety disorder

4) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggers - hysterically funny and flippant novel about two brothers

5) Wild At Heart by John Eldredge - Christian guide to masculinity

6) Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren - bestselling Christian guide to modern life with meaning

7) Understanding the Borderline Personality by Jerold Kreisman - more anxiety self-help

There are probably more that I've forgotten about, with a bookmark 1/3 or 1/2 of the way through, waiting for me to rediscover them. I do have to admit that finishing a book is a very satisfying feeling.

What kind of a reader are you? Please put the "me" in media and tell me what you think.

WORDS OF STEEL (PART TWO): Since there are sooooo many great quotes from the hit film Steel Magnolias. And because my first post on this subject garnered the most comments I have ever received, I have decided to post more of my favorite words to live by from this classic American movie.

Dolly Parton (Truvy) -- "There's some pretty sick tickets in this town."

Shirley MacLaine (Ouiser) -- "What's wrong with you these days? You got a reindeer up your butt?"

Olympia Dukakis (Claree) -- "The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize."

That's enough for now. Go rent this classic and watch it again. There will be more favorite quotes in a future post. What are your favorites?

Please put the "me" in media and tell me what you think.

SO THE SAYING GOES: The other morning my wife and I were joking around and she said something I have heard a million times, but this particular morning it struck me as especially funny. And odd. She said, in response to a question I had asked, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." That is such a bizarre sounding phrase. Where do weird phrases like that come from? The English language and our catch phrases and slang are so fascinating. Now, I think I know what the phrase means -- Just be glad for the gift you got, but don't press your luck by examining it too closely. In other words, be thankful someone gave you a horse. But don't examine it's teeth up close or you might be disappointed in the overall health of the horse, and therefore the value of the gift. The funny thing is, in today's modern times, we don't often give horses as gifts. And how did an awkward sounding phrase like that get used often enough that it became a part of our lexicon?

Another odd saying that my Grandma (God rest her soul) always used to say was "cuter than a bug's ear." That always made me chuckle. Do bugs even have ears? And if so, I doubt they are cute. I seriously question whether or not they are even big enough for us to see with the eye to evaluate their cuteness. Yet my Grandma would always mutter that saying when something caught her eye or tickled her fancy. A smiling baby was "cuter than a bug's ear." A drawing by one of her grandkids was "cuter than a bug's ear." Where did that saying come from? Where did she hear it first? And how did it catch on? Funny thing is, now I sometimes catch myself saying it. And the only reason I know what it means is because I experienced what it meant for my Grandma. Nevertheless, it is a bizarre sequence of words. I would love to know the etymology of this phrase and other weird ones out there in the English language.

What weird phrases strike your fancy? Put the "me" in media and tell me what you think.

ENTERING THE 21ST CENTURY: My wife and I are trying to keep up. Really we are. In order to stay abreast of the entertainment and information options available to you today, one really must have DVR & DSL. Up until recently, the only D we had was a DVD. But we're trying to make up for lost time.

Last weekend, I was at my brother's house watching a silly sketch comedy program, The Andy Milonakis Show, on MTV2 with my 14 year old nephew Christopher. I had to leave the room and was afraid I was going to miss part of the show. It's hysterical, but if you don't have a silly sense of humor (like me), don't waste your time. Anyway, my nephew pushed the DVR button and started recording it instaneously. So I didn't miss any of the program and plus we got to fast forward through the commercials. It was awesome. And I was so impressed with it we decided to sign up for it this week. DVR is revolutionizing the way we watch TV. It provides you with so many more viewing options. You can watch a program whenever you want, not just when the network decides to air it. Fascinating stuff! And no VCR tapes to mess with.

So soon we will have both DVR and DSL. Mrs. Media Matters will really be a blogging maniac when we no longer have to rely on dial up Internet service.

Stay tuned to this site for reviews and evaluations of our DVR & DSL experiences. And I will occasionally throw in a DVD review as well.

Please put the "me" in media and let me know what you think.

LANGUAGE BARRIER: The Mrs. and I have become attached to a primetime TV drama on BBC America, Footballers Wives. (Don't worry, it is only entertainment programming. I would never count on the liberal biased BBC for news coverage.) It's a fun program, soap opera in style. But even though the characters are speaking English, I can only understand about 50% of the dialogue. The British accents are so thick that every other word is mumbo jumbo. And I am not hip to all the British slang. Needless to say, I have to concentrate much harder when watching Footballers Wives than when I watch other TV dramas. My wife and I are always asking one another, "did you catch that?" or "what did they just say?" Because it's a soap opera and plotlines are familiar, you can usually figure out what is going on. But the English doesn't really sound much like English.

Put your own "me" in media and tell me what you think.

HOLLYWOOD VS. HOME THEATERS: Hollywood is distressed because box office numbers are down. For (at least) 14 consecutive weeks, ticket sales have been down. Well, I sort of like the idea of Hollywood being nervous. Let the leftist libtards suffer for a while. There are a number of theories as to why box office receipts are slipping. The most prominent one I have heard is that this year's crop of summer films has been dull. Maybe. But the Mrs. and I have seen a number of films that we liked: Mr. & Mrs. Smith is non-stop action, Fantastic Four is good, cheesy fun, and Bewitched was cute and harmless. In fact the only film we haven't liked this summer was Monster-In-Law. So I'm not convinced it is the movie's plots. I would recommend that Hollywood take something from the success of the Passion of the Christ and make more movies that appeal to the heartland of America -- wholesome, family-oriented films, even ones with a blatantly Christian message. But I think the real reason that box office sales are down is because of the advent of the home theater. People don't want or need to leave their homes anymore to enjoy a theater experience. More and more people have advanced equipment in their homes for enjoying DVDs. Services like Netflix and Showtime make it easy to enjoy recent releases in the privacy of your home. Save the $9 bucks on the ticket and the $45 bucks you'd pay for the popcorn and drinks, and just snuggle up on the couch with your main squeeze to watch the latest Nicole Kidman remake. Things have changed. We have now brought the theater experience into our homes. And Hollywood may never get the box office numbers it used to for that very reason.

Please put your own "me" in media, and tell me what you think.

WORDS OF STEEL: Steel Magnolias is a classic film and a favorite in my house.
Sure, many would call it a chick flick, I don't care because I liked it, too. This 1989 drama with a southern flair for comedy garnered (at least) one major Academy Award nomination for Julia Roberts as Best Supporting Actress. It was her first major film role and she shined like a true southern belle. The story is part drama, part comedy, part tragedy, detailing the turbulent relationship between a Lousiana mother and her grown daughter, along with the support they receive from four other strong southern women who all frequent the same beauty salon. Steel Magnolias featured a stellar cast as Roberts was joined by Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Darryl Hanah. This movie will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you think. And it deserved much more praise than it got, if for no other reason than the assortment of classic quotes from the film. Here are just a few of my favorites, with more to come in future posts:

Dolly Parton (Truvy): "If you can achieve puberty, you can achieve a past."

Julia Roberts (Shelby): "I would rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special."

Darryl Hannah (Annelle): "My personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair."

Shirley MacLaine (Ouiser): "He is a boil on the butt of humanity."

Please put your own "me" in media, and tell me what you think.

KELLY CLARKSON KUDOS: I am becoming a huge fan of Kelly Clarkson. I have never watched "American Idol" so I know only in passing that she is the first big winner of this hit TV program. Now I can understand why. Instead, I have become familiar with her through her radio hits. And they just keep coming. Now with her second CD out, entitled "Breakaway" she has produced multiple radio hits. All three of them have been favorites of mine -- the title track "Breakaway," "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes." These three songs are catchy, rockin' tunes. I highly recommend them and can't wait for her next single to be released. Kelly, keep 'em coming!

On a side note, Kelly has faced some rumors that she lip synchs in concert. To my knowledge, nothing has been substantiated. Personally, I don't have a problem with lip synching in concerts. I want the songs to sound like they do on the radio. And with all the dancing and running around that performers have to do these days to make a show, I can understand why they may need to augment their "live" performance with some lip synching. I do have a problem if you don't sing on your recordings, though, similar to what Milli Vanilli were caught doing in the 90's. That is very lame.

Please put your own "me" in media, and tell me what you think.

OH REALLY, O'REILLY: First, let me say that I like Bill O'Reilly. I catch portions of his syndicated radio program, "The Radio Factor" almost daily. And about once a week I tune into his high-rated cable news TV program, "The O'Reilly Factor." I appreciate his bluntness. He tells it like it is. Bill is not quite as bullish on the Iraq War as I wish he were. But he is tough on terrorists, criminals and hypocrites, holds their feet to the fire. And I admire that.

Recently I heard him on his radio program talk about how the Natalee Holloway case was a non-story. There was no breaking news and the American media were just beating the story to death. But he, on his programs, was going to leave the matter alone. I applauded this decision. However, the last two times I have tuned into "The O'Reilly Factor" Bill has featured updated stories on the situation in Aruba. What gives? Why did he apparrently change his mind? And did he communicate the reasons behind that decision to his audience? If he did, I missed it. (And if I missed it, I will willingly admit it.) But if he just changed his mind because the competition, like Great Van Susteren and others, were getting high ratings for nauseating non-stop Natalee coverage, then we need to be holding his feet to the fire as well.

Please put your own "me" in media, and tell me what you think.

I LOVE KATHIE LEE, BUT...: Kathie Lee Gifford has announced her return to TV. She will be a special correspondent for the syndicated magazine show, "The Insider", hosted by Pat O'Brien. It's a trendy, celebrity-driven piece of fluff, similar to "Access Hollywood" or "Entertainment Tonight." This does not seem to be the best fit for Ms. Gifford's talents. I loved her on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee", watched every day. She was hilarious and high energy and above all else, spontaneous. While she's been a correspondent before, years ago for "Good Morning America", as a news reporter, you don't have the same opportunity for fun and creativity. She will apparently be covering the New York City/Broadway entertainment beat. Most of America could care less about Broadway. Stars on Broadway are not usually well-known and most of the country never gets to see a play done on the strip. Ultimately, I just don't see this as being a good fit for her talents. I guess what I'd really like is for her to go back to mornings with Regis.

Please put your own "me" in media, and tell me what you think.