Hanging with Rich

My Favorite Actors & Actresses..... It's Oscar's night. Everyone will be tuning in to see the stars and find out who' s "wearing" who.  I'll be on the couch wearing a flannel shirt by Kohls. But it usually is the stars that make a movie a success. People are drawn to movies initially because of who is in it. Then they find out if it's a good story or not. I have my own favorites too. For example, I usually like Kevin Costner movies. But I don't necessarily think he's a great actor. I just usually like the movies he is in. But I also have a number of people that I really enjoy their acting ability. So here's a list of them that I will give the HWR Lifetime Achievement Award. To be on this list, I think you are consistently good, not just a one-hit wonder. Now Al Pacino was the main character in Godfather I & II , maybe the greatest movies ever made. But outside of Scarface , I wasn't a fan of anything else he's made. So Al

The Tear-Jerker of the Year..... I have now been lucky enough to see 4 of the movies that have been nominated for Best Picture in the Academy Awards. That's pretty good for me as I don't consider myself a regular moviegoer. I've seen Hidden Figures , a story about black women overcoming obstacles to become important figures in the early American space program. I've also seen Arrival , a science fiction story that on the surface is about communicating with aliens. But actually it's much deeper, and more personal  than that. I've seen Manchester by the Sea , that was a story about being dead in spirit, if not body. I thought it was so uninspiring it was a waste of 2 hours of my life. Then the other day I saw Lion . Dev Patel as Saloo. I went not knowing much about Lion, but was pleasantly surprised. Lion is an eye-opening tear-jerker, (If there is such a category.) It is based on the true story of Saloo, a street kid in India. The movie open in 1986, whe

Angels Among Us..... Sometimes I'm amazed at the kindness and generosity of others. Maybe it's because I know sometimes I'm not as kind and as generous as I should be. I hope I'm not turning into some crusty old-timer. But the other night I was witness to hundreds of people giving their time, talents, and money so that some handicapped young people could  have a night to remember. Tim Tebow escorting a guest of honor. We were invited to A Night To Shine . This is a formal dinner party, or prom, for special needs families of kids 14 and older. This is produced by the Tim Tebow Foundation. Most of us know Tim Tebow as an outstanding college football player. He was a Heisman Trophy winner and National Champion at the University of Florida under Coach Urban Meyer. He's also known for being a Christian. While his professional football career never amounted to much, he's obviously successful in other areas. My son Kenny was born premature weighing in at 2 po

Has The NFL Jumped The Shark?..... Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Billions will watch the game tonight. Some won't even care about the game. They just want to see some creative commercials. Lady Gaga will entertain us at halftime. It is a national spectacle. It seems a strange time for me to talk about a perceived fading popularity of the NFL. Is trouble on the horizon? Plenty of good seats available! Not from a revenue standpoint. The NFL is a money machine. The league makes an obscene amount of money.The TV contracts are huge. Licensing fees on products are high. Most of the tickets are sold, although not everybody shows up. However, many smart people are saying that the NFL has reached it's peak. When the league made Thursday night football part of the package, NBA owner, and shark, Mark Cuban predicted the greedy NFL will soon fade. "Pigs get fat. Hogs get slaughtered". he said. For those not familiar with the "jump the shark" reference, the TV sh