An Unexpected 'We Are the World' Experience

I was recently up north in the Worthington/Delaware area - not exactly a hotbed of diversity.

Craving pancakes and wielding a gift certificate I got for Christmas, I decided to stop into the Bob Evans at 270 and North High. Despite my rumbling stomach, I got second thoughts as I pulled into the parking lot. I thought maybe I ought to go to a restaurant closer to where I live on the east side, where there are more people who "look like me."

But my hunger won out and when I went in, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this Bob Evans was, in fact, a hotbed of diversity - at least it was on this particular sunny Saturday. Much of the wait staff and many of the patrons were either African American or Hispanic. In fact, a couple of the waiters were chatting in Spanish to a Hispanic family sitting at the counter.

A multicultural, "We Are the World" experience at Bob Evans - who woulda guessed!

Reflections on Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'

After reading a recent article about Pink Floyd in Rolling Stone, I got their albums "The Wall" and "Dark Side of the Moon" from the library.

Not really my cup of tea, haven't become a Pink Floyd fan, although there are maybe two or three songs total from both albums that I'd listen to again. Listening to "The Wall" and "Dark Side of the Moon," you can definitely hear the influence on modern-day indie rock.

Revisiting Whitney's Movie Debut

In light of Whitney Houston's recent passing, I just re-watched "The Bodyguard," which I hadn't seen since going to see it at a movie theatre when it was released 20 years ago.

At the time, I loved the music but was underwhelmed by the movie itself and couldn't figure out why it was such a runaway hit.

With the perspective of time, it's clear that the star power of Whitney and Kevin Costner is what made "The Bodyguard" a worldwide blockbuster.

Christiane's Welcome Return to ABC's 'ThisWeek'

It was good to see Christiane Amanpour return to ABC's "ThisWeek" on March 4 for the roundtable discussion.

I thought Christiane made an excellent host of the show. She asked tough questions of movers and shakers but was also pleasant and friendly.

As Christiane's replacement, George Stephanaopoulis does a decent job, as he did in his previous stint as host. But I thought Christiane brought a much-needed dose of diversity and, as someone who grew up outside the U.S., an valuable objective persepctive on U.S. politics.

Had Fun Going 'Into the Night'

Enjoyed watching '85 flick "Into the Night" on YouTube recently. This romantic comedy/caper with the unlikely pairing of Michelle Pfeifer and Jeff Goldblum was often on cable when I was a kid, and it still holds up today. Great acting, a tense plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat rooting for Jeff and Michelle's characters to get away from the bad guys, interesting cameros by Dan Akroyd, director John Landis, filmmaker/actor Paul Mazurksy and others and a catchy theme song by the one and only B.B. King.

Oscar Highlights

I taped the Oscars Sunday night and have been watching bits and pieces throughout the week. Highlights for me were musical ones: Sheila E. and Pharell from the Neptunes leading the band and Esperanza Spalding's graceful, understated version of "What a Wonderful World" during the tribute to those who passed away in the last year.

I thought Billy Crystal did a great job as host, as usual, really brought back that nostalgic feeling about the greatness of movies.