Lou Williams rejoined his NBA teammates after an eventful few days outside the Disney World bubble that included a trip to Atlanta, the memorial of a family friend, and finally, a well-publicized stop at a Gentlemen’s Club. The 6’1” shooting guard and reigning Sixth-Man-of-the-Year for the Los Angeles Clippers was provided an excused absence by the league to leave Orlando and their COVID-19 high secured environment in order to attend the viewing of a family friend that had recently passed.  But after a social media posting by a rapper and friend of Williams—Jack Harlow—of both men attending... Read More

The Old Guard is streaming on Netflix   So there I was, in the midst of a bout of pandemic depression. The old ways of coping were gone for the moment. I couldn’t schlep to my local movie theater. I couldn’t take my kid to a ball game. Up until recently, the zoo and local museums were closed. Sure, there are plenty of trails close by, but even my dog seems to be getting burned out by the constant walks. I’ll pick up his leash and say, “Ready to go for an adventure?” His eyes get wide as if to say, “Jesus, again?” You know what that’s like. Nobody wants to socially distance.... Read More

It had to have been more than a decade ago that I found myself arguing with the Admissions Department at a nearby University.  Looking to do some post-grad work, I found it absurd that the department needed a copy of my high school transcripts despite the fact that I was already years removed from the bachelor’s degree I had earned prior.  But I relented. Opening my computer, I started with the obvious and searched for University High School in Los Angeles, but it didn’t show up.  I searched high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, schools in West Los Angeles, and even the... Read More

The Beach House is streaming on Shudder. We’re in a period of change. Six months ago, most of us didn’t think we’d be where we are now. Six months from now, the smart money says that life will be just as unpredictable. Is it because of the pandemic? Partially, yet there’s more to it than that. After decades of neglect, people are rising up against systemic racism. Our economy is in flux. Our President is a driver of change, though not in the way he thinks or wants. The way we view movies is changing, as well. I don’t just mean the continued closure of theaters and the improbable resurrection... Read More

As I headed downstairs to make coffee the other morning, I stared at the empty calendar hanging in the kitchen. The quarantine had turned the days and months irrelevant.  My sports-themed, Drew Litton calendar, usually marked up with family activities, summer road trips, and neighborhood barbeques, hung empty. Past July’s had meant trips to the Coast for days on the beach, small town festivals filled with music and food, and visiting family across the states. The highlight of this summer was watching Hamilton on Disney Plus. It was then that I noticed that, according to my calendar, Tuesday,... Read More

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is streaming on Netflix I like to think I’m a relatively knowledgeable guy. I read a number of reputable news outlets daily, including The Washington Post and The Atlantic. I’m able to speak quasi-intelligently on a fairly wide range of topics. While I might not be a dazzling sophisticate like some of you, I’m not some drooling bumpkin. Yet up until a few weeks ago, I’d never heard of the Eurovision Song Contest. I know, typical American. If you’re an ignorant savage like me, get ready for some righteous science. The Eurovision Song Contest... Read More

My New Year’s Resolution for 2019 was “Stick to a Meal-Planning Regimen.” If you Google this idea, you get all the kitchen-blogger schtick about how preparing meals in advance saves you time and money, helps you lose weight, yadda yadda yadda. These things are both completely true and exceptionally boring. I wasn’t trying to save time or lose weight. I was going through a deeply difficult period and I was struggling to do things as basic as feed myself. I would make meals ahead of time and then I would require myself to actually sit down to eat them and say the out loud the words, “Someone... Read More

We wear their names on the back of our jerseys, display their posters on our walls, and dream that we are them.  Shooting baskets towards a rusty hoop we imagine we are Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan as the clock counts down to zero.  As plastic bats connect with whiffle balls, we round imaginary bases as Nolan Arenado, Mike Trout, or Willie Mays.  We lace up our skates like Nathan Mackinnon, cut off our sleeves like Rafael Nadal, and what we wouldn’t give to throw the ball, get the girl, and win it all, like Tom Brady. To us, athletes are superheroes.  To us, athletes are superhuman. COVID-19... Read More

I’m writing this on the morning of July 2. By now, we should have been a couple of months deep into the summer movie season. I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t miss it. Facts are facts, though. We’ve got one heck of a nasty virus wreaking havoc on the country, and one of the casualties is the modern moviegoing experience. At this point, the only way I’d set foot in a theater is if I could be enclosed in a human-sized hamster ball. What is a summer movie, anyway? Well, it’s complicated.* Jaws is the first summer blockbuster, proving to studios that audiences would flock to theaters... Read More