Archive for category: Think

Is it time for The High Bar to build a trophy case? We are proud to announce that our Season 2 episode with Oscar®-winning actress and filmmaker, Jodie Foster — in which we raise the bar for mental health — just won a national Communicator Award. Directed and co-produced by [...]

Heady news for craft brewers: in 2011, their sales increased 13% while the “top 10 major brewers continued to see their sales decline,” according to The Daily. None of this comes as a surprise to the Elysian’s master-brewer, Dick Cantwell who visited The High Bar during Season 2. You can [...]

I don’t get nervous. I speak with stars. I speak with smarties. I speak with thousands. I don’t get nervous. I speak with authors and artists I greatly admire — Howard Jacobson, Guillermo del Toro, William Gibson, Sir Salman Rushdie — and actors I truly adore — Jodie Foster, Gary [...]

American leaders like to proclaim that we get into wars either to bless other countries with democratic governments like our own or to protect American freedoms. Some would argue, we succeed at neither. One such naysayer, is former Marine Tim Thompson, a native of Tennessee appalled by the state’s new [...]

A-list stars are swell; I’ve enjoyed my conversations with Jodie Foster and Gary Oldman and Naomi Watts and Woody Allen. (Well, I didn’t enjoy Woody, but it sure was an, well, edifying hour.) That said, some of the most endearing and enriching chats are with authors and artists and activists [...]

If I were to place my personal points of pride on a blank sheet of paper and connect the dots, I like to think they would form a small, simple smile. Or, at least a straight line that went from A to B. Tonight, I add another point with the [...]

Sundance may be the most important American film festival, but that doesn’t mean it’s infallible. In fact, the Park City programmers seem to get as many wrong as they do right, sort of like the Academy Awards®. The good news is that when Sundance falters, SXSW takes advantage. This year, [...]

Finally! Today Gary Oldman received his first Academy Award nomination, for his subdued star turn in TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY Despite many great performances in the past, he has now received a nod for one which is easily his least showy role, a soft-spoken re-imagining of George Smiley, the beloved [...]

As we enter an election year and the loathsome campaigning that accompanies it, I think it wise to consider Einstein’s theory of intellectual relativity: “The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.” Of course, while stupidity is rampant, it is possible that genius could be discovered [...]

RottenTomatoes.com has just unveiled their Golden Tomatoes for 2011, in essence, their awards for the statistically best-reviewed films of last year. In the documentary category, PROJECT NIM took the top spot, followed by THE INTERRUPTERS. In third place, EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: The Story of Fishbone, is the only one of the [...]

Today, Governor Christine Gregoire announced she will endorse legislative action creating a bill in support of marriage equality for Washington State. And while advocates suggest Ms. Gregoire has “shown tremendous leadership on this issue,” has she really? I do not wish to pass judgment of Governor Gregoire nor the merits [...]

Window-shopping is one of the most enjoyable elements of the holiday season; family is one of the most trying. Window-shopping, whether for in-laws, off-spring or oneself, offers the promise of the perfect fit, the pleased smile, the “just right.” Family, whether blood or extended, is more akin to the checkerboard [...]

The High Bar would be closed for business, if not for the dedication and talent of an amazing crew, under the guidance of my fantastic, fellow executive producer, Jason Ganwich. It is rare for those behind the camera to get the credit they deserve, so I am delighted that Jenni [...]

As happy as I have been with the second season of The High Bar, I am absolutely stoked about Season 3. There are many big changes ahead, thanks to the solidified leadership of my co-executive producer Jason Ganwich, pacts with two television stations to increase our audience by nearly 3 [...]

If I knew you were coming, I would have baked a cake. Uh-oh. That time-honored excuse won’t help me now. I know who’s coming and am too intimidated to do anything about it. This week, I’ll be shooting new episodes of The High Bar and welcoming Eric Lanlard, one of the [...]

Are you ready for a brand new beat? Diego Stocco can find music, sweet music, playing everywhere. Even at the dry cleaners. Check out this video on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/29273575 What do YOU think? Too much starch in the melody? For more about music appreciation, pull up a stool at The High [...]

There are now more breweries in the United States than there were just prior to Prohibition (1,759 today versus 1,751 way back when.) More dramatically, note there were only 50! across the country in 1980.* Is the increase a consequence of the loosening of regulations? An offshoot of the locavore [...]

Marshall McLuhan famously instructed: “The medium is the message.” However, if you read Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man on-line, you might have already forgotten the phrase and its implications. Or so suggests a study done at University of Oregon. Researchers have determined that our reading comprehension and retention is [...]

(This article was originally published on Sparksheet.)     The next James Bond film will reportedly receive $45 million, a third of its overall budget, from high-end on-screen product placement. The sum is more than double the previous record for a single film (Steven Spielberg raked in $20 million for brazenly [...]

Please don’t be alarmed, I won’t always lead with Bad News, but I just felt it necessary to revisit yesterday’s top story with another excerpt from Tom Fenton‘s Pulitzer-worthy denouncement of contemporary network journalism. The passage below provides good cause to reconsider the public’s reverence for HBO documentaries and the pay-cabler’s [...]