Sun Blogs

The British Are Coming!

July 4th, 2008
By Samantha Hartzband
Despite the fact today is July 4th, our Independence Day, it seems impossible these days to delve into entertainment media without seeing our friends from across the pond. No, it’s not Beatle Mania, but it is certainly some kind of invasion. First there is Amy Winehouse’s struggle with substance abuse and, well, let’s just say “overall wellness.” While Winehouse is not a summer 2008 phenomenon, she got our minds revved up for the bombs Buckingham Palace was about to drop on us. So let’s talk music. Read More

LoHo Got Me Hooked: Living Lohan

May 31st, 2008
By Samantha Hartzband
As the weather is stabilizing around the 70s, I’m simultaneously stabilizing my summer television schedule. Gossip Girl and Grey’s Anatomy (the Double G’s) are over, and I have found myself in desperate need of a new summer staple. But dare I say, I may have found it in the most surprising place – E!’s Living Lohan. The show focuses on Lindsay Lohan’s 14-year-old sister, Ali, and her mother, Dina. Ali aspires to follow in her older sister’s footsteps, and it seems she’s taken a page out of Ashlee Simpson’s book. Just like the younger Simpson, Ali went to the small screen to draw some media attention to her potential career. Read More

What’s MC Backwards? CM: ChimesMaster

April 30th, 2008
By Samantha Hartzband
‘Tis the season of tour groups, and Cornell’s team of guides are swarming McGraw Tower in the usual fashion. Those prospective pre-frosh lucky enough to be on tours at 1:10 p.m. are in for an extra special treat – the chimes concert. But there’s just no way these high school students can appreciate the chimes the way Cornell students do, and after all, how could they? Read More

Summer Music Guide: Student Tested, Hartzband Approved

April 25th, 2008
By Samantha Hartzband
It’s official – summer, as far as college students are concerned, is finally here. That means it’s time to store away all our winter iTunes playlists and tune into our favorite summer anthems. I can see no better time to pay homage to a few of the songs that have defined my summers for as long as I can remember. Here goes: Read More

When Normalcy Dies

April 18th, 2008
By Samantha Hartzband
How many seasons does it take for a show to die? Well, that kind of depends on your definition of dying. To me, a show dies once it loses its hook. In showbiz, that’s what makes a show different from the hundreds of other programs on at any given time. Clearly, American Idol executive producer, Simon Fuller, never got the memo. The show is in the middle of its seventh season, and I really thought Fuller was smarter than Idol’s longevity suggests. In my humble opinion, production should have ended after season 4, when Carrie Underwood managed to narrowly escape the clutches of celebrity pigeonholing. Read More

Why TV Might Put Me in Cardiac Arrest

April 11th, 2008
By Samantha Hartzband
The writers’ strike has been over for some time now, but its aftermath is stronger than ever. All of America’s favorite shows have announced their dates of return, and many of these are much later than anticipated. This sucks, I agree; but perhaps this brief hiatus from the television’s warm glow can give us some time to analyze what we love and hate about the programs we watch religiously. I’ve given this some thought and realized that there are some characters I truly despise and that they all have one thing in common-– they’re just no fun. Read More