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Hard to say whether the Catholic-born Kabbalah convert Madonna celebrates Christmas. Last year, she reportedly prepped for the Yule by having four 72-pint firkins of ale delivered to her Wiltshire home: a good sign that Father Christmas was expected at the Ritchie-Ciccone residence. On the other hand, the British tabloids report that Yohane Banda, father…

One more follow-up to CNN’s “Most Controversial Celebrities of 2006“: Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears not only provided non-stop fun and follies on which a starving (or bored) cultural audience feasted, but something else far more newsworthy–and perhaps dangerous–was going on as well. It has probably been true every year and…

While some reviewers panned it, I thought “A Night at the Museum” was full of surprises. The advertising run-up to this movie made it seem like it’d be sort of an indoors version of “Jurassic Park,” and the first several minutes bored me with another (overdone) Ben-Stiller-is-a-good-guy-who-gets-picked-on character. After that, though, things got exciting. Old…

In “Not Everybody Loves Patricia,” Jesse Green of The New York Times writes a lengthy profile of Patricia Heaton–the two-time Emmy Award winner for her nine-season turn on “Everybody Loves Raymond“–and her struggles with being at once a popular actress and a not-so-popular Christian. Raised in a conservative Catholic household where “they attended Mass every…

President Ford’s death has set off a week of reflection and commentary regarding his presidency and predictions about his lasting legacy. I’m sorry that one of the prime stories about his life has not been overly reported, and I understand why. Many of us depend on newsmagazines, short film, bites and comic relief for contributions…

The connection between spirituality and art was once a given: think Dante or even the dark and edgy paintings of Breugel. In our day, art is understood to be secular, and the more edge, the more secular we expect the artist to be. A perfect example is The New York Times’s Sunday profile of David…

While I am still on a movie-watching spree so I can finish my list of Top Ten Films of 2006, I thought I would share with Idol Chatter readers the books and music that are some of the best of this past year, but which, in my estimation, are also the most overlooked. So it’s…

One of the most interesting–albeit meaningless–awards of the year comes from CNN Headline News’ “Showbiz Tonight,” which names its “Most Controversial Celebrity” of the year. For 2006, Britney Spears won out over the likes of Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, Tom Cruise, Anna Nicole Smith, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Madonna, and Star Jones. I…

If you’ve seen all the other family movies this season–or even if you haven’t–take your teens or even your grown kids to see “Rocky Balboa.” It may end up being the kind of bonding that goes beyond inspiration to transformation. “Rocky Balboa” starts a little slow compared to most action flicks, but the teens I’ve…

Like a lot of people, I love lists, and I love the Beliefnet team of gifted bloggers, writers, and editors, but I have to say it’s a glaring oversight that “The Nativity Story” doesn’t make the list of Top Ten Family Films of 2006, which Sharon Linnea–Beliefnet’s Reel Inspirational columnist–compiled. For years, young people have…
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