Someone may have pointed this out already, but Citizen Kane is quite good. Every few minutes you get an iconic image, the storytelling’s effortlessly visual, it features rousing sledding sequences, etc. Also, it’s ensured that a majority of American movies will be, even if they aspire to greatness, pretty terrible. For most films are not photographed nearly so nicely as Kane, yet they still utilize at least one of its three poisonous legacies: [Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment by Sean Cunningham
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 Congress passed a law. A biggun. I won’t indict the methods employed, the simple fact is they got it passed. But this was an unusual critter. First off titanic in size and scope. Also as opaque as a public document could be. As Nancy Pelosi informed us so elegantly, we would have to pass it to see what was in it. Weeks after the vote the first reports from Reality returned. They were bad. Oh, so bad. [Read more →]

Tags: health & medical, on the law, politics & government by Ken Watson
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When Elizabeth Lerner was fifteen, something horrible happened to her: she was kidnapped by a serial killer.  She was held hostage for nearly 6 weeks.  She was beaten and raped.  But she wasn’t killed.  He killed girls before he kidnapped her, he killed girls after he kidnapped her.  He did not kill Elizabeth.  She has never known why.

Walter Bowman is scheduled for execution in just a few weeks.  He has one final chance — and one secret ally — to bring out his version of the truth, and perhaps convince the governor to spare his life.  But it all depends on Elizabeth Lerner. I’d Know You Anywhere tells the story of those final weeks, Walter’s last-ditch efforts, and Elizabeth’s search for closure. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, Lisa Reads by Lisa Hura
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Today’s post wraps up my three-part “Audio Files” series devoted to Miles Davis’ musical tree.

Part One focused on former Miles drummer Tony Williams.

Part Two explored Planet Davis — as in Richard Davis — and though I originally intended to share one more Richard Davis story, I’ve decided to leave the old man alone.

That’s because there’s other things to discuss, as today’s post will be the last of my weekly “Audio Files.”

[Read more →]

Tags: Michael Cade's audio files by Michael Cade
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Tags: environment & nature, photography by Scott Stein
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While the story in The Company Men is not literally “ripped from the headlines,” the film deals with a current and important problem. Although the film is not without flaws, the subject matter is compelling, the performances are strong and the film really resonated with me. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie by Gail D. Rosen
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A student of mine just said she has “writer’s block.” It got me thinking about something I rarely consider.

I’m not sure how to say this without sounding smug or arrogant, so I’ll just say it: I have never had an issue with writer’s block, nor will I ever. If you have dealt with creative blocks, I don’t mean to be offensive or condescending. It’s just that I believe that writer’s block is a myth and that once we believe in the myth, it can take us over and drive our creativity into the ground, becoming real to us. I don’t believe in it; therefore, I render it impotent. Consider this the reverse of that scene in Peter Pan where the kids clap for Tinkerbelle to show they believe. Together, we can kill the mythical creature that is writer’s block by simply not clapping. [Read more →]

Tags: advice, artistic unknowns by Chris Matarazzo by Chris Matarazzo
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