My younger son turns seven in about a month, and the other day I realized that I was about that age when I realized just how important stories were to me. My parents left me to stay with friends of the family for an afternoon; I have no memory why. But while I was there, I started watching the TV … Read More
Seeing It a New Way
In my teen writing class at the Mount Horeb Public Library last week, we segued into discussing Catcher in the Rye, and one of my students made the following observation (which I’m paraphrasing): Some of my friends have said that, since the characters in the book were rich, Holden’s problems weren’t that significant. But in so many other books I’ve read, … Read More
A True Story of Frog-Gigging and Disappointment
I wrote the following piece for a memoir class taught by Michelle Wildgen, best-selling author of Bread and Butter and You’re Not You (soon to be a movie starring Hilary Swank). When I was a kid growing up in rural Tennessee, my dad determined that I would follow in his footsteps and leave a trail of dead small animals behind … Read More
The Great Rock and Roll Secret
Suppose the great rock single had flickered over the airways just once, on the night you had passed out in the back seat? Probably not, but still…rock and roll has always had this sense of possibility. –Dave Marsh, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, page 93 I originally read the above quote in the 1980s, when the first edition … Read More
Review: The Making of Day of the Dead
When I heard there would be a book entirely about the making of George A. Romero’s third zombie movie, Day of the Dead, I was surprised. The movie had not been a financial or critical success at the time, and while its reputation has risen since its 1985 release, it’s still nowhere near as well-known as its predecessors, Night of … Read More
A Radical Notion on Internet Misogyny
My friend, director Lexi Alexander (Punisher: War Zone and Green Street Hooligans, among others) has recently come under fire for her pro-file-sharing stance. You can read her argument, which is more nuanced than my simple summary (she’s mainly against the criminalization of file-sharing), at this link. Needless to say, there’s been some controversy. So much, in fact, that she’s had … Read More
Do We Just Not Want Heroes?
SPOILER ALERT for Man of Steel. And, for that matter, for Superman II. I remember, back in the 90s, seeing a promo for the TV show E.R., then starring everyone’s favorite bachelor, George Clooney. Over footage of Clooney carrying an unconscious woman into the emergency room, a grave voice announced, “Tonight on E.R., a hero falls.” I remember thinking then, … Read More
New Firefly Witch collection on the way
A new Firefly Witch collection, Sight for Sore Eyes, will be available shortly. Kelly Crimi designed the cover, which is my favorite in the series so far. Watch for the release announcement, coming soon!
Underworld: Awakening and the great gender swap
I finally caught up with Underworld: Awakening, a movie I’d put off seeing because I liked the first two Underworld films so much. Although technically the fourth in the series, chronologically it follows the second (the third was a totally unnecessary prequel), and picks up the story of Kate Beckinsale’s Selene after the events of Underworld: Evolutions. Why, if I’m … Read More
Blade Runner: crocodile tears in rain?
I’ll say up front: this is totally fanboy rambling. Take it as such. In Ridley Scott’s classic film Blade Runner, evil corporate head Elton Tyrell explains to hero Rick Deckard how the Nexus 6 replicants, the closest the company’s come to true human beings, have emotional issues since they’re born fully adult and live only four years. Tyrell: We began … Read More