I'm a big fan of the show What's My Line, which ran from 1950-1967, which was all about a panel of contestants try to guess the occupations - the 'line' of a guest. Then the special 'mystery guest' round brought in a celebrity guest while the panel blindfolded themselves. This was often a highlight of … Continue reading Low-Effort Blogging: ‘What’s My Line’
Movies
Reflections on the Oscars
You may not know it, but apparently the Academy Awards are coming up. Personally, I forgot all about them because…well, they’re pretty much best forgotten at this point. Modern Hollywood giving itself awards for artistry and technical skill is like the Soviet Government announcing canonizations for Sainthood; it means nothing and everyone except maybe the … Continue reading Reflections on the Oscars
Thoughts on ‘Rampage’
A couple weeks ago, my movie night was revisiting Rampage, the 2018 video game adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson, Jeffery Dean Morgan, and a giant cgi gorilla. When I first saw the film in theaters, I found myself unexpectedly pleased by it, at least for what it is. Keep in mind that I saw it just … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Rampage’
Scene Dissection: ‘Jaws’ on Dialogue Serving Multiple Purposes
Like the contents of a bug-out-bag, every detail of your story should serve a purpose, and preferably more than one. This doesn’t just apply to plot points, but ideally to the individual elements and dialogue that go to make up a scene. For instance take the introductory exchange of dialogue from the Brodys in Jaws … Continue reading Scene Dissection: ‘Jaws’ on Dialogue Serving Multiple Purposes
Harpo Storms ‘You Bet Your Life’
On May 1st, 1961, Harpo Marx made an unexpected appearance on "You Bet Your Life" to promote his autobiography Harpo Speaks. Unexpected, that is, even to his brother Groucho, prompting a low-key moment of sincere joy from the acerbic comic, who clearly doesn't mind being upstaged by the one man capable of such a feat. … Continue reading Harpo Storms ‘You Bet Your Life’
‘The Wisdom of Walt Disney’ Now in Paperback
Exciting news: my book, The Wisdom of Walt Disney (freshly edited and revised) is now available in paperback. To mark this momentous occasion, the book will be available at a reduced price all this week through Wednesday March 2nd. The normal price is $3.99 for the Kindle version, $8.99 for paperback. For the next week, … Continue reading ‘The Wisdom of Walt Disney’ Now in Paperback
On Bad Analogies
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks back about original novel of Bambi, by Felix Salten. The gist of the article was regarding how different the book was from the film, and in particular how the book had a strong theme of the experience of minority groups (Salten was an … Continue reading On Bad Analogies
Friday Flotsam: Team Building and ‘Bumblebee’
1. Another ‘digging in’ week. Mostly spent prepping a few projects for release. More on those in the coming days. 2. Had a teambuilding exercise at work today, and I never come away from teambuilding exercises without a greater appreciation for solitary endeavor. The trouble is that, with most team projects or team-building activities, my … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Team Building and ‘Bumblebee’
Sympathy for George Lucas
There are a lot of mixed feelings towards George Lucas these days after three poor prequels and the ill-judged efforts at a ‘special edition’, among other things. It’s trendy to hate him. Personally, I don’t. I feel sorry for him. This is all speculation, but the way I see it, Lucas created something great, the … Continue reading Sympathy for George Lucas
Sonic 2 Trailer
The first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has dropped at last (actually, I found it dropped back in December and I completely missed it). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5kzUpWAusI (By the way, why do internet trailers now do that little 'intro' these days? What is the point of that?) As you may recall, I was moderately pleased with … Continue reading Sonic 2 Trailer
Serpent's Den 