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Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category

Babies and Bathwater

Posted in Books, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 14 Jan 2014| 1 Comment »

Writing with Pen and PaperIf you don’t have one, you need one. In fact, you need several.

I’m talking about beta readers, those folks you lure/ wheedle/ cajole/ beg/ entrap into reading your baby, promising them anything from sex to chocolate to whisky—for the record, that last one is the coin of my realm—in order to get their input, their take, their particular and specific impressions.

This weekend, I received the draft copy of a new memoir from the talented, wry, and always engaging Todd Baker, whose first book, Ten Year Run: A Marathoning Memoir, I was lucky enough to beta-read. His new work, about his lifelong love of heavy metal music, promises to be a hell of a lot of fun, not to mention a good dose of humor in a difficult time.

I’m lucky, also, in that Todd is one of my beta readers. (more…)

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Who I Read and Why

Posted in Books, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 06 Jan 2014| 9 Comments »

Stack of BooksWriters aren’t like normal people.

When writers read–be it a book, an article, or sometimes even a headline–we study, parse, and edit. We re-word what we read (“It would be better like this”), we laugh out loud at ugly phrases (“He threw up his hands”), and we will kick a book across the room before we’ll read another page filled with moronic characters and Swiss cheese plots.

This can take a lot of the enjoyment out of reading, but on the flip side, there are joys in reading only writers can experience. We have WIWI moments (“Wish I’d Written It!”) and can find ecstasy in a well-wrought sentence or a surprising image.

We also learn from reading. We learn a lot.

(more…)

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Be It Hereby Resolved

Posted in Culture, tagged , , , , , , on 02 Jan 2014| 3 Comments »

Gossamer WheelYesterday, New Year’s Day, was Global Hangover Day.

It was also Global Magical Thinking Day.

Call me a cynic, but there is nothing special about New Year’s Day. It has no potency, no power. It signifies nothing of interest in the physical world, marks neither solstice or equinox, time to sow or time to reap. (more…)

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It’s a Rule

Posted in Culture, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on 31 Dec 2013| Leave a Comment »

Salal RainIt’s Blogging 101: Thou shalt recap the year.

(more…)

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Make the World Your Ashtray

Posted in Culture, Movies, tagged , , , , , , on 16 Dec 2013| Leave a Comment »

The last one is gone.

Yesterday, the last of my Deities of Cinema, Peter O’Toole, passed away at the age of 81.

Born on an unknown date in an unknown location, he was the son of a Scottish nurse and an Irish bookie who made their way through the underclass of war-torn Britain. O’Toole came from little, but followed his nose and his talent, and eventually built a larger-than-life-sized persona to match his larger-than-life-sized career. He was a colossus in a profession filled with stars and showed himself able to handle anything from farcical comedy to tragic drama to subtle, supporting roles. He could be urbane, crude, boisterous, bombastic, kind, loving, cruel, imperious, or callow as the role required, and he gave us iconic performances as Lawrence, Lord Jim, a young Henry II (Becket), an elder Henry II (The Lion in Winter), Mr. Chips, Don Quixote, Alan Swann, and dozens of others.

There are other great actors alive in the world today; this cannot be denied. But there are no more giants. The industry has changed, and it can no longer contain the type of personality O’Toole presented to us.

Working with O’Toole during the filming of King Ralph, John Goodman, asked the revered actor if he might borrow an ashtray.

O’Toole flicked his cigar ash on the floor.

“Make the world your ashtray, my boy.”

The last one is gone.

k

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Hit & Miss

Posted in Television, tagged , , , , on 13 Dec 2013| Leave a Comment »

The British television industry has a tradition of creating short-lived series. In America, a show may have 23 episodes in a season; in Britain, it is often only half that or, as fans of the recent Sherlock reboot well know, only three. In addition, the Brits will create a “series” that is only expected to live one, maybe two years. Where we Yanks will keep a show going well past its sell-by date, the Brits make a show, air it, and move on to the next idea, the next story.

Naturally, they have their long-standing staples like Coronation Street, East Enders, Top Gear, and Time Team (which sadly was canceled after two decades of wonderful programming), but by and large this “one-off” approach to television creates a more varied viewing landscape where, if you don’t like a show, just wait a month or two and something new will be on.

And so, British television will often take risks that would give American television execs apoplexy.

Hit & Miss is a perfect example. (more…)

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Blowing a Gasket

Posted in Culture, tagged , , , , , , on 12 Dec 2013| 4 Comments »

It’s hard not to anthropomorphize.

My lawnmower is cranky and only likes to start if I tip it on its nose when I prime the engine. I have often described my computers as malevolent or downright evil. I’ve named every car I’ve ever owned, and have been known to plead, cajole, and beg, as if my entreaties will urge the vehicle on that one last mile to the gas station.

It’s all nonsense, of course. My conversations with inanimate objects do nothing except perhaps answer an inner echo from our pre-industrial heritage, when horses, donkeys, and oxen were our “engines,” and talking to them did make a difference.

Still, it’s hard not to anthropomorphize. (more…)

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