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- “When I aim at praise, they say I bite.” — Alexander Pope
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- April 2025 Viewing Diary, Supernatural Season 5, working backwards
- Happy birthday, Big Joe Turner, “Boss of the Blues”
- R.I.P. Paul Durcan
- The DMV of Love
- “It’s an absolute miracle that I’m still around.” — Dennis Hopper
- “I live life in the margins of society, and the rules of normal society don‘t apply to those who live on the fringe.” — Tamara de Lempicka
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Author Archives: sheila
“When I aim at praise, they say I bite.” — Alexander Pope
How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! -— Alexander Pope, from “Eloisa to Abelard” Alexander Pope was born on this day in 1688. He was so huge … Continue reading
Posted in On This Day, writers
Tagged Alexander Pope, Allen Ginsberg, Camille Paglia, Christopher Smart, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Eminem, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, H.L. Mencken, Jonathan Swift, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, poetry, T.S. Eliot, Thomas Jefferson, William Blake, William Wordsworth
2 Comments
“Boredom is very important in life. It helps you feel when something is wrong.” — John Strasberg
It’s John Strasberg’s birthday today. I told this story before on here years ago, when I used to write like this on here, on occasion. Figured I’d re-post it. He is very very important to me. Back in the late … Continue reading
“There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
“To me, John Lennon and Elvis Presley were punks, because they made music that evoked those emotions in people.” — Joey Ramone It’s Joey Ramone’s birthday today. Nothing I can say will top my brother Brendan’s essay on seeing The … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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April 2025 Viewing Diary, Supernatural Season 5, working backwards
If you’re following along: Season 6 viewing diary Season 7 Season 8 Season 9 Season 10 Season 11 Season 12-15 Supernatural, Season 5, episode 1 “Sympathy for the Devil” Written by Eric Kripke Directed by Robert Singer It’s good to … Continue reading
Happy birthday, Big Joe Turner, “Boss of the Blues”
Before the advent of microphones, if you were a singer, you needed to be heard. “Blues shouters” were powerful figures known for shouting above the music. Big Joe Turner was a blues shouter from Kansas City, and also one of … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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R.I.P. Paul Durcan
I just heard the news that acclaimed poet Paul Durcan has died at the age of 80. The couple of obits I’ve read have been fairly obligatory although I am sure there will be more in-depth pieces as the news … Continue reading
The DMV of Love
In 2008, Keith and Dan had me out to their place in Brooklyn for dinner. They were new people to me, and I was just starting to “circulate” in the New York film critic community, through writing for Matt Seitz’s … Continue reading
“It’s an absolute miracle that I’m still around.” — Dennis Hopper
It’s his birthday today. I’m so glad I used one of my columns at Film Comment -now on hiatus – to sing the praises of Dennis Hopper’s wild and nihilistic Out of the Blue, starring Linda Manz and Hopper. Of … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Art/Photography, Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Actors Studio, Croatia, Dennis Hopper, Out of the Blue, photography
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“I live life in the margins of society, and the rules of normal society don‘t apply to those who live on the fringe.” — Tamara de Lempicka
Spoken like a true exile of Jewish descent. For her birthday today: “Self Portrait in the green Bugatti” Fascinating woman, to say the least. Just a snippet from her teen years, okay? In 1912, her parents divorced and Maria went … Continue reading
Chat GDT
From March. This has been my life for the last year. You actually can talk about Mary Shelley for a year and feel like you’ve just scratched the surface. Frankenstein book available October 14, and available for pre-order now.