Author Archives: sheila

“Where am I coming from? Where am I going? A fusillade of question marks.” — Belfast Poet Ciarán Carson

It’s Carson’s birthday today. He died in 2019. Paul Muldoon’s name invariably comes up when Carson is mentioned (post about Muldoon here). They share similarities (Northern Irish settings/concerns, long chatty lines, postmodern accumulation of detail, the use of humor, and … Continue reading

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September 2024 Viewing Diary

My First Film (2024; d. Zia Anger) In my Top 10 of the year (so far). I reviewed for Ebert. Sweetheart Deal (2024; d. Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller) A very upsetting and beautifully made documentary, representing a decade of … Continue reading

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“I grew up believing that I was fundamentally powerless.” — Thom Yorke

It’s his birthday today. My associative memories involving Radiohead are a little bit too intense and specific, and so I find it difficult to listen to them anymore. Some music is like that. It’s so associated with something specific you … Continue reading

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Dynamic Duo #41

River Phoenix and Lili Taylor

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“I want to live, not pose!” — Carole Lombard

It’s her birthday today. I wrote about her – in depth – the queen of screwballs, the screwball muse, taken from us way too soon – for my column at Liberties.     Thank you so much for stopping by. … Continue reading

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“When I get into that studio, I’m in another world. I love it. When I’m performing, that’s the real me.” — Billy Lee Riley

“Memphis 1955 on Union Avenue Carl and Jerry and Charlie and Roy And Billy Riley too…” – Johnny Cash, “I Will Rock’n’Roll With You” “and Billy Riley too” …. Billy Lee Riley was always a little irritated to be an … Continue reading

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“If someone spends his life writing the truth without caring for the consequences, he inevitably becomes a political authority in a totalitarian regime.” — Václav Havel

“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” — Václav Havel Václav Havel, whose birthday … Continue reading

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“All my life I have been happiest when the folks watching me said to each other, `Look at the poor dope, wilya?” — Buster Keaton

It’s Buster Keaton’s birthday today. As a small boy with a talent for acrobatics (and a high tolerance for pain), Keaton performed with his parents in a family act (an act notorious for its wild violence) before launching off on … Continue reading

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Temporary

There’s been a lot happening with Eminem lately, and with him “a lot” is relative, because he is basically Citizen Kane in terms of public appearances (well, Citizen Kane at the end of the movie), and you never hear a … Continue reading

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“The problem with taking amps to a shop is that they come back sounding like another amp.” — Stevie Ray Vaughan

It’s his birthday today. It’s a bonus he came along in an era of TV specials, and televised performances, and video-taped blah blah blah, because there are tons of live performance clips – and you can’t really get the totality … Continue reading

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