Author Archives: sheila

Turn on the goose

China Syndrome (1979) What Happened Was… (1994) I have no idea what it means – it means nothing, really – but I could make up a whole story, drawing out the connections. The scene shows a woman in her private … Continue reading

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“As long as they pay me my salary, they can give me a broom and I’ll sweep the stage. I don’t give a damn. I want the money.” – Kay Francis

“My life? Well, I get up at a quarter to six in the morning if I’m going to wear an evening dress on camera. That sentence sounds a little ga-ga, doesn’t it? But never mind, that’s my life … When … Continue reading

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“Fear urged him to go back, but growth drove him on.” — White Fang, by Jack London

“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” — Jack London Jack London was born on this day, January 12, 1876. … Continue reading

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“I can pick a good song, but I sure couldn’t pick a good man.” — Ruth Brown

It’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s birthday today! Ruth Brown was born in 1928, one of seven children. Her father was a choir director, and she grew up surrounded by gospel, but she was drawn to chanteuses like … Continue reading

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“I’ll stay and look you straight in the eyes like all these normal people when I scream for my rights.” — Taraneh Alidoosti

“I’ve inherited this courage from the women of my land, who for years have been living their lives, every day with resistance… I will stay, I will not quit, I will stand with the families of the prisoners and murdered … Continue reading

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Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles

I took this in 2009. I am naturally heartbroken about what is going on. Friends have lost everything. I am in a constant state of worry about my friends and family who are there, and devastated for everyone who has … Continue reading

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“And the world Is gonna know your name. What’s your name, man?” “Alexander Hamilton.”

Except for the opening paragraph, this post was (mostly – there are some updates) written in 2008, years before “Hamilton” mania overtook the world. I almost can’t believe it’s happened. To all of you newcomers to Hamiltonia, I say, Welcome … Continue reading

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“It’s a situation I’ve never been able to fathom. One minute, it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next — no one wanted me.” — Sal Mineo

It’s his birthday today. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be a gay kid in the 1950s and see Rebel Without a Cause, particularly Sal Mineo’s performance as “Plato,” the lonely teenage boy, with a picture … Continue reading

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“We’re not breaking new ground. We’re trying to be entertaining within a format that’s familiar.” — Walter Hill

“I very purposely — more and more so every time I do a script — give characters no back story. The way you find out about these characters is by watching what they do, the way they react to stress, … Continue reading

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“I feel I’m writing for everyone, but they haven’t discovered it yet. They will – I’ll just be six feet under.” — Scott Walker

It’s his birthday today. I must hand the microphone to my brother Brendan, a Scott Walker scholar if ever there was one. For about a year, I was periodically posting my brother’s music writing, airlifted over from his old defunct … Continue reading

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