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- “[My ambition is to] give something to our literature which will be our own.” — Walt Whitman
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- Reviews: Currents (2026)
- Reviews: Forge (2026)
- “Only the bad directors tell you how to read a line, how to define your character. The good ones let you do your job.” — Carroll Baker
- “I never heard the term ‘rockabilly’ back then. Nobody did…When people asked what music we played, we were rock ’n’ rollers.” — Sonny Burgess
- “I am in a prison: one wall is the avant-garde, the other wall is the past, and I want to escape.” — György Ligeti
- An Acting Lesson: John Wayne and the “Reality of the Doing”
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- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Bryan Summers on “I never made a message picture, and I hope I never do.” — Howard Hawks
- Lyrie on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
- Kendra Williams on Josh White, singer of “the fighting blues”
- sheila on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
- sheila on The Books: “Awake and Sing” (Clifford Odets)
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Bill Wolfe on “I dont want to just do just country type stuff the rest of my life. I want to do some different things.” — Charlie Rich
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- sheila on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- Pat on “Listen, I never meant to make money. I never wanted it. I’m a singer, man.” — Gene Vincent
- sheila on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- Jincy Willett on “There’s nobody as good as the Ramones, never will be.” — Joey Ramone
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- Dave on Review: The Chronology of Water (2025)
- Biff Dorsey on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Hamlet
- sheila on “I just love telling stories. That’s what we do and it’s a good business to be in, especially if you know you have talent.” –Jensen Ackles
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Category Archives: Television
R.I.P. Raquel Welch
The poster for One Million Years B.C.., with Raquel Welch in a fur bikini is as iconic as the Farrah Fawcett poster. It casts as long a shadow. The poster makes Welch – a small woman – look ten stories … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, RIP, Television
4 Comments
January 2023 Viewing Diary
Friday Night Lights No time like the present. I binged this entire series in a couple weeks. This took commitment, and a couple days of sick leave, while trapped in my hotel room in Memphis, too sick to move. I … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Aubrey Plaza, Baz Luhrmann, Bette Davis, biopic, Cary Grant, comedy, documentary, Dorothy Parker, drama, Eddie Cochran, Elvis Presley, film noir, Hedy Lamarr, Hungary, Italy, Jean Renoir, Little Richard, Poland, Pre-Code, Ralph Bellamy, Raoul Walsh, reviews, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, true crime, William Wyler, women directors
9 Comments
R.I.P. Cindy Williams
A classic bit. An acting friend of mine from college said she learned about physical comedy from watching Laverne and Shirley as a kid. I mean, watch the build of the bit above. They are CLOWNS, in the best sense … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, RIP, Television
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R.I.P. Lance Kerwin
For my Substack, I wrote about Teen Idol Lance Kerwin, who just passed away at the age of 62. (It’s a free post, available to all. I do have some subscriber-only posts in the pipeline, but figured this one would … Continue reading
December 2022 Viewing Diary
The Whale (2022; d. Darren Aronofsky) I thought it was appalling, and not for the obvious reasons. His body is viewed as literally a movie monster, with all these horror-movie shots of his gigantic ankles, etc.) It felt tired and … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged action movies, animation, Austria, Brad Pitt, Brian De Palma, Charles Dickens, Christopher Walken, Claude Chabrol, Claudette Colbert, comedy, coming of age, Czechoslovakia, Darren Aronofsky, David Bowie, documentary, drama, England, France, Germany, heist movies, historical drama, Hungary, India, Isabelle Huppert, Kentucker Audley, Natasha Richardson, Paul Schrader, Paul Thomas Anderson, Preston Sturges, Punch-Drunk Love, Russia, Sandrine Bonnaire, screwball comedy, thrillers, Ukraine, war, women directors
3 Comments
November 2022 Viewing Diary
Something in the Dirt (2022; d. Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson) I really liked this. If you like losing yourself in conspiracy theories – without being, like, a QAnon-type ready to shoot up a pizza parlor – then this is super … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged Alan Ladd, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cate Blanchett, Claude Rains, crime movies, D.H. Lawrence, documentary, drama, England, film noir, France, historical drama, horror, Iran, Iranian film, Isabelle Huppert, Jafar Panahi, Joanna Hogg, Joe Berlinger, John Garfield, Nina Hoss, Poland, Ralph Macchio, Russia, sci-fi, South Korea, Steven Spielberg, Tilda Swinton, true crime, women directors
3 Comments
Hallmark gets it right
My dear friend Allison works for Hallmark Channel. As I’m sure everyone knows, their Christmas movies are a world unto themselves, and I love hearing the backstage stories. Allison is here for Thanksgiving and she said she wanted to show … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Television
2 Comments
#OTD November 22, 1963: The Truth Is Marching On
With no introduction, Judy Garland paid tribute to the fallen President on her TV show. A performance like this is a reminder of why we need artists.
R.I.P. Nicki Aycox
I was so saddened to hear the news of actress Nicki Aycox’s death. She was 47. Aycox made such an enormous impression as the demon Meg on Supernatural. She showed up in the first season, signaling that larger things were … Continue reading

