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- “All my work is about uncovering, especially uncovering of voices that speak without governance, or that speak without being heard.” — Seamus Deane
- “If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.” – Happy Birthday, Brendan Behan
- How it’s going
- For James Dean’s Birthday
- The First Glimpse of The Guy Who Started It All
- “Since we do float on an unknown sea I think we should examine the other floating things that come our way very carefully.” — poet Elizabeth Bishop
- “The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.” — Nick Nolte
- Reviews: Suze (2025)
- “Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.” — Charles Dickens
- “For I, the chiefest lamp of all the earth…” — Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine
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- Gemstone on How it’s going
- Mike Molloy on “All my work is about uncovering, especially uncovering of voices that speak without governance, or that speak without being heard.” — Seamus Deane
- Tom on How it’s going
- Melissa Sutherland on “Since we do float on an unknown sea I think we should examine the other floating things that come our way very carefully.” — poet Elizabeth Bishop
- Mike Molloy on “If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.” – Happy Birthday, Brendan Behan
- sheila on “The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.” — Nick Nolte
- Roger O Green on February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died
- Maddy on “The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.” — Nick Nolte
- sheila on December 2024 Viewing Diary
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- sheila on February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died
- sheila on December 2024 Viewing Diary
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- Kelly C Sedinger on February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died
- Bill on All That Jazz: Remembering and Loving Erzebet Foldi
- Johnny on December 2024 Viewing Diary
- Todd Restler on January 2025 Viewing Diary
- sheila on “Since the beginning, I’ve said, ‘I’m not going to get involved with my image.’” – Charlotte Rampling
- sheila on “Since the beginning, I’ve said, ‘I’m not going to get involved with my image.’” – Charlotte Rampling
- sheila on “Often I pretended to a cameraman to know less than I did. That way I got more cooperation.” — Ida Lupino
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Category Archives: On This Day
“I don’t need to ‘tell’ the story…The story is being told from itself by following the different moments in different locations.” — Mia Hansen-Løve
One of my favorite contemporary film-makers is Mia Hansen-Løve. Hansen-Løve is interested in how people listen, how people walk and move through space from point A to point B, she’s interested in the locations where they live, the conversations they … Continue reading
“Often I pretended to a cameraman to know less than I did. That way I got more cooperation.” — Ida Lupino
It’s the birthday of actress and director Ida Lupino. To give some perspective on her unlikely and inspiring trajectory: she was born into a theatre family dynasty. By the time she was 14, 15, she was playing adult roles. She … Continue reading
February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died
Buddy Holly was #13 on Rolling Stones’ 100 Greatest Artists list, and John Mellencamp wrote a very touching couple of paragraphs about Buddy Holly as the ultimate hillbilly, and how important that was: I was just a little kid when … Continue reading
On This Day: February 2, 1882/1922
“I was on the platform, my heart going like the locomotive, as the train from Dijon came slowly to a standstill and I saw the conductor getting off, holding a parcel and looking around for someone — me. In a … Continue reading
“I want a fever, in poetry: a fever, and tranquillity.” — poet James Dickey
“a fever and tranquility” – an intriguing combination. James Dickey is probably most well-known for his novel Deliverance – but even there, it was really the film of said book that made him a household name. Dickey wrote the screenplay … Continue reading
“I still keep my watch two hours behind.” — Lisa Marie Presley
It’s her birthday today. Her absence still seems a little unreal. My reaction to her untimely death was so strong – and had nothing whatsoever to do with her dad, but with my own experience of her presence in the … Continue reading
“The mood of the Blues is almost always despondency, but when they are sung people laugh.” — Langston Hughes
The Blues always impressed me as being very sad, sadder even than the Spirituals, because their sadness is not softened with tears, but hardened with laughter … of a sadness where there is no god to appeal to. — Langston … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Camille Paglia, Countee Cullen, Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, Melvin B. Tolson, Michael Schmidt, poetry
5 Comments
“The main thing about directing is: photograph the people’s eyes.” — John Ford
It’s his birthday today. For Film Comment, I wrote about his somber, emotional WWII movie, with the title that really BITES: They Were Expendable. And they really were expendable. It’s an amazing film and – in my opinion – one … Continue reading
“All these weird stages in my teenage years are documented. Why did no one tell me how terrible some of those outfits were?”– Justin Timberlake
“The thing is that my idols have always been the types of guys who could do anything: Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Sinatra, Dean Martin; and when you look up to people like that, you don’t accept that you need to … Continue reading
“The notion of ‘building a career’ had never been heard or dreamed of when I was young.” — Vanessa Redgrave
My friend Dan Callahan wrote the first major biography of Vanessa Redgrave, and he is voluminous on the topic: her career, her gift as an actress. Dan is one of the best writers today on the art of acting (and … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, Movies, On This Day, Television, Theatre
Tagged England, friends
3 Comments