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- June 28, 1914: “But if ever a man went anywhere of his own free will, Franz Ferdinand went to Sarajevo.”
- “I know why the caged bird sings, ah me…” — poet Paul Laurence Dunbar
- “[Poetry is] a way of trying to come to peace with the world.” — poet Lucille Clifton
- “The films that I love are very straightforward stories, like really old-fashioned stuff.” — Paul Thomas Anderson
- A Personal Memory: or: What Dog Day Afternoon Means to Me
- Happy Birthday, Hediyeh Tehrani
- “All I actually wanted was for my work to be useful.”–Claudius Afolabi Siffre
- “I knew that I had a facility with words and a power of facing unpleasant facts.” — George Orwell
- “People are always asking me if I thought Elvis was a handsome man and my answer is ‘I am not blind you know’!” — Millie Kirkham
- Physical Media Booklet Essay: The Podcast
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Category Archives: On This Day
“I was just glad to get the Grammy. I didn’t know what the thing was. It’s the honor what I loved.” — Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten, folk/blues music pioneer, was born on this day in 1895. She taught herself to play the guitar and banjo as a child. She was left-handed but she played a guitar for a right-hander, meaning she played everything upside … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
4 Comments
“A lot of people don’t like to think. They get annoyed when you ask them to.” — Thelma Schoonmaker
“The priority is absolutely on the best take for performance, and frankly I don’t understand why people get so hung up on these issues, because if you look at films throughout history, you will see enormous continuity errors everywhere, particularly … Continue reading
“I think I’m a pretty good storyteller.” — John Sturges
It’s the birthday today of great and weirdly under-rated American director, John Sturges. One of the best parts about writing about the Criterion essay for the release of The Great Escape was getting to do a deep dive into the … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged drama, John Sturges, Steve McQueen, thrillers, war movies, westerns
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“I had not directed anything before. In fact I hadn’t told anyone to do anything before.” — Dorothy Arzner
“I’d rather do a picture for a small company and have my own way than a B picture for Paramount.” — Dorothy Arzner It’s her birthday today. Here’s an excellent interview with her from 1974. I have written quite a … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Clara Bow, Dorothy Arzner, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Maureen O'Hara, Rosalind Russell, women directors
4 Comments
“We want to see our lives dramatized on the screen as we are living it, the same as other people, the world over.” — Oscar Micheaux
Pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux was born on this day. You often hear statements along the lines of “Tyler Perry is the first Black American filmmaker to have his own production company.” This is not to take away from Perry’s accomplishments, … Continue reading
“I simply love this business. That’s all.” — Dana Andrews
To those who watch “old” movies, Dana Andrews is a familiar figure and everyone knows how great he was. But his name recognition is almost nil outside of that niche community, although a lot of people have seen Best Years … Continue reading
“I went from being obsessed with L.A. punk rock to being a part of it.” — Milo Aukerman
It’s the birthday of Descendents’ front man Milo Aukerman. The Descendents – and the album Milo Goes to College – were huge for my brother Brendan back in the day, which he wrote about in an essay I posted here. … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
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“My ambition is to be an actress. Hollywood had no parts for me.”—Theresa Harris
It’s her birthday today. Criminally, Theresa Harris often went uncredited in the films she appeared in. Nevertheless, she always made an impression. She is probably most well-known now for her unforgettable and realistic performance in the pre-Code Baby Face, as … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Baby Face, film noir, Gold Diggers of 1933, Out of the Past, Pre-Code
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“I won’t apologize for trying to write for smart people.” — Paul Westerberg
It’s Paul Westerberg’s birthday today. My brother Brendan is the Westerberg Fan, and I will always associate The Replacements with my brother, whose fandom began in high school and continued unabated until this day. I posted all of my brothers’ … Continue reading
“Everything I know I taught myself.” — Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley was born in 1928, the son of sharecroppers. In 1979, he opened for the freakin’ Clash on their American tour. A lot of shit happened in between and it’s the story of the 20th century! Diddley had a … Continue reading