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- “That incident ruined my reputation for 10 years. Get one Beatle drunk and look what happens!” — Harry Nilsson
- “I’m not very popular here with those inside the system, as you might guess. I never wanted to be.” — Waylon Jennings
- “I’d love to play someone who is extremely charming, but first I’ll have to learn how to be charming.”” — Kate Lyn Sheil
- “That is no country for old men.” — William Butler Yeats
- Review: O Horizon (2026)
- Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- “Language most shows a man. Speak that I may see thee.” — Ben Jonson
- “What good is a character who’s always winking at the audience to let them in on the secret?” –Gene Wilder
- “I couldn’t do no yodelin’, so I turned to howlin’ and it’s done me just fine.”– Howlin’ Wolf
- “If you have to be in a soap opera try not to get the worst role.” — Judy Garland
Recent Comments
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Twelfth Night: or, What You Will
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Twelfth Night: or, What You Will
- sheila on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- sheila on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- sheila on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Bryan Summers on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Twelfth Night: or, What You Will
- Jincy Willett on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- Dan on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- Reba on Physical Media Booklet Essay: Being scholarly about movies that don’t exist
- Lyrie on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Sheila on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- sheila on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- Lyrie on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- sheila on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- Lyrie on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
- sheila on Review: Carolina Caroline (2026
- sheila on “Rock n’ roll! It’s the music of puberty.” — Suzi Quatro
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Monthly Archives: October 2010
“I-don’t-know-anything-about-art-but-I-know-what-I-like.”
Orson Welles to Peter Bogdanovich: The truth is, Peter, I really am one of those I-don’t-know-anything-about-art-but-I-know-what-I-like people. If there’s no pleasure for me in it, I feel no obligation to a work of art. I cherish certain paintings, books, and … Continue reading
The Books: Six Centuries of Great Poetry: A Stunning Collection of Classic British Poems from Chaucer to Yeats: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Daily Book Excerpt: Poetry Six Centuries of Great Poetry: A Stunning Collection of Classic British Poems from Chaucer to Yeats, edited by Robert Penn Warren and Albert Erskine Shelley, along with his BFF Lord Byron, thumbed their nose at the … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Percy Bysshe Shelley, poetry, politics, Six Centuries of Great Poetry, war
7 Comments
Happy Birthday, Jean Arthur
I’m one day late. She, the wonderful actress, who has a permanent spot in my banner is “my kind of actress”, which may deserve some explanation. “My kind of actress” is an actress who seems to be alive, on a … Continue reading
Happy Birthday, Rita Hayworth
She was a newbie (pretty much) when she appeared as Judith, the wife of the hated flier MacPherson (Richard Barthelmess), in Only Angels Have Wings (directed by Howard Hawks), but she’s terrific in the part. The part is deceptively simple, … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, On This Day
Tagged Cary Grant, Howard Hawks, Only Angels Have Wings, Rita Hayworth
6 Comments
“It Is Absurd to Divide People Into Good and Bad. People Are Either Charming or Tedious.”
So said Oscar Wilde, whose birthday it is today. His mother, Jane Speranza Francesca Wilde (aka Lady Wilde, aka “Speranza”) was an incredible woman in the canon of Irish literary history certainly, not to mention its politics and social upheaval. … Continue reading
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Sir John Falstaff…”
It is difficult to imagine anything like this ever being on television today, let alone a popular show like The Dean Martin Show, aimed at a broad audience. The “skit” is languorous, it takes its time, it is self-conscious in … Continue reading
Red-Headed Woman (1932); Dir. Jack Conway
Jean Harlow is unforgettable as the amoral ruthless “Lil” in this Pre-Code film, unclassifiable as drama, comedy or romance. There is a lightness to the tone, an insouciant devil-may-care quality, that makes one think one is watching a comedy, but … Continue reading
R.I.P. Clifford B. Hicks
A beautiful and emotional obituary by my brother Brendan. A must-read.
Posted in Books, RIP
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Orson Welles on Acting: “Hamming Has No Target, Its Only Aim Is To Please.”
Excerpt from This is Orson Welles, a book-long interview between Orson Welles and Peter Bogdanovich: PB: How about radio acting, Orson – would you say that it’s similar to the acting required for movies? I mean, in the sense that … Continue reading