Categories
Archives
-

-
Recent Posts
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
Recent Comments
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- Jessie on March 2026 Snapshots
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Maddy on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Joseph Pedulla on Susan Hayward Sleeps Raw
- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
-
Tag Archives: B.B. King
“Memphis amateurs are the world’s professionals.” — Rufus Thomas
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie was filled with deep cuts, so appreciated if you care about this story, and not just Elvis’ story, but the environment from which he came. Memphis. Beale Street. Thomas was a singer, yes, and he recorded … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged B.B. King, Baz Luhrmann, Elvis Presley, Jim Jarmusch, Rufus Thomas, Sam Phillips, Sun Records
Leave a comment
“I was looking for what was coming from a man’s soul and a man’s conviction.” — Sam Phillips
The myth. The legend. There’s a lot of bull shit with the legend, and saying that does not mean throwing out the whole thing. But Sam did have a way of placing him at the center of every story in … Continue reading
“Blues is a tonic for whatever ails you.” — B.B. King
I love Langston Hughes’ description of the blues: “The mood of the Blues is almost always despondency, but when they are sung people laugh.” WHAT a performance. And WHAT an audience. The mood – the back and forth – the … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, Howlin' Wolf, Little Richard, Merle Haggard, Robert Johnson, Sam Phillips, Sun Records, The Beatles, Willie Nelson
6 Comments
Autumnal iPod Shuffle
“Family Tradition” – Hank Williams, Jr. Bitter! It’s such a great “fuck you” to Nashville country-music prudes and a great wielding of his autobiography as a weapon: “If I get stoned and sing all night long, it’s a family tradition.” … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, B.B. King, Bleu, Bob Dylan, Brendan Benson, Charlie Rich, Doris Day, Eddie Cochran, ELO, Elvis Presley, Eminem, Eric Church, Etta James, Glee, Huey Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Judy Garland, Link Wray, Little Richard, Liz Phair, Michael Jackson, Mike Viola, Pat McCurdy, Queen, Robbie Williams, Rufus Wainwright, Sam Cooke, shuffle, Sinéad O'Connor, The Everly Brothers, The Rolling Stones, Wanda Jackson
16 Comments
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2017
It’s been a God-awful year in so many unprecedented ways. It’s also been a great year for me professionally (which has brought with it its own set of challenges.) Here are some of the things I’ve written this year. Reviews, … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Television
Tagged Actors Studio, B.B. King, Bette Davis, Carrie Fisher, Cate Blanchett, Chuck Berry, documentary, East of Eden, Elvis Presley, Greta Gerwig, Groundhog Day, Harry Dean Stanton, Howard Hawks, Isabelle Huppert, Jack Garfein, Jerry Lewis, Joachim Trier, Joan Crawford, John Steinbeck, July and Half of August, Kim Stanley, Kristen Stewart, Mary Astor, Pat McCurdy, Robert Duvall, Sam Shepard, Sofia Coppola, Supernatural, William Faulkner, women directors, year in writing
15 Comments
R.I.P. B.B. King
Two “King”s. Backstage at Ellis Auditorium, Memphis. Legendary bluesman B.B. King has died at the age of 89. A long life and a six-decade career. He toured constantly, almost up until the very end. The news had come that his … Continue reading

