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- “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
- “I don’t think my books should be in prison libraries.” — Patricia Highsmith, 1966
- “I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.” — Archie Leach
- “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- “In France, I’m an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum.” — John Carpenter
- Shadow and pools of light
- “Precision and accuracy are necessary for both white and black writers. ‘A black aesthetic’ should not be an excuse for sloppy writing.” — poet and publisher Dudley Randall
- “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Mirrors #24
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- Maddy on Happy Birthday, Leadbelly
- Melissa Sutherland on “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- Maddy on “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” — Dolly Parton
- Molly Larson Cook on R.I.P. Sam Schacht
- Melissa Sutherland on “I never told a joke in my life.” — Andy Kaufman
- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- Leena Myller on “It wasn’t there, and then it was there.” David Lynch on Elvis
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- sheila on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- Maddy on “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing. It’s so unreal, and yet it’s real.” — Faye Dunaway
- sheila on “I can pick a good song, but I sure couldn’t pick a good man.” — Ruth Brown
- Clary on “I can pick a good song, but I sure couldn’t pick a good man.” — Ruth Brown
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- Maddy on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- Scott Abraham on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- sheila on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
- Scott Abraham on Colm Tóibín, Gary Indiana, and Los Angeles
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Tag Archives: family
Happy Birthday, Graham Parker
My first boyfriend was super into Graham Parker, and basically introduced me to his music. He was a constant in our (super unhappy and stressful) “household”. It was my brother, though, as always, who contextualized Parker for me, who got … Continue reading
“If you feel blocked, do not turn to others, but look inside, in silence, for the enemy of your progress.” — Jeff Buckley
I saw him just before Grace was released. The groundswell had started, which was why we were there. He basically hit the following month. We saw him in the moment before. I will never EVER forget that night. Jeff Buckley … Continue reading
On This Day: October 27, 2004
And nothing was the same ever again. Here is a beautiful essay by my brother Brendan about the family tradition of the Red Sox, as embodied by my crazy godfather, Uncle Jimmy. My stomach still clenches in anxiety when I … Continue reading
Today, the Sheila Variations turns 22. wtf.
The above pic of me – taken by Michael – graced the top of my original blog, when I set it up 22 years ago today. I never should have put my picture up on my site – it led … Continue reading
Posted in On This Day, Personal
Tagged Block Island, Cary Grant, Croatia, Dean Stockwell, Elvis Presley, family, friends, Hope, Humphrey Bogart, Iran, Ireland, Jafar Panahi, Joanna Hogg, July and Half of August, Martin Scorsese, Memphis, politics, Raging Bull, September 11, Supernatural, Tilda Swinton, war
117 Comments
“I mean, that’s the community of what we do, the difference between me and a streaming service. You actually know it’s me.” — Bob Mould
For about a year, I posted all the music writing my brother Brendan O’Malley did on his old blog, because my brother is such a good writer, and these pieces are all so great I wanted to highlight them. I … Continue reading
“I grew up believing that I was fundamentally powerless.” — Thom Yorke
It’s his birthday today. My associative memories involving Radiohead are a little bit too intense and specific, and so I find it difficult to listen to them anymore. Some music is like that. It’s so associated with something specific you … Continue reading
“The problem with taking amps to a shop is that they come back sounding like another amp.” — Stevie Ray Vaughan
It’s his birthday today. It’s a bonus he came along in an era of TV specials, and televised performances, and video-taped blah blah blah, because there are tons of live performance clips – and you can’t really get the totality … Continue reading
“I’ve been to every big city and many little towns in the USA. I really try to soak it in. I love all these little towns – the people and the places. I feel so lucky to see all these places and I truly have a hunger to see and experience them.” — G. Love
G. Love It’s G. Love’s birthday today. Naturally, it was through my brother that I discovered G. Love and the Special Sauce. Bren has a way of discovering people not on my radar at all and then passing on the … Continue reading
“Morpheus comes into our dreams…and we woke up and started this band…we’re all wrapped up in these dream messages, and we were compelled to start this band.” — Mark Sandman, lead singer of Morphine
It’s almost too perfect that the man who spoke those words in the title of this post is named SANDMAN. I was never on the Morphine train, although I had one of their albums, and they were ubiquitous in the … Continue reading
This Could Be A Total Bust, or Mickey Rourke Inside The Actor’s Studio, by Brendan O’Malley
My talented brother Brendan O’Malley is an amazing writer and actor. He maintained a blog for many years (he doesn’t blog anymore) -in 2020 I posted links to his 50 Best Albums essays, as well as all of his music … Continue reading