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: family
“To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
“People ask me: ‘What is punk? How do you define punk?’ Here’s how I define punk: It’s a free space. It could be called jazz. It could be called hip-hop. It could be called blues, or rock, or beat. It … Continue reading
March 2026 Snapshots
I’ve been go-go-go-go for months. Hitting a speed bump, but I’m still going. In case this isn’t clear, this means a little bit of mania. So I’m riding it out, and still saying yes to everything. Family time. Time with … Continue reading
December 2025 Snapshots
The days are short but they feel very long. So much has happened in the last four months. I have not even begun to process it. Did I enjoy it? I think so! But I had no time to linger … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged animation, family, Frankenstein, friends, Japan, Joan Crawford, snapshots
7 Comments
November 2025 Snapshots
Started off November with a book signing event at the Barnes & Noble near my house in my home state. It was very meaningful for me because my friends could come, my family, my mother, my aunts and a couple … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged Emily Dickinson, family, Frankenstein, friends, Robert Kaplan, snapshots
5 Comments
“I’m astonished that I have any audience at all, to be honest.” — 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 23.
I don’t even know what to say. And now I will proceed to say some shit. The above pic of me – taken by Michael – graced the top of my original blog, when I set it up 23 years … 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
127 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
September 2025 Snapshots
Attended some of the press screenings at the New York Film Festival. I haven’t been in a couple of years, for various reasons, and it’s been so sad for me. I loved getting up in the morning and heading to … Continue reading
Posted in Personal
Tagged Alexander Hamilton, Elvis Presley, family, Frankenstein, friends, Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Memphis, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sam Shaw, snapshots
2 Comments