Tag Archives: Memoirs

“Only the bad directors tell you how to read a line, how to define your character. The good ones let you do your job.” — Carroll Baker

It’s her birthday today. When you look back on your life – especially once you’re, how you say, OLD – it’s sometimes interesting to try to untangle some of the strands, the things that happened that made you who you … Continue reading

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“Good acting is thinking in front of the camera. I just do that and apply a sense of humor to it. You have to trust the audience to get it.” — Charles Grodin

It’s Charles Grodin’s birthday today. Here is a re-post of the piece I wrote when Charles Grodin died in 2021. Heartbreak Kid. Ishtar. Heaven Can Wait. Midnight Run. Muppet Caper. Rosemary’s Baby. Seems Like Old Times (not as well-known, but … Continue reading

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“I couldn’t keep a dog and a James Joyce and a bookshop.” — Sylvia Beach

It’s her birthday today. Sylvia Beach is one of my heroes due to her influential bookshop in Paris (Shakespeare & Co.), and her nurturing of the writers of that time. You know, minor writers like James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and … Continue reading

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2024 Books Read

1. Brotherhood of Tyrants: Manic Depression and Absolute Power, by D. Jablow Hershman I was talking with the doctor who helps me manage my bipolar. He saved my life back in 2013. Well, it was a group effort. He knows … Continue reading

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“Carelessness on the part of revolutionaries has always been the best aid the police have.” — Victor Serge

Ever since my late-in-the-day discovery of Victor Serge (whose birthday it is today), a man I should have discovered much MUCH earlier, considering my interest in totalitarian regimes / dissident voices / revolution / Russia – I have read as … Continue reading

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Happy birthday KEEF

It’s Keith Richards’ birthday. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: If you are feeling introverted, if you are feeling lonely for conversation and human contact, read Keith Richards’ spectacular autobiography in public. People will come up to … Continue reading

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“Be able to keep two completely contradictory ideas alive and well inside of your heart and head at all times. If it doesn’t drive you crazy, it will make you strong. ” — Bruce Springsteen

I’ve always loved Bruce Springsteen’s fervent adoration of Elvis. His fantastic memoir devotes an entire chapter to what it was like hearing Elvis’ music for the first time – and the chapter doesn’t once include the word “Elvis”. That’s how … Continue reading

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2023 Books Read

I think I might have read more books by non-American authors than American this year. Countries represented below: Austria, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Croatia, Ireland, France, Russia, Colombia. I revisited some old favorites, which I will continue to do in … Continue reading

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2022 Books Read

Some re-reads this year, but a lot of new-to-me authors as well. New novels written by faves. Been a year of upheaval and transitions. I’ve managed to keep up my regular reading schedule. I just don’t feel right if I’m … Continue reading

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Stuff I’ve Been Reading

Reading for pleasure has taken a hit, what with all the research I’ve been doing, for this or that, and so I haven’t done one of these “stuff I’ve been reading” things in a while. I have barely slept in … Continue reading

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