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- 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
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- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
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Tag Archives: Poland
“Silence is necessary to tyrants and occupiers, who take pains to have their actions accompanied by quiet.” — Ryszard Kapuściński
It’s the birthday today of one of my favorite writers, Polish journalist and author Ryszard Kapuściński. His death in 2007 was devastating to me. I went to the memorial tribute at the New York Public Library, hosted by his close … Continue reading
Posted in Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Ethiopia, Iran, nonfiction, Poland, politics, Russia, Ryszard Kapuściński, war
7 Comments
2025 Books Read
I ended last year with a flurry of Oscar Wilde’s short stories, declaring I’d read all the plays in 2025. I mean, there were only five, sadly, due to the homophobic violence of his own society. I know these plays … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Anton Chekhov, Austria, books read, Charles Lamb, children's books, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Czeslaw Milosz, David Lynch, Dubravka Ugrešić, England, essays, fiction, France, Frankenstein, Germany, Guillermo del Toro, Hungary, Ireland, Jane Austen, Janet Malcolm, John Keats, Lord Byron, Mark Danielewski, Mary Gaitskill, Mary Shelley, Matthew Arnold, Memoirs, nonfiction, Oscar Wilde, poetry, Poland, politics, Rebecca West, Roald Dahl, Robert Kaplan, Robert Louis Stevenson, Russia, sci-fi, Scotland, scripts, Spain, The Beatles, Twin Peaks, William Shakespeare, Yugoslavia
12 Comments
“I live life in the margins of society, and the rules of normal society don‘t apply to those who live on the fringe.” — Tamara de Lempicka
Spoken like a true exile of Jewish descent. For her birthday today: “Self Portrait in the green Bugatti” Fascinating woman, to say the least. Just a snippet from her teen years, okay? In 1912, her parents divorced and Maria went … Continue reading
April 2025 Snapshots
Had breakfast with one of my oldest friends (she who rescued a hawk, in a blazing act of bravery, which I think the hawk recognized and appreciated). We now live pretty near each other, which is wild, after me living … Continue reading
For Liberties: What Was Good About 2024? (in film)
Over at Liberties: my top 20 films of 2024. Tis the season for end-of-year lists. I tend to switch them up, depending on the outlet, because I don’t get attached to my lists. But those are the stand-outs. (Thanks to … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged England, India, Iranian film, Ireland, Italy, Mohammad Rasoulof, Palestine, Poland, Radu Jude, Romania, Spain, women directors
2 Comments
Screen Slate 2024 Poll
Happy to participate in Screen Slate’s annual poll: Best Movies of 2024: First Viewings & Discoveries and Individual Ballots My pics: Fun to scroll through – so many people polled, including directors like Pedro Almodovar and Whit Stilman! … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged comedy, documentary, Douglas Sirk, drama, George Sanders, historical drama, India, Iranian film, Ireland, Italy, Lucille Ball, Palestine, Poland, Pre-Code, Radu Jude, Romania, silent films, The Netherlands, women directors
2 Comments
Ebert: The Best Films of 2024
The writers at Ebert voted on the best of 2024, and then wrote up the winners. You can see the full list and our little essays here. Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what … Continue reading
Posted in Movies
Tagged documentary, drama, England, India, literary adaptation, Palestine, Poland, women directors
4 Comments
October 2024 Viewing Diary
Downfall (2005; d. Oliver Hirschbiegel) I’ve watched a couple of times. Always good to have a reminder of the madness of those final months, where even the most hardened monstrous men were like, “… uhm, yeah, he’s a lunatic, I’m … Continue reading
Posted in Monthly Viewing Diary, Movies, Television
Tagged animation, Australia, biopic, documentary, drama, England, France, Germany, Ginger Rogers, historical drama, Iranian film, Japan, Michelle Pfeiffer, Natalie Portman, Palestine, Poland, Pre-Code, Robert De Niro, romantic comedy, war movies, women directors
31 Comments