I read a lot of comic books as a kid. This series of posts is about the comics I read, and, occasionally, the comics that I should have read. Raiders of the Lost Ark was released into theaters less than … Continue reading My Misspent Youth — Raiders of the Lost Ark by Walt Simonson and John Buscema
Clouds of Sils Maria (Olivier Assayas, 2014). In this wryly funny and wise rumination on aging and celebrity, the grand Juliette Binoche plays Maria, a movie star who is coaxed into a production of the play that made her a star, … Continue reading Playing Catch-Up — Clouds of Sils Maria; 13 Rue Madeleine; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Appropriately, I think, Gillian Flynn locked me in for good when I started reading one of her books in a drug store. I was waiting on a prescription, and I wandered over the the dispiritingly sparse selection of paperbacks. A … Continue reading My Writers — Gillian Flynn
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. When I first started buying superhero comics, in the early nineteen-eighties, there were a couple ads that … Continue reading The Art of the Sell — Marvel subscriptions
968. Jorma Kaukonen, Barbecue King (1981) Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen was carrying a sturdy rock legacy with him when he recorded the album Barbecue King. He was also toying with that storied reputation, which might very well have been the album’s … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #968 to #965
As means of congratulating the highly deserving winner of this year’s Best Directing Academy Award, I will excavate one this review of an old Guillermo del Toro film, which I believe stands as the final such writerly relic that can … Continue reading From the Archive — Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Well before I ever set foot in the city of New Orleans, impressions about its rough, spooky charms were set for me. Movies fed my notions, but a more significant part of the mural was colored in by music. Since … Continue reading One for Friday — Concrete Blonde, “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)”
The premiere episode of Treme begins with white words on a black screen. First, they establish that the series takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Then comes the critical information about timing: “Three Months After.” The event that took place … Continue reading That Championship Season — Treme, Season One
These posts are about the songs that just barely failed to cross the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Johnny Rivers was born in New York … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Muddy River” and “Curious Mind (Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um)
“Lila Mae removed the two suitcases from the back of the pickup truck. The suitcases were new, with a formidable casing of green plastic. Scratchproof, supposedly. Her father had only been able to afford them because they were, manufacturer’s oaths … Continue reading Great Moments in Literature
Coffee for Two 