Category Archives: Uncategorized

"Greenberg" & the Feckless Indie Male

So this weekend I caught Noah Baumbach’s new film Greenberg in a St. Louis theater, the day after I rewatched the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man, which is better, true, but also not really a fair comparison, because who can … Continue reading

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Deep Water Spills: Peak Oil Under Sea

For years now I’ve been curious about the phenomenon/topic/fringe idea of Peak Oil, basically the warning that we will soon reach the peak of oil production: once it’s peaked, it’s only a matter of time before supplies start to dwindle, … Continue reading

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On Daniel Woodrell's "Winter's Bone," Coming This Summer to a Theater Near You

I’m in the mood for some good reading right now, have pegged a few titles for summer reading out of sheer curiosity, and while casting a wary eye at the Summer Movies list, it’s a pleasant surprise to see this … Continue reading

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On the Backfires of Rave Reviews, ala Tom Rachman's "The Imperfectionists"

Why is it that the giddiest rave reviews often somehow make their books sound suspect? I note this just having read Christopher Buckley’s rave of Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists in todays NY Times. The book does sound fun, but the … Continue reading

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On Jake Silverstein's "Nothing Happened and Then It Did"

Here’s a url to my review of Jake Silverstein’s book of fiction/nonfiction, Nothing Happened and Then It Did, reviewed in today’s Dallas Morning News. Parts of it were funny, in an absurdist vein, such as the bad poet’s convention, and … Continue reading

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Tea Party Claptrap in the NY Times

So here’s a quote from today’s article about the Tea Party “patriots” in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html?hp): “I just feel he’s getting away from what America is,” said Kathy Mayhugh, 67, a retired medical transcriber in Jacksonville. “He’s a … Continue reading

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"I Shouldn't Be Alive" and Other Guilty Pleasures

I know I should be reading Milton’s Paradise Lost or at least the new Ian McEwan novel, but in lieu of more intellectual pursuits, The Animal Planet program “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” most definitely deserves the Best Trashy TV award, … Continue reading

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Vera Farmiga in "Orphan," So Bad It's Good

Slaking my appetite for horror-flick diamonds in the rough, I watched Orphan (2009) the other night, with bigshot actors Vera Farmiga and Peter Saarsgard, which definitely fits in that most excellent category of SoBadIt’sGood. It’s like a mix between The … Continue reading

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End of Hiatus, Novel Style

After months of working too hard and sometimes grueling revisions, I’ve pretty much completed my new novel, The Bird Savior, and will return to posting about books and film again. I’m ready to think/write about something else. Although I already … Continue reading

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Are Europeans Evil?

When I can’t sleep, which is often, I watch horror films. (Yes, this makes total sense.) And I’ve noticed an odd trend of late in a number of horror/suspense films, including several big budget howlers: Taken (2008, with Liam Neeson … Continue reading

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