Twenty Years of Blogs That Inspire Me

I've been thinking a lot lately about writing. What got me into writing, and then what brought me back to it. The ways in which the internet has largely democratized writing—for good and bad—and how several of my writing inspirations over the last two decades have been online, at both "establishment" hubs and small, one-person … Continue reading Twenty Years of Blogs That Inspire Me →

A Journey in Three Moods, or, How My Brain Works

1. The light bulb moment: sudden, powerful jolt of inspiration for my next creative endeavor. 2. The details of making it happen start crashing and careening around in my head. 3. *distracted by another light bulb flickering in the distance* Special thanks to Michelle Pfeiffer's expressive facial reactions as one of my favorite cinematic inspirations, … Continue reading A Journey in Three Moods, or, How My Brain Works →

Bad Girls We Love: Jane Mitchell from Zapped!

Zapped! (1982) is the heartwarming story of high school science geek Barney (Scott Baio, years before we knew how evil he was), who develops the power to move things with his mind after a lab accident, just like a Marvel Comics character. After slamming doors and flinging objects across rooms with an arched eyebrow and … Continue reading Bad Girls We Love: Jane Mitchell from Zapped! →

Howl at the Moon

The year's biggest supermoon is illuminating the night sky this week. So of course my mind conjures thoughts of the glorious Jack Nicholson-Michelle Pfeiffer collaboration, Mike Nichol's howlin' at the moon look at a midlife crisis, Wolf (1994). I'm picturing a hirsute Jack making jokes about the Hair Club for Men, and a flawless Michelle … Continue reading Howl at the Moon →

Between the Lines

I adore hangout movies. What's a "hangout movie," you ask? Well, it's a movie where a group of characters do exactly what it says—they hang out together, often at work, in bars, apartments, or anywhere, really. They're often found-family films also, and the workplace is central to many of them because sometimes the people you … Continue reading Between the Lines →

James Caan, 1940–2022

“I have run out of time. I have lost it all. So I can't work fast enough to catch up. I can't run fast enough to catch up. And the only thing that catches me up is doing my magic act.” Rest In Paradise to the man, the myth, the legend, James Caan, who passed … Continue reading James Caan, 1940–2022 →

From the Vault: Logan’s Run

Logan’s Run was released this week in 1976. Here’s my brief ode from several years back to the retro-futuristic-by-way-of-the-1970s stylings of a cult classic. This piece has been slightly revised from its original form. It's interesting and probably not that surprising that so many future-set science fiction films of the 1970s didn't look anything like … Continue reading From the Vault: Logan’s Run →