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Blog Log 2005
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December 12/23: Happy Holidays! I’ll be on WRKO (680) on 12/26
(Monday night) at 7:45-8PM to talk about Independent Cinema and the critics’
stampede over Brokeback Mountain. See the article on RKO's
new Taste of Boston show. 12/20: I’m sick of the snow and ice left
on the streets in my neighborhood. It’s treacherous for the surefooted and
dangerous for the elderly. It’s a resident’s responsibility to clear the
sidewalk in front of their house/building (according to the Cambridge City
ordinances). Do the civil and neighborly thing. To report a neighbor’s
failure to do so, call the Public
Works @ 617-349-4800—it’s a fineable offense after 24 hours. 12/19: 2005's 10 Best List is up! 12/11: The Boston
Society of Film Critics (which I am a member of), picked Brokeback Mountain as the year’s best film. Philip
Seymour Hoffman scored the best actor nod for playing the peevish, titular
author in Capote. 12/11: In the
latest from Terrance Malick (Bad Lands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line) The New
World which features
bad boy Collin Farrell as John Smith, don’t expect the virile Farrell to have
too many steamy scenes with Pocahontas. The legendary Indian princess is
played by the lovely and talented Q'Orianka Kilcher, who’s only
fifteen—anything explicit would be breaking the law. 11/28: Trying to read David Foster
Wallace’s collection of short stories Oblivion, and I can’t get
through them. Each story is mired in exposition and description with almost
no dialogue. Is it me or are there others out there who have the same
problem? Your
thoughts? 11/27: The 2005 BASS (Best American
Short Stories) is one of the best collections in years. Personal favorites:
Perrotta, Lehane, McGuane, Bissell, Pratt, Reddi and Saunders. Get it, you
will enjoy! 11/15: New story: Love and Pancit,
is a VERY rough draft of an adult farce—involving an Internet bride, the
holidays and the state of our economy—I’ve been working on. It’s a mess but I
would love to hear your
thoughts on it. 11/9: Never read Bartleby, the
Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street!? 11/7: My
October Rant A Case of Written
Conflict: Author vs Authors has just been published up on Web del Sol’s Algonkian site.
10/31: The trouble with Kate? She can’t get enough of daddy.
Get the review of Kathyrn Harrison’s latest work Envy. 10/25: Should author’s review other author’s work? Is it
ethical, wise or an ego fueled conflict of interest? See the latest Rant. 10/16: New story: The Python and the
Alligator, is a VERY rough draft of an experimental-political
satire, I’ve been working on. It’s a mess but I would love to hear your
thoughts on the concept. 10/12: Get the review of Capote. 10/10: My September Rant Into the Belly
of the Beast: Writing Workshop Dynamics has just been published
up on Web del
Sol’s Algonkian site. 10/8: My creative memoir piece, The Season That Almost Wasn't
has been published up on Slow Trains. 10/7: the Sox are out! Swept away, oh my. A
return to what we all know, but hey, we always have last year. Let’s hope
it’s not another 86! 10/4: Book Review: Tooth and Claw
by T. C. Boyle. 10/3: My short Antenuptial,
selected as a finalist for the Bukowski’s Tavern-Harpoon annual Pint
and Pen short fiction contest, has been expanded and updated to be
submitted elsewhere. 10/2: the Sox are in! It’s a wild card birth
albeit, but they’re in! I’ve got ticks to game 1 &2 of the ALCS and games
1 and 7 of the world Series! 9/30: The Hunt for a Red
October: the Red Sox have a three game series with the
Yankees. The AL East title and a World Series shot are on the line, is the
unthinkable possible a second time? 9/27: Let’s Go Red Sox! Take 2:
Rained out last night. Rinse and repeat today at 1PM. It’s going to be a busy
day. Film review due, surgery at 11, Sox and then the Bukowski contest
tonite. Hoping for good luck all around the horn. 9/26: Let’s Go Red Sox! Heading to
the game tonite vs. Toronto (no rain please). (Tied with the Yanks atop the
AL East) It’s done to the wire; the last seven games of the season are
essentially a playoff. The last three against the Yanks should be legend
making. 9/25: Good news! My short Antenuptial
has been selected as a finalist for the Bukowski’s Tavern-Harpoon annual
pint and pen short fiction contest (that’s the top ten out of the 150
or so entries). The awards will be announced at the party at 9/27 at the
Cambridge Bukowski’s
in Inman Square. Keep your fingers crossed. Ceremonies start rolling @ 7PM.
I’m not really sure how this all works, but swing by if in da hood. The winner
gets $3,000 I think. There are 3 prizes, should I win one, I’m pledging to
donate 50% of the proceeds to the victims of Katrina. 9/23: Profound Openings: Ploys and
promise abound Roll
Bounce, A History of Violence and Flight Plan. See the Rant. 9/22: Java Gouging: Why does it cost more for a venti
iced-coffee than a hot one at Starbucks? See the Rant. 9/21: March on Washington for Peace?
Doesn’t Bush want the same thing? See the Rant. 9/20: Book Review: Tom’s take on the
modern classic Jesus’s Son
by Denis Johnson. 9/18: In Katrina’s wake they
release a slasher film that takes place in the bayou? What are they thinking?
See the Rant,
and consider a donation to the Red
Cross or Oxfam to
help out the victims. 9/16: Book Review:
Get the skinny on Michael Patrick Macdonald’s All Souls. 9/13: Grub Street, Boston’s nifty little writers’
institute is having an open house on 9/15. It should be a blast and it’s open
to all. See the related Rant on
fear and loathing in workshops. 9/9: The gem of the Boston Film Festival is North
Country staring Oscar Winner Charliez Theron. It screens on 9/13.
It’s essentially Norma Rae in Fargo country. See the related Rant. 9/7: Lance is going for 8? That’s what
he says to shake the captious French media. That’s one better than the
solutions I outlined in this Rant. 9/7: The Sox are on a tear (going to the
game tonite) and the Boston
Film Festival has finally (2 days until the festival starts) updated
their website! See the related Rant. 9/4: Scaled back, but still going: is
the Boston Film Festival
on life support? See the Rant. 8/31: Help the unfortunate
victims of Katrina in New Orleans and Mississippi, give to the Red Cross. 8/30: Get the skinny on David
McCullough’s 1776. 8/28: Is Lance Armstrong a cheat?
Hopefully not, but I have a solution to put the issue to bed one way or
another, see the Rant. 8/26: Let’s talk about sex; 9
Songs, the steamy real sex film skewered in this Rant, is
already leaving the treasured Kendall Square theater after a scant, one-week
engagement. I guess sex doesn’t always sell. Prognosticator, or BS artist? Send
it back. 8/25: After much debate and input (from
you all), the Top 300 Films
To See will be revamped and expanded to 500. Also the blog listings
here will be archived in a new Blog Log off the Archive. 8/22: (connected to the Celibacy Rant):
did you know that Gillette is the maker of Tag body spray for
men and doesn’t want you to know? And (allegedly) if you’re a Gillette
employee, you’re blocked from accessing the Tag site. 8/17 Flash: Was this Rant
concerning the memoir Running with Scissors and its impending lawsuit ahead of the
curve? It was posted here on 8/8 and this appeared in The Boston
Globe today. Prognosticator, or BS artist? Send
it back. |
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