So Over It Contest #19: Way Down South Edition
No winners for the 18th edition of the contest. (Cue sad trombone sound). The location was Page Hall, on the Caltech Campus. I lived there during the summer of 1985…
The Movie I’ve Loved the Longest
The AVClub got me started on this. What film have I loved the longest? Hmm, let me see... I turned six years old in October of 1977. I was old…
Three Documentaries That’ll Help You Understand What Happened to Amanda Knox
About ten days ago, Amanda Knox released her book on her wrongful conviction in Italy and its aftermath. Reaction to it has centered to an uncomfortable degree on her sex…
Psst…I’ve Got this Great Article On Word of Mouth For You. Pass it On
Book publicists, and authors who enjoy talking like book publicists in casual conversation, always aver that word of mouth is the best means of selling a book. But what is…
There’s a 63% Chance Your Script Needs A Sexy Sidekick Named Veronica
When I read this article about Worldwide Motion Picture Group--an outfit that runs screenplays through statistical analysis in hopes of figuring out what'll make them bigger hits--my thoughts turned to…
Music To Think Like An Artist By
From Lou Reed and John Cale's Songs For Drella, a song that imagines a scene between a young Andy Warhol and someone who can connect him to money. Connections count. Make…
The Double Life of David Cole
Denial, an audio play I wrote a some years back, was a fictionalized documentary whose main character, Ari Fleischman, was based partly on real Holocaust denier David Cole. At the…
So Over It Contest 18: Everybody Wants to Rule the World Edition
No winners for Contest #17. The solution was the Angus Bowmer Theater at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. My fond memories of that place go back twenty-five years. Now,…
Last Night Came On
I started thinking of my dad last night, and I needed to hear this song. This is Leonard Cohen, performing it live in Poland in 1985. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB6qE1W5fUM&w=420&h=315]
Any Suggestions For Ways I Can Attract More Haters?
Ann Friedman, who's spent more time thinking about this than I have, came out with a handy Disapproval Matrix today. I can't say if she's found the perfect framework for hater…