Thunderbolt

   For the first time since the Academy Awards expanded to ten Best Picture nominees, I’ve seen all of nominees before the awards ceremony. There is a common theme that connects all of these films: family and community. Here are my feelings in order of preference.  Sinners. On paper the logline already sounds like a cool horror movie: Twin brothers return to their home town to open a juke joint and wind up spend the night fighting vampires. On celluloid, this epic examination of the Jim Crow era south an so much more a cool horror movie. Writer, director, producer Ryan Coogler’s work on Sinners has taken him to another level. With this film, he joins the ranks of Spielberg and Nolan as a filmmaker who can open a movie on name alone and provide an awe inspiring cinematic experience. Michael B. Jordan's is flawless as twin brothers Smoke and Stack. The nuances he gives to each character, and the skill required to play opposite of himself in multiple scenes i...

Burt Bacharach and Hal David 's "What the World Needs Now (Is Love)" is one of those 60s pop songs that skillfully blends heartfelt sentiment with melancholy that I can only relate to that era. Maybe it's the influence of Sinatra's mid-60s heartbreak period , in which the recordings feel like they were done in some desolate castle where the singer was waiting for the end, but there are plenty of 60s pop and country songs that conjure these feelings of isolation. " Wichita Lineman " is a fine example, and anything off of W hat's GoingOn.    Jackie DeShannon and Dionne Warwick are the two artists I most associate with "What the World Needs Now (Is Love)." Their performances are hopeful, tinged with the sadness of their times. The recordings came out when the U.S. was entrenched in Vietnam , and the Civil Rights movement was in full force.  Images of soldiers at war and police brutality against activists in the cities of America dominated ...

  Hey everyone, sorry for the radio silence. This time I really have a good reason.  I was on a work sabbatical that took me from Kentucky into Tennessee, up to Cleveland and  nowhere near a computer for three weeks.  It was a once in a lifetime trip that I plan to write about in the coming weeks. I appreciate everyone checking out the blog and promise to fill you in. Unfortunately, I now have to get my brain back into work mode.  Aloha 

I’m currently in the Dallas Lovefield airport on layover, final destination Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve embarked on a work camp trip with my church youth group, the Appalachian Service Project (ASP). On Sunday we’ll drive to Harlan, KY where we’ll work on some houses for folks in need of some help.  Six months ago I received word that I was receiving a work sabbatical after 20 years at Warner Brothers. It was Sophie who suggested that I go on this trip, a chance to reflect on things, do some good and renew my soul. I’m thankful that she recommended it. While I do have some anxiety over what is in store for us, I’m really excited to get to work. The kids on this trip are all kind and enthusiastic to help.  When I was in high school, I went to two church work camps and I couldn’t tell you what we did. I do remember listening to Cutting Crew and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, but the work? No idea. I’m currently writing on my phone, so I apologize if there are formatting errors or typ...

This is what happens when I'm working on a book, or in the past a screenplay: As I become a part of the world I’m creating, all other forms of writing get relegated to the way, way back of my mind. In this case it's a new novel, a supernatural romantic comedy that's been in collecting dust in my head since the late teens. I pulled it out in March when I felt I hit an wall on the other novel I've been writing since 2020. That one is a story I’m very passionate about, tracking the life and career of a woman DJ from the 1960s through the early 1990s and the popularization of alternative rock. After five years and hundreds of pages, I needed a mental break. That's how I started working on adapting an abandoned screenplay into a book. I had to write something. Through years of therapy, I've discovered that if I'm not writing, even if it's a journal entry, I'm filled with anxiety and question my purpose. That's not to say that I feel my purpose in li...

  Column 1, Row 17: U2 , Rattle and Hum U2 are one of two acts that immediately conjure memories of my late friend, Matt (the other one is Dylan). Matt and I knew each other since first grade. Despite the comings and goings of other friends and girlfriends, we held on to that friendship until the early 2000s. It's a remarkable feat, when you think about it. We both left our suburban Cleveland hometown and moved west (he to Seattle, me to L.A.) and lived very different lives. What I remember of Matt was him chasing the that spark that brought him joy and wonder. He was always curious, sometimes to a fault, at least when I knew him. I can't tell you what he was like toward the end of his life; we'd lost touch. All that I have are the memories of the haunting young man I knew from young adulthood. Matt and I came of age in the mid to late 80s, as U2 made their commercial breakthroughs with War (1983) and The Unforgettable Fire (1984) and then became the most significant band ...