I thought of that quote this weekend and what it means to me. And boy, it takes some shifting of weight for this kind of creative loss. You see, British playwright Tom Stoppard has died at the age of 88. You can read obituaries and remembrances from: Tom Stoppard and his works have been dancing around my synapses for decades both as an audience member and as an actor. From seeing posts on social media…
This year’s sci-fi offerings on screen have included some truly dickish tech bros from Nicholas Hoult’s self-assured Lex Luthor in the latest film version of Superman to Samuel Blenkin’s infuriating Boy Kavalier in Alien: Earth. Even if you haven’t seen interviews with tech titans professing their love of science fiction and related geekery, this video may prove to be more validation than surprises.
Evidently, events in this timeline have caused many to revisit Babylon 5, the 90s TV space opera aided by the immortal Video Toaster. And you know what? That’s a damn good reason and if you need a reminder, there’s YourFutureSelf’s video… BUT WAIT! Before you watch, if you haven’t seen Babylon 5, it has some serious spoilers that might detract from the enjoyment of the series unfolding. For you, there are two viewing guides to…
The week has gotten away from me, but make no mistake, it’s Banned Books Week, a week to celebrate your freedom to read… and perhaps metaphorically walk in someone else’s shoes for a few hundred pages. As always, both the Banned Books Week site and the American Library Association (ALA) have a number of resources, from the Top 10 Challenged Books of 2024 to a 20-page PDF about the state of America’s libaries. The latter…
Perhaps thinking of my post back in August, how to deal with our interesting times has been on my mind, so that’s one of the reasons this hit me the way it did and might be useful to you. Besides suggestions for how to get through the timeline, he also has some good words on the “scarcity mindset” with people playing “zero-sum games” and a great perspective on gatekeeping vs. “paying your dues.” Leaving you…
Longtime readers may recall I do post about theater from time to time. I’ve worked for many theater companies and started attending theater performances long before then. The Washington, DC area has close to 100 active theater companies, a fact that seems obvious when you realize how clearly Washington likes drama. Alas, pretty much all theaters were hard hit by the Pandemic. Another issue then, and definitely now, is the availability of performance spaces. Now,…
Practicing random acts of kindness seems like a good idea these days, so as motivation, here’s a collections of writings on the subject from Marcus Aurelius to Leo Tolstoy to a host of writers in between, all courtesy of Maria Popova for The Marginalian.
This weekend is the annual pop culture extravaganza known as Comic-Con. In fact, I’m already seeing photos and updates from friends who are there (alas, I have never been). So, in lieu of being able to give you the latest videos unveiled at Comic-con (which will surely be across the Internet by weekend’s end), here’s a video with prolific comic book creator, Todd McFarlane, with strong opinions on everything from, yes, Comic-Con, but also monsters’…
Motivation to create –and breaking out of perceived writing blocks and creative ruts– feels like an evergreen problem. In fact, there’s enough books and articles and videos about such things that I believe it’s fair to say creative folks find themselves in different shaped ruts so that one solution might not fit all. BUT, in case this video is the one that helps you today, spend 15 minutes with filmmaker Luc Forsyth as he explains…
It’s Friday, so let’s keep things light. Building on the post for Shakespeare’s birthday from two weeks ago, it’s worth remembering that writers, the folks who are supposed to be lovers of language will go ahead and just invent words. Without a permit! Why it’s outrageous! Possibly treaso- oh, who am I kidding? I run an outfit called Jabberwocky Audio Theater for crying out loud. I love nonce words. I’ll let Dr. Erica Brozovsky take…