Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

THE FRIDAY BLOG HAS NO NAME

September 12, 2008

No time today to figure out what the Friday blog is going to be about.  But, this affords me the opportunity to share with you one of my top ten films of all time.  And, as it happens, it’s the only film in my top ten that neatly fits into two YouTube clips. 

Behold, “The Fatal Glass of Beer,” written by and starring the galactically brilliant W.C. Fields.  I think Fields (in this short as well as a couple of his features – Bank Dick and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break specifically) was, if not the first, definitely one of the original pioneers of post-modern filmmaking before that even existed. 

“Fatal Glass” could almost be considered the anti-film.  Of course, it was spoofing a type of film from the era, but beyond that it was turning film storytelling inside out and sort of deconstructing it.

But, don’t let me get too high-falutin’.  Mainly, it’s damned funny and completely accessible all these years later.  The titular song Field’s croons never fails to drive me to the floor.

Please, enjoy todays matinee…

It ain’t a fit night out for man nor beast, indeed!

“The Werewolf” is coming soon…

August 27, 2008

October 14th will be a full moon.  I expect to have the first episode of my podcast, “The Werewolf,” posted on that night and then weekly (ish) from there. 

“Why the hell should I care when you post your ding-dong podcast, man?  Who are you anyway?”

Well, I understand the question, but really, why do I have to explain myself?  You’re the one who came here and read this.  I wasn’t bothering you.  Shit.  There’s plenty of internet to go around, man.  So, stop pestering me anyway.

“Oh.  Well, you have a point.  But, still, since I’m here, you might as well tell me what this podcast that’s coming on October 14th is gonna be about.”

Sure.  No problem.  We got off on the wrong foot here.  Sorry.  Didn’t mean to be so defensive.

Anyway, what this podcast will be and why it’s called “The Werewolf” will hopefully take shape sort of organically.  Least, that’s the plan. 

Basically, I’m a writer.  (I have to make a statement of identity like that in order to convince myself it’s true and hopefully will it to be so since nobody actually pays me to write, per se.  I mean, if you don’t count the hundreds of meaningless emails I write at my meaningless job every day.)  Anyway, as a writer I do a whole lot of shit that is not writing to distract myself from the fact that I could/should be writing.  You know, reading books and comics, watching movies and tv, etc.  As any writer knows, this is all called “research” and is time very well spent.

Of course, to say I read and watch a bunch of stuff sounds too passive.  I should say, I violently devour this stuff, chewing and swallowing truckloads of it, turning it all to my will, enslaving it to the shapeshifting beast I become in the moon-bathed hours of night or pre-dawn when the wife and kids sleep and the day job has not begun and I can howl at my computer screen, my gnarled and twisted fingers clawing desperately at the keyboard. 

So, yeah, I’m a writer or at least transform into one regularly.  I read and watch a lot and I thought, rather than podcast or blog about my writing process (which is useful to exactly nobody), I would podcast about the stuff I’m taking in as a writer every week.  A sort of travelouge of one writer’s journey of pop culture consumption and how that’s impacting or not impacting his work. 

Yeah, doesn’t sound like much of anything, does it?  I agree.  But, being a writer is damned lonely business and this is my attempt to bark into the cold, black night and see if there are any other mutants like me out there, scrambling through the brush, eyes rolling over white, teeth stained red, full of desperation, fear, and a frantic, frantic hunger.

See ya soon!

Aaaaaaah-ooooooooooh!!!!!!!!!!