Literature, both high and low.
What can possibly be gained by comparing the two film versions of Stephen King’s first novel, Carrie? Beats me, but their recent and sudden appearance on Netflix streaming, combined with vague curiosity and less vague boredom, led me to find out. I’m an unapologetic booster of Brian De Palma, and a …
From The Trouble with Principle by Stanley Fish: “Many bad things are now being done in the name of neutral principles, and I hope it is clear by now that it is no paradox to say that bad things are being done by something which doesn’t exist. Indeed, it is crucial …
As America prepares to enter a fresh round of bombing in the Middle East, and as Barack Obama becomes the fourth president in a row to order attacks against a country that has not once conducted any aggressive action against our own, the world seems more and more like an …
I am a postmodernist, whatever that means, even if it doesn’t mean anything. If it does mean something, it means that I am perpetually opposed to the idea of canon, of the idea that there are certain things that belong in the realm of capital-A Art and other things that …
Jan 14 – The syndicate has picked up Rick Ratso! I finally made it, baby. All the effort has been worth it. I want to celebrate, but there’s already no time — I’ve got to turn in the first 2 weeks of strips by next Wednesday. Jan 29 – Good …
Ladies and gentlemen, in keeping with our recent attempt to take this blog back to its roots, we are pleased to present the greatest guest columnist this site has ever had. We are honored more than we can express by the opportunity to present to you these exclusive excerpts from …
Heroism is a tricky thing. It’s difficult to define to the point that it’s almost entirely personal; it’s a thorny enough social concept that we spend endless hours debating what we mean by it in both fiction and reality. Some people don’t like the very idea, finding it too troublesome …
And believe me, it wasn’t just the other women. If it had been only that, I could have handled it. A girl comes to expect things like that from certain men, especially from an ‘artistic’ type. There was also the drinking. The temper. The strangers barging in at three in …
Dear Mr. Rafaelli, It is with great disappointment that I write to you today, a disappointment that I’m sure will be echoed and enhanced by your reaction to the bad news. And the news is bad indeed, because it entails (for me) a loss of nearly a year of my …
In earlier times, one had an easier conscience about being a person than one does today. People were like cornstalks in a field, probably more violently tossed back and forth by God, hail, fire, pestilence, and war than they are today; but as a whole — as a city, a …
I’ve never particularly cared for those ubiquitous lists of “Rules for Writers”. (If I did, I’d probably present this one as more or less definitive.) Luckily for me, I am not much of a writer, and no one is sniffing around this site in hopes of getting a hot tip …
Joy: Still got your seaman’s papers? Lllewyn: Yeah. Why? Joy: If the music’s not… Llewyn: What, quit? Merchant marine again? Just…exist? Joy: ‘Exist’? That’s what we do outside of show business? It’s not so bad, existing. — from Inside Llewyn Davis Lately I’ve been thinking about Zen Pencils. Normally, I don’t …
Troy: I don’t really remember much about Troy, man. It’s all pretty much a blur. Some bad shit went on over there, that’s all I can tell you. We ‘won’. That’s what they tell me, anyway. All I remember is stabbing a lot of people in the jaw, and a …
“Stop tormenting me, you ridiculous contraption!” WHAT IS THE MATTER WILLIAM-WORDSWORTH CANT YOU THINK OF ANYTHING “You know deuced well that I cannot concentrate on my art with your infernal chattering.” OH SO ITS MY FAULT IS IT WILLIAM-WORDSWORTH YES THAT MUST BE IT AND NOT AT ALL THAT YOU …
First day at the new school or should I say it in capitals, the New School is what they call it. Plenty of other Irishmen here in New York but does it feel like home? Ballocks it does. Only one place will ever be home and it weren’t Paris and …
