Ever since I began this writing journey some 30 years ago I've sometimes wondered about its psychological effects on the writer, but I've been thinking about it more lately during the latest round of rewriting for my novel Redwood Summer. I came to the most difficult part to write, the chapter in which the two … Continue reading Does Writing Affect Moods?
First Day Of Making My Short Movie
On April 28th I shot the first scenes for my short movie Sunset Memories, which I'm going to chalk up as a learning experience. I wanted to begin shooting last January but then we got deluged by multiple atmospheric rivers which put off shooting for a long time. Once we entered spring and the weather … Continue reading First Day Of Making My Short Movie
Book Recommendation: Teaching On Borrowed Time
I just read the memoir Teaching On Borrowed Time by Laurence C. Schwartz, an adjunct at Mercy College in New York City where he teaches speech, and the director of one of my stage plays. It's a journey of a struggling actor who fell into teaching because it was preferable to waiting tables, and chronicles … Continue reading Book Recommendation: Teaching On Borrowed Time
RIP Al Jaffee
I was a regular consumer of Mad Magazine when I was young and impressionable so when I found out about the passing of legendary Mad illustrator and writer Al Jaffee at the age of 102 I was saddened by his death but also happy that he had such a long and productive life. I loved … Continue reading RIP Al Jaffee
Shakespearean Beer Brands
I get a steady amount of visits on my Shakespearean Porn Titles post, I imagine because it combines two things everybody likes; archaic, stilted language and pornography. Given all this attention I thought I'd carry the Bard theme over to brands of beer. Here's 10 Shakesbeerean brands, feel free to add more in the comments. … Continue reading Shakespearean Beer Brands
TWENTY: Interview With Director Hilary Davidson
The director of the film Twenty, Hilary Davidson, with whom I co-wrote the screenplay, was interviewed last March 13th on KSQD radio. She was on the program Exploring Santa Cruz discussing Twenty with show host Mathilde Rand. Here's link to interview: https://ksqd.org/hilary-davidson-twenty/ For more information on Twenty here's the link: https://nineteen85films.com/twenty/
Fibbing Friday (3/10/23)
(Back to Fibbing Friday prevarication, this one prompted by pensitivity 101. No particular theme, just regular questions and fraudulent answers. Link below.) https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2023/03/10/fibbing-friday-10th-march/ What was the first thing you saw when you looked out the window? My evil twin! (Cue scary violin shriek from Psycho) 2. What is your favorite way to prepare hot dogs? … Continue reading Fibbing Friday (3/10/23)
Attempting Iambic Pentameter
I'm writing a new short script for a theater company that's looking for classically written plays. My approach is to rewrite Shakespeare's Twelfth Night into a truncated, eight page (guideline length) play that hits on all the main plot points from the original work in an updated setting but is still written with elevated, classical … Continue reading Attempting Iambic Pentameter
Techwreck
(Short story inspired by a tech rehearsal for my stage play Electric Serenade last September in New York. There were a number of mishaps, and I exaggerated them greatly for artistic and comedic purposes. 1,764 words long.) “So you’re experienced at running tech?” Valerie asked with concern. “Trust me, I’ve been doing this for years,” … Continue reading Techwreck
Twenty: An Update
The independent movie Twenty which I co-wrote with the director Hilary Davidson has filmed some of the scenes last year and is now launching one last fund raising campaign to complete filming later this spring. It's been exciting to watch Twenty grow from a rough draft script into an in production movie project and I'm … Continue reading Twenty: An Update