Whenever someone says, “They don’t make them like they used to,” referring to either movies or music or even books, I’m embarrassed on their behalf. It’s been that way for as long as I remember. I cringe and wonder how we can connect when you’re pulling a Miniver Cheevy on me. As a teen, I […]
In November, I finished a novel I’d been working on since July 2011. I’ve finished two novels in the past, but these were learning experiences, and I’d never show them beyond a small circle of intimate friends. The novel I finished in November is something I believe in, a work I’d like to eventually shop […]
“You pick things up so quickly I sometimes see you getting frustrated with people who don’t. I think to improve you need to learn to slow down and be more patient with people who aren’t as quick.” This is something our department director said to me in my first review when I was promoted to supervisor. […]
Back in January, when David Bowie died, I mentioned that, although I don’t usually mourn celebrity deaths given I don’t know them, I felt his passing with a keenness I don’t often feel when I hear the famous have passed away. When I was in junior high, I’d recorded a cassette tape off my parents’ […]
There’s a line in one of my daughter’s Disney 5-minute Snuggle Stories that I have to edit each time I read it to her: “Boo was happy to see the one-eyed monster, but she didn’t laugh as much as usual.” Of course a one-eyed monster is a cyclops. Everybody knows that. But one-eyed monster is […]
I have a cutting tongue sometimes. I’d say I’m not sure how I developed it, but that’s not entirely true. I developed it as a defense mechanism. When I was a kid I used it to fight back whenever I got picked on. I wasn’t as strong as those who picked on me physically, but I […]
There are times when my imagination gets away from me. These are often uniquely times when my stress levels go up. When I’m so flustered and overwhelmed that anxiety spikes, takes over, takes me places I don’t want to go. Problems at work. Air Travel. Arguments with my wife. The prospect of having children. Any […]
I hate to say it. This film received bad reviews so I’m not breaking any ground with this declaration. But I’m only ten minutes into Jellyfish Eyes, and it’s terrible. Like Power Rangers meets Troll 2 trying to do E.T. terrible. I’ll admit I’ve never seen more than a half-minute clip of Power Rangers, nor […]
“How old are you?” the hygienist asks. My daughter tells her. “When’s your birthday?” “Sixty-five!” my daughter shouts. I have no idea what she means. I intervene to correct her. “So she’s a new three then,” the hygienist says. “I would have thought she was closer to four. She’s so smart. And so pretty…” Ignoring […]
“Is it worth watching?” my wife asks me. I’ve just begun Season 1 of Orphan Black and have torn through the first five episodes in an evening (yes, I know, I’m a bit late to the game). “It’s sort of like a JJ Abrams show,” I tell her. To some, this is enticing, praise; to […]