Random Musings

Sandra Bullock has a cool (but flawed) approach to closing Hollywood’s gender gap

September 13, 2015 0 Comments

It’s no great secret that aside from a small handful of silver screen legends, Hollywood is not a place where older women thrive. There have been a slew of complaints about a lack of roles for older actresses — and in Hollywood, “older” often means “not in your 20s,” even for actresses like Anne Hathaway — a battle cry that has been growing in recent years. While some (like Russell Crowe) say the fault is with the actresses, not the scripts, studies show that in Hollywood, men talk and women show skin. Vulture also took a look at some films and found that in general, men age but their love interests do not. Sandra Bullock has developed a pretty good tactic for getting good roles even…
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Films, Random Musings

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Here is the self-indulgent writer’s life post (yay!)

May 21, 2015 0 Comments

I started this blog however many years ago* for admittedly cynical reasons. I wanted to be more established as a Writer rather than a writer, and by all accounts having a blog through which you connect with people was an absolutely integral part of the equation. Supposedly, blogging is just what writers do. Since that time, I’ve had some books published, five of them by traditional publishers and three via my own sweat and blood. I s’pose that’s not bad. Can’t say this blog has had much to do with any of that or that it has helped in any way, though. I fully acknowledge that I haven’t handled it well or the way you’re supposed to or whatever, but that’s neither here nor there….
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Random Musings, Writing

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The writer who doesn’t blog

April 22, 2015 1 Comment

I’m a writer. I have books and stuff. My latest, about how to be a good groom, came out yesterday. But despite being a writer and having to do all that comes with the job description, I do a poor job of blogging on a regular basis. All the modern wisdom about what it takes to make it as a writer in today’s world says I’m going about this all wrong. You’ve got to build an audience, they say. You have to keep your name out there. You have to connect with people. You have to utilize the web — blogs, social media, discussion forums, etc. — to establish a readership and contacts and all the rest. It’s a vital part of enjoying long-term success….
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Random Musings, Writing

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Zombie Apocalypse Scenarios Don’t Make Sense To Me

April 1, 2015 0 Comments

Despite the misgivings I expressed a few years ago, The Walking Dead has turned into a good watch that gets me to the TV each Sunday, or at the very least one that gets me to binge watch once a year or so. It may not be AMC’s best show, but it’s still pretty darn good. I can’t really claim to be a zombie fan, though. I am a fan of post-apocalyptic stories. A HUGE fan of them, actually. Stories about survival after society has collapsed have always drawn me in, always will. Earth Abides, The Road, Lucifer’s Hammer, Alas, Babylon!, portions of The Stand — sign me up! So for me, the zombies in The Walking Dead are secondary to my enjoyment. For me…
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Random Musings, Rants

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The power of music is astonishing

December 7, 2014 0 Comments

I love the power of music. Sometimes I’m astonished by it. For a few years now, my son’s favorite song has been Against Me!’s cover of “Here Comes A Regular” by The Replacements. It is, admittedly, a fantastic rendition. Check it out: Thing is, it’s a sad dirge about aging alone in a small, shitty town and finding your only solace in a small, shitty bar. My son is a teenager. He does not live in a small shitty town. He does not drink (and yes, smart guy, I’m sure of it). He is not a weary middle-aged man wondering where his life went. He should not relate to this. But it stirs something in him all the same. He takes his own thing from…
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Music, Random Musings

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