With a lifelong interest in cinema including a defunct vocation as a screenwriter I had a requirement to watch the film Gone with the Wind. It was a stunning achievement of cinema and one can see why it was a blockbuster for its time. But, I also lived in the American South and I know how that region will romanticize its past. I had mixed feelings. In 2012, I finally read Gone with the Wind and I was shocked. I had to force myself to work through the book. I would pause and l

I’ve been fortunate enough to have a partner who supports my creative endeavors and does everything he can to allow me space and time to write weird novels about fertility cults and so I can perform in operas. He’s a mensch. Sam wins the trifecta at the Nice Hippodrome de la Côte d’Azur as her man looks on in disgust c. 2003 There did come a time in recent years though where I felt myself spread too thin. My girls are young and I wanted to be there for them, and even starting

It was a stressful day and I needed respite. As is my wont, I chose a dark movie theater even though it was a beautiful sunny summer afternoon. I wish I could be the sort of person who can relax on a nature walk but I can’t. It would certainly be better for me than pounding popcorn and soda in a dark room. My partner wondered why I couldn’t go for a relaxing walk instead of a movie I didn’t particularly even want to see. A question I hadn’t really considered before. Why is a

When a family movie features science and technology I look forward to taking the eldest to see it as much as she looks forward to going to the movies. We loved Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Unfortunately, there’s a core problem with these movies and the latest one I took her to see was no exception. These movies send the message that you have to be a genius to consider a job in certain fields, like physics or engineering. I’d like to see my girls grow up to be the first

Many people who learn I sing opera feel compelled to apologize for not liking the art form. It’s okay. I get it. I don’t like opera either. I mean, I don’t like the representations of it in pop culture, which is where most people get their exposure to opera. For example, when children’s television programming tries to get cultural on the kids it’ll do an episode centered around opera and it’ll be terrible. At 00:44 seconds I WANT TO CRY. Even when opera is represented well in

I just saw the movie Ender’s Game at a pre-screening and I have a lot tangential thoughts to share. [Hailee Steinfeld & Asa Butterfield in Ender’s Game, 2013] It was nice to take a crew of fellow science fiction aficionados to see this movie. [Go ahead and call us nerds, we don’t mind.] Many of them had read the book and I haven’t so it was also nice to be surprised by the story. My co-watchers tell me the film is faithful to the book, but in broad strokes, rushing some of th

The French have developed a friendly sort of relationship with fleas. Of the many creatures that historically live around humans, the French seem to have a particular fondness for fleas. I had an adored mouse toy when I was a child that I named “flea”; it is not aberrant for a French child to name their toy thus. My toy was a white mouse like this: His name was puce. Oh, hey! Did you notice there’s a color in English spelled the same way? Indeed. The French named that color b

Preface: I had a great time. I’m a movie fiend and Trekkie of long standing and this reboot is joyous good fun. I’m sharing these random thoughts because I imagine a lot of you enjoy these movies, too. Let’s coffee klatsch together. [As an aside, I need someone to make an app that is simply an accurate hum of USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). That is my jam. That would be the white noise generator I use in heaven. It’s like an auditory Xanax. Someone please get that for me, okay?

Something people learn about me is that I am a skeptic. This usually comes as a shock since artistic types are automatically expected to believe in all sorts of mystical blather. I did grow up in a family that believes in a lot of that stuff so my skepticism is hard won. I credit my love of science and math for giving me a healthy dose of skepticism. When I was really young I was a little bit obsessed with the mystical stories around the legend of the crystal skulls. At one p

If real life was more like a movie, you’d go through that set of doors by opening both of them at the same time. You would make a grand, dramatic entrance through a double-door opening and be all “Taaa-daaa!” And you’d leave the door open. In most scenes, even a mundane single door is left open. In movies, no one owns a cat with wanderlust. The exception: horror movies. When a character is struggling to open or close a door, someone is about to burst through it. And when you

Opera can change the way you see women. A before and after of Deborah Voigt. When you first plunge into the world of opera divas you can have a bit of a shock. Why? Because you didn’t realize how trained we are by media in western culture to expect tiny women on stage or screen until you see ones who aren’t tiny. With all due respect to our naturally Audrey-Hepburnesque gamine women of slim proportions, they are the norm in our media images and we see them ninety percent of t

In a way related to my earlier post, I thought you guys would appreciate the Bechdel Test. This is something that often comes up in conversation when I talk to friends about TV, theatre, books, and movies. Most of the women I know would like to see a wider variety of representation in how we’re viewed by culture. #Bechdeltest #feminism #movies #storytelling

I am going to let you in on a secret today. This is a secret cliché that hides in plain sight. [It is reasonably certain that folks have noticed this but I’ve never seen it published anywhere, so I’m going to put it into the universe here.] This cliché has to do with the image below. And once I let you in on this you will see it everywhere. Are you ready? In every movie where two characters are going to end up together, they must first dance together and/or get wet in some fa

Many things annoyed me about the movie Prometheus. In addition to the swiss-cheese plot and irrational scientists the music took me out of the moment. Good movie soundtracks will enhance your experience without drawing attention to themselves. The Prometheus score seems to draw inspiration from a pile driver. It managed to sound like all other generic action thriller soundtracks and yet draw attention to itself. One of the key musical phrases that annoyed me was a 5-note fren

Sometimes, I enjoy a mindless super hero movie. Sure, why not? These guys – Chris Hemsworth & Chris Evans (what is the plural of Chris, Chrises?) played Captain America and Thor in two eponymous American summer popcorn blockbusters. Movies based on super hero comics feature: characters with no ambiguous ethical standing, they are either all good or all bad; gods and larger-than-life characters; godly characters who act impulsively and make mistakes; evil foils and disposable