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

It’s this weird thing that my thoroughly continental childhood had a slight Asian flavor to it, although it’s not something I generally discuss. This influence is due to the fact that my grandparents lived in Manila and Macau during part of my childhood and sent me all sorts of fun things from that part of the world. This was at a time when Asia was still very far away from North America or Europe. Here is a typical childhood photo of me in Paris extolling my like for Hong Ko

I grew up in a talented family that holds the idea that talent runs in a family as a form of destiny. My grandfather, Roger, was a cold person. He didn’t like children and as a mechanical engineer he wasn’t expected to be good with people. Here is a pretty typical photo of us. You can see he barely tolerates children. Edited on October 2015 to add this photo because tell us how you really feel about children, Roger. My grandmother, his wife, adored me. And as a result Roger a

How do adults make new friends? I’ve come to realize that even though I complain about making new friends I’m well versed in how to do it. This is a function of having moved dozens of times and also because I was often the new kid who got picked on. I developed a thick skin and a need to help others feel welcome instead of rejected. Rejection sucks. A few things to consider first: People feel naturally friendly toward other people they see for a short while on a regular basis

Well, I guess I’m in the minority of people who dislikes the new comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It feels weird to be on the outside of this particular trend as I am a big fan of zany comedy. However, it’s also an unfortunate truth that many comedians lose their edge as they get older and they start going back to the same well of jokes that served them in the past. But since comedy needs an element of surprise or new observation this can become tedious for the audience. My

Virtually everyone I know, in a virtual manner, has renamed themselves Charlie this week. #jesuischarlie The gruesome murder of staffers at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris has created a solidarity among writers and comics and fans of freedom. Unfortunately, it does mean that we’re also defending the freedom of a publication that frequently behaved like assholes. Comedy–particularly the crude machete that is satire–can punch down. On a normal day I don’t give a crap about th

I’d heard that the operas of Richard Wagner are addictive, yet I was hesitant about settling in for six hours of Teutonic posturing. I’ll admit that my friend had to convince me to take in the Met Opera broadcast at our local theatre. It’s not the joy of seeing a real performance, but it would have to do for a Thursday afternoon. I would soon learn why Wagner was Hitler’s favorite artist. [The sound you hear is my grandmother who survived the concentration camp at Ravensbrück