Category: Writing

Posted on

Lost Boys

No. Not the denizens of Neverland. Well. Maybe. Lack of hope. Futility. Jobless. Poor. Addicted. Whether from the rural towns of J.D. Vance’s Appalachia, Chicago’s South Side, or a boarded up small city in Ohio. Youth lost in a neverland of their own. Who do they become? Domestic terrorists mowing down protesters in the street. MS-13 Gang members. Recruits of ISIS. Any of these paths is possible for the desperate.

As Pope Francis said. The biggest threat to World Peace is young men without jobs.

Posted on

GOT Books?

Game of Thrones returns. After reviewing the last two episodes of gory wars, exploding bodies, and dogs’ ravenous dinner of Ramsay, Season 7 began. It couldn’t get grosser, could it? Oh yes. How does a library become a cesspool. Literally. There are tomes and turds galore. And.

Speaking of bad reads. Leaving Lucy Pear, Solomon’s “mother load” touted by WaPo, is a dud.

Posted on

Trump Under Wood

Is it just me or has Trump suddenly taken a liking to hiking in the woods at Camp David. Now talking about an Arab confab there to thwart terrorism. This the guy who prefers gold faucets and Toto toilets. 18 holes of pristine greens rather than a ratty old tee on a pine cone path. So. Why? Maybe because he watches House of Cards. Of course he does. President Frank Underwood endured a Bohemian Grove-esque weekend ‘men’s trip’ to unearth secrets and lies from the deep forest state around a camp fire to get a leg up.

Hmmm. Wonder when Don will buy a flannel shirt to match his squirrely hair.

Posted on

Literary Mind Craft

The Night Ocean, by Paul La Farge. I’m not sure. It kept me rapt. Author clearly had lots of things to work through. Personally. Maybe. Literarily many unfinished stories found their way into this dense work. Sprawling disjointed tales of several complex people in different times and places. Spaces. Told from a woman’s point of view, Marina the shrink, working out her own issues. The author gave her an authentic voice. It begins as her husband Charlie disappears into Agawam Lake in the Berkshires. H.S. Lovecraftian fandom less clear. More context necessary for those not acquainted with this cult of science-fiction-horror genre. Nonetheless. Worth the meandering page-turning journey. Lots to think about. La Farge’s New Yorker view.

Speaking of mind-bending. Twin Peaks so far is a self-indulgent David Lynchian acid trip with no redeeming plot value. Vomitaceous. Literally.

Posted on

Femmes Fatales

Women. Murder. And such. The Feud had promise. Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford. Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis. But. Acting so bad. Not campy bad. Just bad. Couldn’t get through the first episode. Big Little Lies. Nicole Kidman. Reese Witherspoon. Ditto. Derived from a typically insipid Liane Moriarty book. Girls. Lena Dunham’s best season yet.

Little Deaths, a murder mystery novel by Emma Flint. A Brit who has been obsessed with crime stories since she was a girl. An okay read with with a bit of a feminist agenda. Baileys Prize Longlist. Used to be Orange Prize. Both sponsors have since ditched. Why a segregated genre for women authors? Lots of women winners of Man Booker. Good writing is good.

Posted on

Farewell Mr. Lovely

President Barack Obama. A lovely man of honor and integrity. A mensch. A role model for young people everywhere. Global peacemaker. Gifted orator. Honest leader. Invested father. Courteous gentleman. Funny, too. As you say farewell tonight, know that we will miss you.

Hope you continue your work with “My Brother’s Keeper Foundation.”  Hope you will take any calls from President Trump. He’ll need your counsel. Hope you’ll weigh in on important global and domestic issues in your spirited yet fair way. Hope you’ll succeed in redistricting efforts. Hope you’ll retain your audacity of hope.

Posted on

Sonnet Sets On 2016

The sun finally sets on this quake year
Disruptions left fissures as yet unclear
Nation shaken by Heartland’s frustration
Rally-rocked stadiums in rural towns
While shuttered Main Streets heaved up in despair
As tone deaf hunkered under safe bunkers
Beneath cloistered thought-gated college lawns
In cocktail cult kissass-disguised newsrooms
Consulting class glass shattered on both coasts
Hit by a political tsunami
From Brexit to Nexit the EU cracked
Populists tilted globalist axis
Expect tectonic economic shifts
And frequent volcanic Trump eruptions

Posted on

Holiday Dilemma

Which’d you rather?

Spiked egg nog or faux champagne.
Lobster Newburg or a burger.
Gift cards or re-gifts.
Multi-color or all white lights.
Nutcracker or cracked nuts.
Trump tweets or Hillary whine.
Menorah candles or melted gelt.
Jersey Boys or Rockettes.
Rock Center or Smugglers Notch.
Or just scotch on the rocks.
Kitty kreamer or Chia pet. Or. Hatchimal.
Kathy & Anderson or Ryan & Jenny.

Posted on

Four Words 2016

Most overused word: Amazing. Still. To describe anything. Everything. If you are lacking in adjectives. There’s probably an app. Use it.

Most politically charged word. Xenophobic. To describe Trump. Trumpistas. Brexits. Nationalists. Polite for racist. Antonym. Globalist. Polite for multi-cultural overcorrection-ist.

Scariest word. Upgrade. As Calvin Trillin says, it strikes horror in us luddites. New software which wreaks havoc with our phones, computers, lives. It’s only a good word when you are supposed to be flying coach. Then it’s amazing.

At least they are words. And not emojis. Or emoticons.

Posted on

Election Day Movie Set

boomsOutside our window no parked cars on the street. Block closed off. Quite an accomplishment. Booms. Cameras. Lights. Action! Yay. Blessed distractions on Election Day. scene

The Only Living Boy in New York, Callum Turner & Cynthia Nixon.