I wake up this my dormant blog on a day that for me will belong in the annals of infamy.  I am sharing a link to my new other blog innocuously entitled "Emily's Other Place." This blog… Read More

La Sombra Azul  (2012) Dir. Sergio Schmucler. Gustavo Almada and Julio Hormaeche, actors.  Filmed in Cordoba, Argentina.I took inspiration to write and post this blog entry from Se… Read More

From the Mexican Market at Lake & Bloomington in Minneapolis and from the 2015 Halloween tour of the archives at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, here are photos of artifacts a… Read More

It has been a long time indeed since I have posted to this blog.  Occasionally I still want to publish a bit from what I've flushed out in daily writings, especially in response to movi… Read More

Cyberbully, ABCmovie, on DVD, 2012. With Emily Osment, Kay PanabakerThis is an important movie for young people in middle school and beyond, who especially should relate, and for adults who… Read More

Sherwood Pictures, Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia, 2012I’ll be preaching to the choir here, I guess, since the message conveyed in Courageous comes from a belief paradigm tha… Read More

In addition to the soap operatic melodrama and the grandeur of Downton Abbey that intrigues and fascinates, there is much of interest going on in this British TV series begun… Read More

In addition to the soap operatic melodrama and the grandeur of Downton Abbey that intrigues and fascinates, there is much of interest going on in this British TV series begun… Read More

Cheryl Strayed, WildYesterday, while walking, I called a friend who reads voraciously to ask if she had read Cheryl Strayed’s Wild.  She had.  Such a drama queen, I said… Read More

Nora Ephron 1941-2012 New York Times & MTVAdded August 21, 2012.  For Nora Ephron, alchemist.It’s no secret Nora Ephron loved great food and that’s just one reason… Read More

A charming story fit for the whole family, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) has something for everyone.  It’s a veritable bouquet of inspiration on perseverance, faith, and coop… Read More

I have been blog-awol awhile.  Among other pursuits has been viewing a set of BBC films of the Jane Austen novels (from the 70s and 80s Masterpiece Theatre, remastered and put to DVD in… Read More

I have been blog-awol awhile.  Among other pursuits has been viewing a set of BBC films of the Jane Austen novels (from the 70s and 80s Masterpiece Theatre, remastered and put to DVD in… Read More

George Harrison: Living in the Material World, a Martin Scorsese picture, 2011.Time travel for baby boomers has arrived in this four-hour long documentary about George Harrison and the Beatl… Read More

The other evening at dinner I tried to summarize and explicate Bel Canto.  My word, I found it difficult.  That is what happens with literature so abundant in meaning it resounds o… Read More

Director: Abbas Kiarostani.  Actors:  Juliet Binoche, William SchimmelSometimes the oddest connections emerge in randomly reading books and watching movies.  I read Bel Canto… Read More

I understand some of the reasons people, including ten-year old people, get caught up in this trilogy.  One reason: the plot moves and compels.  A thoughtful teen aged girl protago… Read More

I admit I don't know what all it takes to make a really really great movie.  So many pieces need to be turned out and fitted together perfectly.  And in addition, a great movi… Read More

Passion Play (2010) Director:  Mitch Glazer. Writer:  Mitch Glazer (screenplay) Stars: Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox and Bill MurrayAnother indie flick.  Okay, well, this one is wo… Read More

Writer/Director: Jennifer Siebel Newsom, with Lisa Ling, Katie Couric, Gloria Steinem, and more.... As recently as Spring 2011 I was still teaching Composition at a state university.  O… Read More

I do write mainly of movies on this blog. They seem so easy to wrap in a tidy package for posting.  Books require deeper analysis, though of course not all films are easily su… Read More

Things addicting: Coca Cola, TV, shopping, sugar, gambling, writing, cigarettes, booze, religion, and of course, telenovelas. Somewhere in church basements across the U.S. people are introdu… Read More

Director: Alfred Hitchcock; Screenplay: Michael Hayes; Based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich; With Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, and James Stewart. 1954.I do so adore this film.  I… Read More

Director:  Mike Cahill; Writers: Brit Marling, Mike Cahill.  With Brit Marling.  2011. Oh, for Pete’s sake.  This film, to which I refer As The Earth Doubles… Read More

Director: Steven Sprung; Writers: Michael Bershad, Steven Sprung.  With Michael Bershad.  2011.I haven’t commented on a movie I didn’t like in a while.  I often th… Read More