- ARCHIVE / reviews
- REVIEW: Dr. Dog album: “Fate” (music)
For me, part of writing is finding the right inspiration. Sometimes that inspiration comes in very weird forms. A while ago, my wife, who has been itching to get into Dr. Dog after seeing them open for Wilco in 2007, downloaded their most recent album, Fate. I must say that these are 44 minutes of [...]
- REVIEW: “W.” (movie)
This evening, I had the pleasure of seeing W., Oliver Stone’s new biopic about George W. Bush. The premiere had been Wednesday in New York, and Stone screened it at the Austin Film Festival on Thursday with James Cromwell (who is perhaps nine feet tall!) in attendance and fielding Q&A after the movie.
I’ve got to [...]
- REVIEW: “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel
Recently, I interviewed for a job that required me to teach a ninth grade English class so that the administration could evaluate my teaching skills. They had read Life of Pi over the summer, and were just starting to explore all the things that a novel has to teach young high schoolers about grammar, writing, [...]
- REVIEW: “Into the Wild” (movie)
Into the Wild should be commended for where it takes our main character. The journey to that end, however, may easily become the focus of attention for many viewers.
- REVIEW: “The Shack” by William P. Young
I have never picked up a piece of “Christian Fiction” before (unless you count C.S. Lewis). But, I decided to read The Shack because there is so much controversy surrounding it, and because my church has decided to have a one night discussion about it. Always needing to be informed and up-to-date, I dove in [...]
- REVIEW: “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy
I finally got around to reading Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Road. As difficult as it was to get through (I had to put it down at times because I was too horrified by its contents), I must say that this is a stunning work that demands to be read.
Unfortunately, I had to [...]
- Tools: Scrivener
scrivener noun historical a clerk, scribe, or notary. ORIGIN Middle English : shortening of Old French escrivein, from Latin scriba (see scribe).
Thank you, New Oxford American Dictionary that came bundled with my Mac. Scrivener isn’t just some noun historical, it’s also a smashing piece of writing software from the folks at Literature and Latte (for [...]
- Burrito Chain Smackdown
This post had been sitting in my drafts for quite some time. So, I decided to polish it a bit and put it out there. It’s only an opinion…deal with it, I guess.
Introduction
Someone told me a while back that they preferred Freebird’s to Chipotle. Hmm. I decided to investigate.
DISCLAIMER #1: This is a totally subjective [...]
- New Music: She & Him
Okay, for me, Zooey Deschanel’s version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” from Elf was eye-opening. In her voice I could hear that jazzy/country thing that made me a big fan of Robinella Contreras — subtle shades of Ella Fitzgerald mixed with a little Patsy Cline or Loretta Lynn or something! I don’t know. I just [...]
- App Review: “Fluid” Site Specific Browser (aka SSB)
Lately, I’ve been using a fantastic little OS X app called Fluid. Essentially, this is a freestanding, lightweight, WebKit-based browser that can be used to dupe you into thinking that your favorite web apps are actually desktop applications.
I’ve been using Fluid for about three weeks now, and just thought I’d offer up my experience.
This review [...]
- REVIEW: The Final Solution by Michael Chabon
This is my review from Goodreads.
The back of this book contains a “PS” section with info about the author and a short interview. In this interview, Chabon defends genre fiction (there is also a list of his favorite genre fiction writers; Raymond Chandler tops that list). I am inclined to agree with Chabon that there [...]
- Book Review: Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
Look, this blog isn’t all fun and games–time for some seriousness!
In 2007, Steve Martin published a sort of memoir, Born Standing Up that chronicles his life as a stage performer. From the magic shops of Disneyland to lonely on-the-road burnout to superstardom in the late 1970s, Martin exercises his hindsight, talking about relationships with family, [...]
- There Will Be (another viewing)
Today, Natalie and I saw There Will Be Blood, a P.T. Anderson directed morality play for the 21st century. The film pits all the wonderful intensity of a Daniel Day-Lewis performance against the odd realities of early oil prospecting and zealous religious fanatics in turn-of-the-century western United States.
I freely admit that when the credits began [...]
- Twitter. What is it? Why should I care?
Friday is supposed to be my day to recharge in terms of writing. So, because I may not have anything else to blog about, I’m inundating this blog with cool stuff I’m playing with. Right now, I’m messing around with Twitter.
Frequently Asked Twitter Question #1: “What Is It?”
Great question! Couldn’t tell ya.
Twitter is what you [...]
- Flock and My World: Raving Madness
Being a mac-ophile, loving that all my stuff looks somewhat coordinated, I am a Camino user. I’ve gotten to the point where surfing in another browser is just weird. When I’m forced to test my web work in Safari, Firefox, or (heaven forbid) Internet Explorer, shudders run up and down my spine. All of these [...]
- “The Whore’s Child” and “Monhegan Light” by Richard Russo
Generally speaking, I am a Richard Russo fan. For Christmas Natalie gave me The Whore’s Child and Other Stories, a collection of short stories by Mr. Russo. Thus far, I’ve only read two, and I’ve found myself both delighted and disappointed at the same time.
My biggest disappointment came with “The Whore’s Child.” While Russo creates [...]