Raging Bull (1980) Starring Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty Written by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin (screenplay) and Jake La Motta (novel) Directed by Martin Scorcese This movie feels like something of an "anti-Rocky", the story of all those fighters that don't manage to stay on top very long or sacrifice something … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Raging Bull (#24)
Category: Better Living Through Stories
How Our Writing Gets Better
There's a bit of an ongoing kerfluffle in the furry writing community about critics of stories and the role they should play. From my admittedly limited experience with the subject, it seems like the argument has been broken down into two camps. Some folks feel that furry literature should be subjected to the same standards … Continue reading How Our Writing Gets Better
33
When I was 13 years old, I decided that I wanted to be a UFOlogist. I had discovered the existence of this profession by watching episodes of Sightings every Friday night and reading OMNI Magazine, and I thought it was the most awesome thing to get paid for studying phenomena related to UFO sightings and … Continue reading 33
What I Believe
Over the long weekend I watched two very different movies that touched on the same theme. One of them was a religious drama written and directed by Robert Duvall, a true passion project if ever I saw one. It was called The Apostle. The other was very much a product of its time -- a … Continue reading What I Believe
An Evening with John Scalzi
Last Thursday I attended a book reading and signing by the outgoing president of SFWA (the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writer's Association), John Scalzi. I hadn't read anything written by Scalzi except his blog, Whatever, which is actually quite good. It does just about everything that a good blog should -- talk about the minutiae of someone's life … Continue reading An Evening with John Scalzi
The AFI Top 100 Films: High Noon (#33)
High Noon (1952) Starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly and Lloyd Bridges Written by Carl Foreman (screenplay) and John W. Cunningham (short story) Directed by Fred Zinnemann This is another one of those movies where the behind-the-scenes story is just as good as what you see on the screen. But High Noon is included in this … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: High Noon (#33)
Out of Gas on Metaphor Highway
Imagine your willpower as a car that you drive to get from place to place, and that your destinations are anything that you might want to do with your life. Something simple, like making a sandwich or getting dressed, is a quick jaunt to the corner store. Something a bit more involved, like training for … Continue reading Out of Gas on Metaphor Highway
Combatting Mindlessness with Personal Myth
When I'm not pretending to be a giant rabbit who writes fiction on the Internet, I work at a services company where I deal with customers all day. The nature of our business is such that people often mistakenly believe we're responsible for things that we aren't, so it's not uncommon for me to get … Continue reading Combatting Mindlessness with Personal Myth
An Outrageous Deconstruction of Shocking Comedy
In my opinion the best comedy is almost always surprising. A really great joke takes a well-worn premise and drives it off a cliff when we're least expecting it, or connects two places we never knew were even close to each other. I'm not a psychologist or anything, but I think we like to have … Continue reading An Outrageous Deconstruction of Shocking Comedy
Movie Review: Melancholia
Melancholia (2011) Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsborough and Kiefer Sutherland Written and Directed by Lars von Trier Lars von Trier is one of those directors with a distinct, uncompromising vision. You get the feeling when you see one of his movies that every shot is exactly the way he wanted it to look, and every … Continue reading Movie Review: Melancholia
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 