I will start this post by saying that I am not an abstract man. When I see a Jackson Pollack painting I think, “Now that is a waste of paint.” When I start a book that jumps between characters and times and uses abnormal punctuation and non-linear story development, I typically quit reading. When IContinue reading “The Arrival (Of Spring)”
Category Archives: Winter
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
Happy People: A Year in the TaigaDirectors: Dmitry Vasyukov, Werner Herzog Growing up in Alaska, I watched the documentary Alone in the Wilderness, dozens of times in boyhood admiration of Dick Proenneke and his unlimited resourcefulness. Proenneke comes to Alaska in his retirement, with money in the bank and a long list of skills. HeContinue reading “Happy People: A Year in the Taiga”
Her: A (Modern) Spike Jonze Love Story
I avoided Her for a number of years for a number of reasons. The first being that I didn’t want to stare at close-up shots of Joaquin Phoenix for two hours, the second being that I don’t really love robot love-stories, the third being that the combination of both of those things made me thinkContinue reading “Her: A (Modern) Spike Jonze Love Story”
Film as Literature
I have done many jobs in my life. From a newspaper delivery boy on rollerblades to licking envelopes for a monthly newsletter; from bussing tables at a busy restaurant to washing dishes; from kicking down doors as an infantryman in Iraq to writing articles as a journalist; from making and selling peanut butter in GuatemalaContinue reading “Film as Literature”
Angels in the Snowflakes
Holiday time can be so difficult for so many people, and when I look back at some of my own holidays I see opened presents with nothing but heartache, loneliness and overconsumption. Two Christmases spent in Iraq as a soldier; feeling forgotten by everybody despite their letters and packages. New Years spent alone in Olympia,Continue reading “Angels in the Snowflakes”