it’s hard to overstate my satisfaction

Bi-weekly post up on Overthinking It: Illmatic and the Crisis of Peaking Young. Have all of Nas’s later albums fallen short of his debut because he got overhyped? Because he couldn’t handle the pressure? Or maybe it’s okay that he produced the best work of his life in his first album? I answer the question [...]

a hundred dollar bills, look at you! look at you!

I think I ought to speak to a financial adviser. “Professor,” you ask in a robust chorus. “Don’t you have a degree in economics from a prestigious university?” I do; thank you for reminding me. But that doesn’t make me qualified to invest wisely. I know I’ve used this metaphor in the past, but: asking [...]

used to do a little but a little wouldn’t do so the little got more and more

Muse and the Marketplace isn’t all I did this weekend, though. On Saturday, I saw Flat Earth Theatre put up 12 Angry Jurors at the Arsenal Center for the Arts. Afterward, Rachel V., Orit, Rachel’s MOSAIC co-star Josh and I had appetizers and beers at Donohue’s. Orit: I’m trying to think of a way to [...]

in a way he’s the one who devised the plan

I spent most of this weekend indoors at Grub Street’s annual Muse and the Marketplace conference. Writers take over two floors of the Park Plaza Hotel, networking, taking seminars from some of the best writers out there, and getting manuscript feedback from agents and editors. My take: I attended the conference primarily for the Manuscript [...]

’cause everyone knows that’s how you get famous

First off, I take part in this week’s Overthinking It Think Tank, along with Matthew Wrather, David Schechner, Jordan Stokes and Ryan Sheely. Our topic: Best Logo. Vote for your favorite! (Meaning, mine) # # # While we’re talking OTI, last week’s podcast – which I couldn’t attend – spent a lot of time debating [...]

wet bus stop; she’s waiting; his car is warm and dry

Those of you who don’t follow sensational crime stories, or who live outside of New England, might not have heard that a Boston University medical student was arrested for robbing and killing prostitutes found on Craigslist earlier this week. I don’t intend to speculate on the suspect’s guilt or innocence in this post. The man [...]

invisible airwaves crackle with life

This week’s media blow can download over either the 3G or standard wireless networks. House of Sand and Fog: Brutal and moving and impressive. Kathy, a recovering addict whose husband has just abandoned her, gets evicted from her Pacific Coast bungalow for failure to pay a small business tax that she does not owe. In [...]

use your days and save your nights

My parents’ house in Baltimore sits in the suburbs, half an hour north of the city. It smells warm and alive in the spring. I went out on the deck on Saturday to read but swarms of yellowjackets surrounded me, divebombing my head with regularity. I fetched a can of wasp killer from the garage. [...]

superstar, but he didn’t get far

I’m visiting family in Baltimore, taking the train down this morning and back on Monday, so don’t expect much. If you’d like to contribute, please recommend a book that’s available on the Kindle. Please note: anyone who recommends one of the first twelve items listed at that link gets five across the eyes.

click, click, boom

I have a new post up on Overthinking It today: The Three Faces of Crank. I unpack the rich, intricate subtext behind the 2006 action flick, just in time for its sequel this weekend. An excerpt: Chev Chelios (Statham) wakes up as the movie begins. He lives in a gorgeous apartment in an L.A. high-rise [...]