July 10, 2019
“Slightly Wavy Due to Being Out of Tune”: On Richard Linklater’s Waking Life
“Waking Life” (2001) was written and directed by Richard Linklater, who caught the eye of critics with his 1991 film, “Slacker.” The film’s title comes from the George Santayana maxim: “Sanity is […]
May 19, 2018
15 Things I’ve Learned About Women in Romantic Comedies
1) Women fall down a lot. They are apparently extremely clumsy. But it’s cute. But only if they’re otherworldly beautiful. 2) Faced with so many astounding possibilities, more than anything […]
June 22, 2017
Minor League Season Begins—Again
People asked Ron Shelton, again and again, if he was going to write a sequel to Bull Durham. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, and I’m glad he didn’t. […]
May 24, 2016
Shroud, Telltale, Stern: Fantasies of Sailing
This summer, I’m going to learn how to sail. I’ve only taken one lesson in the past, on the water at Hueston Woods in Oxford, Ohio, in a little Sunfish, […]
November 16, 2015
Crash Davis, Soul Man
Bull Durham (1988) begins with grainy black and white stills of Willie Mays, Pete Rose, Babe Ruth, a ball club of women in three quarter sleeves and skirts, a woman […]
August 25, 2015
Sugimoto’s Movie Theaters
“Suppose you shoot a whole movie in a single frame?” The answer: “You get a shining screen.” […] One afternoon I walked into a cheap cinema in the East Village […]
February 23, 2012
And Another Thing:
My favorite word in the English language (at least for today) is and. I’ve realized it’s the basis of my metaphysics—many Gods and one Brahman—as well as of my literary […]