Shutter Island. Better than I thought it would be. Scorsese takes some simple genre stuff to some good creepy heights.
The first draft is always perfect
The first draft is always perfect. perfect. Its only job is to exist.
The Story of Your Life
In telling the story of how you became who you are, and of who you’re on your way to becoming, the story itself becomes a part of who you are.
The best way to educate yourself is to adjust your peer group
The best way to “educate yourself,” for most people at most stages in your life, is to make marginal adjustments in your peer group.
The Gift
The Gift. I loved this movie for 90 minutes and then I hated it so much. There are a couple late plot decisions that totally broke the spell. But, credit is for a spell-binding run up to that point. It’s amazing how much tension Edgerton wrings out of thin air. I liked it.
Mission: Impossible 3
Mission: Impossible 3. Better than I remembered. Hoffman is casually one of the most terrifying villains of the past couple decades. It’s a shame that Keri Russell didn’t have a larger role. Current Mission: Impossible rankings:
- Mission: Impossible
- Mission: Impossible 3
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
- Mission: Impossible 2
It seems the rule of thumb here is that the quality of the MI films is inversely proportional to the length of Tom Cruise’s hair.
My new attitude to travel is to skip the iconic – and I thank my father for that
As I grow older, I hope to become more like my father, who caused much amusement by firmly declining a ride by the White House when we went to Washington DC to visit my in-laws. “It’s the White House,” my mother-in-law said to me. “Anyone would want to go.”
Anyone except my father. Over the years of saying no to other people’s adventures, he has retained his triangularity in a world of round pegs with well-rounded to-do lists. He loved what he loved – the bridges of New York, the Halal street food vendors, the ferry to Staten Island – not because they were iconic but because they pierced his indifference.
My new attitude to travel is to skip the iconic – and I thank my father for that
Why patience really is a virtue
When you take a class with the Harvard University art historian Jennifer Roberts, your first task is always to choose a work of art, then go and look at it, wherever it’s displayed, for three full hours.
Diamonds – Kurt Pio
Diamonds – Kurt Pio. These paintings are awesome.
My creative process begins with: just thinking
My creative process begins with: just thinking. I do a lot of thinking, a lot of pondering. I rarely watch films in airplanes; I just sort of sit there, looking at the ceiling. Day dreaming is the equivalent of doodling; it’s mental doodling.