Yearly Archives: 2016
Inspiration
This is the best time. Writing. Well, maybe not writing. Some writing, pre-writing. Research. Jotting down ideas, startling plot twists, random thoughts. Imagining lists of songs on a phantom iphone. Plucking out interesting faces from the past, recalling scraps of conversations that never happened, creating families that have never existed, but were always there, waiting. The […]
A Whiter Shade of Toon
Just saw Kubo and the Two Strings. It was created by Laika, an inventive, quality studio I have always loved (they also created the movies Coraline and Paranorman) It’s a gorgeous movie set in ancient Japan, with an imaginative plot, a few surprising twists, and and an emotional heft not usually found in your usual popcorn fare. It […]
The Velocity of Stones
Sometime over the last week there has been a rustling of dark wings inside your chest, a presentiment, and you suddenly realize why: it will soon be your book’s first birthday.
In the Room Where it Happens— Chicago Theater Auditions
Just when I thought I was out… I’m in Chicago, sitting in a frigid theater in the middle of the afternoon at the end of summer, watching a steady succession of actors strut and fret their way across the stage while their photographic counterparts smile beatifically up at me in stacks piled up in the aisle, and […]
New York State of Mind
In just a couple of months, it will be the one-year birthday of Still Life Las Vegas, and what better way to celebrate that milestone (a little prematurely) than by a trip to New York City to see friends & family and attend the Lammy Awards? New York obliged resplendently, gracing us with warm but breezy weather […]
Monkey. Business.
The year of the Monkey has come scampering in. Good-bye, placid Sheep! A Monkey Year is supposed to be full of energy, innovation, and opportunity. It also involves a certain amount of chaos (hello, election year) and favors the nimble and the enterprising…
Celebrate Lunar New Years with Miles!
Disney Jr.’s animated series “Miles from Tomorrowland” has a Lunar New Year episode airing tonight, just in time for the festivities! I play Gong Gong, Miles’ grandfather. It’s a very fun show!
Butthead
When Frank found out last year that I was about to start my book tour, he said, “Your biggest fear is the part I love the most! You’ll hate it!” But I think he might have been wrong. I didn’t hate it. In fact, my biggest fear is that I liked it. I liked it too much.
Watching My Step in 2016
2016 hobbles in. Or, more accurately, I hobble in to 2016. Late last night, walking the dog after midnight, I started scrolling on my phone in the dark to see how people were celebrating the new year on Facebook, and twisted my ankle on a rut in the road. It was an apt admonishment to begin the year: be mindful. Be aware. Or you might make a misstep.