Category Archives: Movies and film

Al Jarreau as “The Jazz Singer” (SCTV)

Posted on February 13, 2017 by

Among my favoriteĀ moments from Al Jarreau (who was born in Milwaukee and passed away yesterday) is this parody of Neil Diamond’s 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer. You know it’s going to be great the moment you see Sid Dithers … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Movies and film, News, Popular culture, Television | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Is Hollywood Over?

Posted on January 31, 2017 by

Really interesting article in Vanity Fair Magazine this month, “Why Hollywood as We Know It Is Already Over.” Basically it says that Hollywood is too bloated and calcified, producing unoriginal action movies that it hopes will hit big in foreign … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Movies and film, Popular culture, Television, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Drinking the Kool Aid

Posted on November 18, 2016 by

It still kind of shocks me to read or hear people using that phrase to describe positive buy-in to a new idea. As in, “We’re extremely excited about our company’s new product. Everyone has been drinking the Kool Aid, and … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Milwaukee, Movies and film, Popular culture | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

What movie does my hotel shower remind you of?

Posted on June 29, 2016 by

Yeah, me toošŸ˜„ I made sure all the doors were locked before I stepped in!

Posted in Life, Movies and film, Travel | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

So many milks! And coffee, coffee, coffee!

Posted on June 7, 2016 by

Americans don’t realize how rich we are. It’s so easyĀ not to feel rich when we read about luxury homes sold in London, Paris, or New YorkĀ for eight or even nine figures. Millions and millions and millions of dollars.Ā Who can afford … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Learning, Life, Movies and film | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Tenacity (or, “Life finds a way.”)

Posted on May 26, 2016 by

At first glance this probably looks like my usual abstract, geometrical whatever type of photo. (It surprisesĀ me to realize I even haveĀ a “usual” type of photo . . . ) But look again. Can you see it? That delicateĀ little spiral … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Movies and film, Nature, Photography | Tagged , | 9 Comments

How “tilt shift” in movies unites form and content

Posted on March 21, 2016 by

I’m teaching film studies this quarter, and one of the small pieces of information I introduce to help students developĀ a vocabularyĀ for talking about movies is the concept of “tilt shift” photography. I’m no expert on the technology itself, except to … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments