Arkansas Democrat-Gazette On Film

11/20/2024

This is a raw mix of new performance of an old song, one we did for the Something for the Pain album in 2017. It’s not really about Taylor Swift. This is just me, on everything.

This is a raw mix of new performance of an old song, one we did for the Something for the Pain album in 2017. It’s not really about Taylor Swift. This is just me, on everything.

11/19/2024

I didn't watch the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight live.

11/18/2024

In 2004, my wife Karen and I hosted a “open screening” for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, an event where local (and not so local, we had artists from several surropunding states show up) filmmakers could screen their in-progress or un-platformed short films and get feedback from their peers. A composer named Hans Stiritz showed up with an amazing five-minute movie he called…...

In 2004, my wife Karen and I hosted a “open screening” for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, an event where local (and not so local, we had artists from several surropunding states show up…

11/18/2024

Photograph of Jesus

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11/18/2024

Pete Rose

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11/18/2024

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11/16/2024

The “Bang, Bang, You’re Dead” Stuff

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11/14/2024

In 1993, the “Murder Is Not Entertainment” movement was initiated by the National Organization of Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc. There was a brief flurry of activity by members of the group in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1994. If I remember correctly, local theaters showing violent movies were picketed, and flyers were handed out in front of a local playhouse....

In 1993, the “Murder Is Not Entertainment” movement was initiated by the National Organization of Parents Of Murdered Children, Inc. There was a brief flurry of activity by members of the group in …

11/11/2024

Somebody Else’s Son

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11/10/2024

A friend of mine, embedded in the political game, asked me for a quote for his Election Day Substack. Maybe he wanted a prediction—if so, I thwarted him. (After all, I’m the guy who confidently picked Arkansas over Ole Miss on the radio. So much for gut instincts.) Instead, I told him there had never been an American presidential election where the choice seemed so clear to so many, where so many people trembled at the possibility of defeat....

A friend of mine, embedded in the political game, asked me for a quote for his Election Day Substack. Maybe he wanted a prediction—if so, I thwarted him. (After all, I’m the guy who confidently pic…

11/09/2024

Here’s my digitized sketch of our dog Savannah. Here she is with her sister, Rikki Tikki Tavi.

Here’s my digitized sketch of our dog Savannah. Here she is with her sister, Rikki Tikki Tavi.

11/08/2024

An old song, redone in anticipation of our anniversary in a few days.

An old song, redone in anticipation of our anniversary in a few days.

11/07/2024

Elvis Costello's 1986 album "King of America," one of my favorite records ever, has been re-released in a six-CD boxed set version. "King of America and Other Realms,"offers a comprehensive look not only at at the album's making, but its aftermath and lasting influence.

11/06/2024

The Hill

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11/04/2024

I don't run around with no mob Got myself a little job I'm going to buy me a little car Drive my girl in the park Don't bother us, leave us alone Anyway we almost grown — Chuck Berry, "Almost Grown," 1959 If we are lucky, we experience a period in our lives when we only believe we are adults....

I don’t run around with no mob Got myself a little job I’m going to buy me a little car Drive my girl in the park Don’t bother us, leave us alone Anyway we almost grown  —&nb…

11/04/2024

You don’t start out wanting to be a sportswriter. At least, I didn’t. I wanted to be in the game, not on the sidelines taking notes. I wanted to be a ballplayer. Not just because it’s where everyone’s attention is focused. It's not only where the contests are decided. It seemed a cleaner, simpler way to live. I was a boy who liked running, throwing, and seeing things settle with a clear verdict....

You don’t start out wanting to be a sportswriter. At least, I didn’t. I wanted to be in the game, not on the sidelines taking notes. I wanted to be a ballplayer. Not just because it’s where everyon…

11/02/2024

There is a terrible song my father loved. Harry Chapin wrote and performed it. He may be best known for a good bad song called “Taxi.” The song tells the story of a guy who couldn’t achieve his dreams. He ended up driving a cab in San Francisco. I used to dislike the song because it seemed like what we these days call “a humblebrag.” After all, the guy singing it hadn’t failed to achieve what he'd set out to achieve....

There is a terrible song my father loved. Harry Chapin wrote and performed it. He may be best known for a good bad song called “Taxi.” The song tells the story of a guy who couldn’t achieve his dre…

11/02/2024

Starting from Robert Redford  In 2000, I met Robert Redford.  Well, to say I “met” Redford is perhaps too strong a term. I spent some time with him in an elevator and later I was in a hot…