My Amtrak Writing Retreat: It continues.

So, I bedded down pretty soon after dinner, as I had been up since 3:30 that morning. I slept about as well as one could sleep on a moving train. I vaguely remembered waking up and looking out the window as the train pulled into Cleveland, Ohio in the middle of the night. Oh–forgot to […]

My Amtrak Writing Retreat: It begins.

As I sit here in my home, not being able to go anywhere, I’m reminded that a mere three weeks ago, I was in the middle of going almost everywhere in the continental United States. From March 1 thru 10, I was, at different times, on a plane, in a car, and on a train, […]

Spenser Confidential: He gets beat up a LOT.

Has Mark(y) Mark Wahlberg successfully completed the transistion from 90s white-hop douche to accomplished leading man? Probably. I dunno. He hasn’t put out any cringeworthy quasi-rap albums lately, but has acted in lots of films. Some good ones (The Departed, Three Kings), and some turkeys (The Happening), so people must like seeing him in stuff. […]

Disney’s Stargirl: One word.

I started reading comic books in earnest around 1981 or so. Soon after, I felt like creating my own superheroes and made up my own characters. One of the characters I “invented” was a girl who could channel solar energy, whom I named Star Girl. Two words. Not very original but hey, I was 12. […]

#Amwriting. #Amediting. #Amtrak.

I am just a few days away from departing on a 10-day vacation, riding a train coast to coast and back again, during which time I hope to get a lot of my writing projects finished, polished, and ready for submission. I’ve put together my own writing residency, after the folks at Amtrak decided to […]

A Fall From Grace: ………um………….

There’s been some hubbub about the fact that media mogul Tyler Perry has his own production studio but is yet to hire any black writers. Well, I know a pretty decent black writer; I shave him every morning. But if Tyler Perry came to me and said he wanted to make one of my books […]

6 Underground:A film with guts. And brains. Literally.

I’m a red-blooded American male. So, yeah, I like me a good action flick. Even bad action flicks can be an amusing waste of time. And sometimes, movies are just… there. Netflix’s latest blockbuster-wannabe outing, 6 Underground, is probably the loudest, most profane two hours of nothing I’ve ever had to sit through. By the […]

Spider-Man: Far From Home: Far from good.

Okay, so it isn’t terrible, but it also isn’t better than Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s not even better than Spider-Man 3. Let me just state up front: I’ve never really been on board with Tom Holland as Peter Parker. I can understand them wanting to reboot Spidey to appeal to a younger demographic, and in that […]

Dumbo (2019): I be done seen it.

So, I got the Disney+ thing. First thing I did, after seeing that they won’t have the Homeward Bound movies until May of next year, was sit the wife and me down and check out the 2019 remake of their beloved favorite, Dumbo. Because I sure as hell wasn’t going to pay full price to […]

Wine Country: You might need a glass, yourself.

The new Netflix comedy Wine Country certainly won’t win any awards for most original movie title. It’s not exactly an original story idea, either. Trips to Napa Valley for wine-tastings have been the backdrop for many comedies, dramas, and dramedies (I hate dramedies, btw). You know they’re gonna drink. And talk. And fight. Rinse, repeat. […]