Problematic Movies of the 80s | The Cannonball Run (1981)
“This isn’t what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“I dunno. Gang rape?”
“Oh, Beauty. We’re racers not rapers.”
Brian Babylon — "Babylon Ball Z" Comedy Album Review
Brian Babylon, who calls himself the Prince of Bronzeville when shadowboxing in his bathroom mirror each morning, has released his first comedy album, Babylon Ball Z. It will probably make you laugh.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of October 7, 2018
The only thing stranger than Kanye West’s meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office is that one time Sammy Davis Jr. blew President Nixon in the Lincoln Bedroom.
American Shithole #29 | End of Act II (The Empire Struck Back)
It is quite possible now, that McConnell and the republican Senate, Ryan and the republican House, the President, his entire administration — all of them — all of them are going to get away with everything. If so, in the immortal words of C-3PO, “We’re doomed.”
Welcome to the end of Act II, America.
Finding New Ways to Create | Body Passages Series: Poetry and Dance Collaborations
From conversations with the collaborators and curators, especially Jeanette (Jae) Green, Sara Maslanka, and Natasha Mijares, I was able to gain more insights into the interconnectedness of poetry and dance and the collaborative, creative process.
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting | Trump Apologizes to Plantation Owners
If I could return your slaves, I would.
Regime Change in the Age of Trump
White males do not need a safe space and shouldn’t cry about when called names on Twitter or protested by a crowd. But neither should black males, white females, or anyone else.
How To Get Rich Using Possession
I’m laying there, terrified, paralyzed, praying, shaking, listening to my ragged breathing and pounding heart. But nothing happens. Is this some kind of nightmare? Am I having… what do they call it, sleep paralysis?
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I Believe.. [Maybe They Should've Called It "Turdsie"]
…that, if you’re going to adapt Tootsie for the stage as a musical, perhaps a focus on creating memorable songs, a believable narrative and avoiding a ball peen hammer approach to modernizing it for the #MeToo zeitgeist might be a better way to go.
Goldilocks Would Never Be friends with 2/3rds of You
Goldilocks probably felt the same way about people as she did beds and porridge.
Problematic Movies of the 80s | Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
I was 16 years old when this hit the theaters. What I remember of this movie was that I liked it, thought it was funny and mostly loved the character of Brad (played by a young Judge Reinhold.) The Spicoli character, played with stoner perfection by Sean Penn loomed large, and the fact that I got to see Phoebe Cates’ tits was a big plus. I saw it in the theater only once but it left a good impression upon my teenage brain. It felt authentic in many ways to my own high school experience as it was unfolding.
Upon rewatching it to see how potentially problematic the thing was, here are some takeaways…
The Best Book About Suicide I Ever Read
Being suicidal is part of my personality. I’ve written funny suicide poems and more serious suicide poems… oh, what the hell, they’re always funny to me, unless they’re not. Really, just writing it down makes it manageable and puts it in perspective. Makes me realize my worldview is so full of doom and gloom, it’s actually funny. Like an emo or goth who is actually a clown.
Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of September 30, 2018
The problem with instant gratification is that it makes satisfaction hard to come by.
On Fear and Silence
When I watched Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I felt her desire to be believed, and her fear that she wouldn’t be, as palpably as if it were my own.
It is my own.
I am afraid to tell this story. I’m afraid to put it out into the world and let others judge its seriousness and its veracity.
American Shithole #28 — Keeping Up with the Kavanaughs
“Boys will be boys,” some old, crusty bitches have said about drunk, teenage rapists — by the way, fuck you, conservative white women over 50. Seriously, fuck you. I want a new world order where you get assaulted at bridge club by wandering donkeys fed solely on Viagra.
Hey, donkeys on Viagra will be donkeys, you crusty fucking bitches.
When the Plate Glass Decapitates You and Trump Is the Only Thing On Your Mind
Like a heavy feather, the plate glass gracefully sliced through air for 7.6 seconds before gently decapitating Flores where she stood.
The Minutes of Our Last Meeting – Christian Halloween Party Planning
The kids have to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories while the other kids have to guess what the story is. It’s like Pictionary without the pornography.
And Sometimes I Drive A Trolley
I do a lot of stuff. I write for this magazine. I teach improv, film, documentary and theater to kids. I teach test prep to teens. I teach communication and public speaking courses to college freshmen. But when it comes to the subject of me, the thing that seems to get most people’s attention, is my oldest stream of income. I drive a trolley and give tours. I have for over 20 years.
America is Not the Amityville Horror or Poltergeist House
The house that is the United States, if it were an actual house, has plenty of flakey hemoglobin on the grounds.
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I Believe… [Go to the Gym Anyway…]
…that the days you really don’t want to go to the gym — making excuses, promising yourself that you’ll fast that day if only you can skip — but do are the days that matter most.
Never give up. Don’t stop, just start. That’s the trick. The hardest part is starting. Genius only comes to a running mind.