Dead Mary
Elvira's Movie Macabre: Maneater of Hydra, The House that Screamed
Elvira's Movie Macabre: Gamera, Super Monster, They Came from Beyond Space
Freeheld
Two Weeks
The Windy City Incident
BOOK REVIEWS (Edge Publications)
A Boy's Own Story (New!! Added on 4/18/09)
Adrift in the Land of Plenty
Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life (New!! Added on 4/18/09)
The Distance Between Us
Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys
Greetings from the Gayborhood: A Nostalgic Look at Gay Neighborhoods
The Great Cock Hunt
My Parachute is Beige: The Cubicle Dweller's Guide to Getting By
The P'Town Murders
Q Guide to Classic Monster Movies
Q Guide to Gay Beaches
Q Guide to Soap Operas
Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys
Greetings from the Gayborhood: A Nostalgic Look at Gay Neighborhoods
The Great Cock Hunt
My Parachute is Beige: The Cubicle Dweller's Guide to Getting By
The P'Town Murders
Q Guide to Classic Monster Movies
Q Guide to Gay Beaches
Q Guide to Soap Operas
The Slow Fix (New!! Added on 4/18/09)
Uncle Bobby's Wedding
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Dave Koz, At the Movies
Dave Koz Greatest Hits
Howard Sings Ashman
The Kinsey Sicks, Sicks! Sicks! Sicks!
TELEVISION REVIEWS (Edge Publications)
Prisoner: Cell Block H
INTERVIEWS/PROFILES (Edge Publications)
Dina Martina
Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus
FICTION
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Parlor Nominated for a Pushcart Prize and the storySouth Million Writers Award
To Hell and Back, Toasted Cheese
MUSIC REVIEWS (Edge Publications)
Dave Koz, At the Movies
Dave Koz Greatest Hits
Howard Sings Ashman
The Kinsey Sicks, Sicks! Sicks! Sicks!
TELEVISION REVIEWS (Edge Publications)
Prisoner: Cell Block H
INTERVIEWS/PROFILES (Edge Publications)
Dina Martina
Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus
FICTION
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Parlor Nominated for a Pushcart Prize and the storySouth Million Writers Award
To Hell and Back, Toasted Cheese
9 comments:
Hey Robb,
Great blog! I checked out your review of Gamera. I can't even imagine how hard it was to sit through that movie. I was barely able to make it even with the assistance of Joel, Tom Servo, and Crow (back in their public access TV days). You're a better man than me.
-B
Oh, that was nothing compared to The Windy City Incident, which was horrific. Vile and senseless. Or Adrift in the Land of Plenty, the worst novel I've ever read. As soon as the novel mentioned April 2001, I had an uneasy feeling. Next thing, I knew it was a beautiful sunny Tuesday morning in September. "You are not going there," I groaned. But he did, making a mockery of 9/11.
Oh no, he didn't! I can't believe that. Nelson DeMille shoehorned 9/11 into one of his books too. Even though I know it happened in real life (and can still remember where I was and what I was doing), it still felt a little contrived within the context of his story. Goes to show how different the rules of fiction are from the rules of reality.
I'm staying away from 9/11. (Unless someone pays me to write about it, of course.) I think it's tough to draw the line in fiction between thoughtful and insightful, and exploitative and gimmicky, when it comes to something as horrific as that.
Unfortunately, the author did go there. To me, it seemed like a convenient plot device to kill off a major character. Tacky. I was hoping that the author would use the situation to explore some growth in his shallow main character but that didn't happen. The character shows no grief that his lover died in the collapse of the towers, then visits his other lover who is dying, and then goes and gets a hotel room in the city and screws his brains out with a stranger.
I don't think I could ever write about what happened...I still get choked up when I see footage of the day's events (as happened yesterday when I was flipping the channels). I do briefly reference 9/11 in my novel when there's one sentence about a character visiting the towers a few weeks before the planes hit.
Any movement on an MFA program? I'm actually thinking about going back for another MFA -- perhaps in playwriting at Rosemont or in children's writing at Simmons College in Boston. (I'm definitely planning to apply to Simmons...it sounds like a great program.)
Well, I'll be staying away from that book. It sounds depressingly morbid.
I'm with you re: footage. HBO did a "good" special with some really disturbing images.
No movement on the MFA for me. I got in to five of the seven programs I applied to, but I'm not sure if I can commit to them, time-wise.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to enroll in a program, but I also don't want to be THAT guy. You know, the guy who doesn't bother to read anyone else's stuff and only shows up when his own stuff is being critiqued.
That'd be cool if you went for another MFA. I was considering doing a screenwriting/fiction program, but alas, the school offering it was one of the two that didn't care for my writing.
Which programs/schools did you apply to? I'm just starting to explore different programs. Like I said, I'm really liking the program at Simmons but I want to see what else is out there. I may apply to the ones at Rutgers. Since I work there, I'd get free tuition.
I applied to what at the time (not sure if they still are) were considered the best low-res programs. I was accepted into Pacific University and got the "thanks, but no thanks" from the others (Warren Wilson, Vermont). I was also accepted at Spalding, Rosemont, Carlow, and a place in Jersey (the name escapes me right now). Some of the programs were kind enough to offer me deferments. Like I said, not sure what my plans are.
The low-res program probably worked best for my schedule, but it's a trade off. You're only in class/workshops two weeks every semester, so I've heard that you don't really get the university/group feel as much as a normal program.
I considered doing the low-residency option but I hate the idea of using all my vacation time to do the residencies. I'm still exploring schools but will definitely apply to Rutgers-Newark, Rutgers-Camden, and Simmons.
Yeah, that is the other downside, having to use up all your vacation time to attend the low-res sessions. Although, I wonder if that wouldn't be the greatest use of vacation time--no distractions, no stress of work, etc. Who knows :)
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