The Fallow Ground

It’s Saturday morning. I woke to find my fiancée on my couch in my living room. She’s in town for the weekend and stayed with a nearby friend last night. We made breakfast, watched a documentary about disappearing bees, and now I’m sitting in an empanada shop having coffee while she gets her hair done…

Read More

Because People Ask

It’s: Apollo 13The Great EscapeChariots of FireHigh NoonSergeant YorkSullivan’s TravelsWall-EAs It Is In HeavenRoad to PerditionandVertigo in that order. Also, it’s: The WireFireflyThe West WingCheersLostSeinfeldLife in Stars HollowThe Andy Griffith ShowThe Cosby ShowandPinky and the Brain  in that order. 

Read More

A Sea of Movies

My distaste for The Artist has been publicized. This is from an interview with Guy Maddin, a director of movies, all of which, I’ve never seen.__________________________________________________________ AVC: It’s a little odd how you’ve been turned into the go-to commentator on silent film. People keep asking you what you think of The Artist.  GM: I still haven’t seen it. I…

Read More

The Marooded Testudine, Part 2 – Guest Correspondence

I received the following email this morning: Dear Elijah: Thank you for your email.  We appreciate hearing from you. Yes, from time to time, it appears that some of the sea turtles are stuck on the coral, however, they are not.  They like to use the coral to keep themselves underwater when they are resting. …

Read More

The Marooned Testudine

Yesterday we went to Sea World. While there, we visited Turtle Reef, and a very large turtle appeared to be caught beneath some of the coral in the tank. She was very still, but occasionally she would wave her flipper slowly, as if she was waving goodbye to the world. This morning, after a fitful…

Read More

Road Games

If I’m writing this post at all, I’m writing it in the bus on the way to yet another road game, and you’re not reading it. My environment smells like whatever chemicals they use to clean these seats and, probably, vaguely of sweat and aerosol trainers adhesive. I’m tired, hungry, and not looking forward to…

Read More

On Metaphors and Art-Making

A friend studying metaphor theory asked me about my experience of the use of metaphor in art. He wanted to know why I use metaphor when I write and what my thoughts were on why other artists in the great variety of artistic disciplines use metaphor in their various forms. We talked at length a…

Read More

Stuff

This past weekend, in the midst of 80-degree January heat, I did some “false spring” cleaning. I went through the stuff I had tucked away in my closet, threw a lot of things away, and found some new homes for a bit of my more useful clutter. I delivered a paper bag full of audio…

Read More