Category: Tidbits

I’d heard that Fox didn’t want to approve New Amsterdam , about an immortal New York homicide detective, although I didn’t hear why. I was afraid that they didn’t greenlight it because the show was bad or stupid or poorly acted. Those are often the reasons. Then the writer’s strike came along, and Fox greenlighted […]

Yesterday, I had jury duty. I live in a large county, and the county seat (along with the court house) is about 30 miles away. I brought a book; I always do because jury duty can be long moments of tedium followed by great frustration. I figured I’d be home by mid-morning since the trial […]

From Phil Jackson, coach of the LA Lakers, as reported in Esquire, February, 2008: “The bigger your head is, the easier your shoes are to fill.”

The Onion has a great send-up of the screenwriters strike. Yep, a novelist’s strike would look just like this. For the gloomy news, check here.

On Monday, March 10, 2008, NPR aired this piece by Yo-Yo Ma, the classical musician, as part of its “This I Believe” series. I’m not recommending the entire “This I Believe” series. While it’s usually interesting, it is occasionally annoying as well. But this piece, by an internationally acclaimed musician, applies to writers as well. […]

I’ve been enjoying “Lost” since its debut, but it wasn’t until the episode that aired on 2/28/08 that I realized the show truly does have the vision its creators say it has. “The Constant” is the episode that the Lost producers/writers could not have completed if they didn’t know where they were going with the […]

I don’t listen to the Writers Almanac every day, but I sure enjoy it when I do. I learn bits and pieces about literary history. I’m not always fond of the poems, but at least I listen to them, something I don’t do any more. (I used to love poetry.) It’s worth checking out. If […]