Aug 09, 2011 · Comments Off
ComicCon (more formally known as San Diego Comic-Con International) is an annual event that showcases comic books, sci-fi/fantasy films and television, and related popular arts. In recent years, along with being a geek “mecca”, Comic-Con has become particularly important to Hollywood, acting as a kind of testing ground for up and coming product. Comic-Con 2011 [...]
Feb 16, 2011 · 1 Comment »
Las Vegas. It’s the self proclaimed “Sin City”; big of tit small of brain, oversexed, under cultured and hopelessly tacky. It’s a one factory town that produces weapons of mass distraction. And business has been booming for over sixty years. The most famous resident is a lady… the legendary Lady Luck. Naturally, she’s everybody’s dream [...]
Dec 19, 2010 · 1 Comment »
My first novel, Raven Diablo: Agent of Kali became a physical reality when boxes of books were delivered to my store. When I opened a box and beheld the neat stacks of MY BOOK packed inside, I felt delirious. Now that the writing of the novel is behind me, I find myself reflecting on what [...]
Dec 13, 2010 · 1 Comment »
I love film noir, and one of the best examples of the genre is Detour. Made on the cheap in 1945, none of the participants could ever have imagined that they were making a classic. With a running time of only 67 minutes, the film hits the ground running with a bizarre tale of a [...]
Dec 11, 2010 · Comments Off
Whatever happened to musical skills As a musician, I’m perplexed by a phenomenon I began to notice a few years ago. There are vast numbers of musicians who can’t play instruments very well. In fact, many successful musical artists don’t play instruments at all since it’s possible to compose and perform entirely with a computer and [...]
Dec 09, 2010 · 1 Comment »
I have a degree in philosophy. But I’m not bragging. Far from it. Because if life had a rewind button, there would be a different piece of paper hanging on my Mom’s living room wall. The wall might even be bare. Now, in retrospect, I often wonder how I ended up in the philosophy department [...]
Dec 03, 2010 · Comments Off
Recently, an article appeared in Paste, an award winning online zine devoted to “music, film and culture”. It was entitled “Bela Lugosi’s Dead: Vampire History From Scary Monster to Sexy Beast” and claimed to be a definitive history of vampires in books and films. It was an interesting article save for one problem. There was [...]
Dec 03, 2010 · Comments Off
Recently, I was the subject of an interview regarding my first novel, Raven Diablo: Agent of Kali. I was asked, from where I get my ideas and the question completely stymied me. Because I have absolutely no idea from where I get my ideas. From where does any artist get his/her ideas? It’s a question that’s [...]
Dec 02, 2010 · 3 Comments »
I am not a Hindu. I subscribe to no religion. I prefer to think of myself as spiritual as opposed to religious. But I do consider myself to be a believer and follower of the Goddess Kali and all that she represents. Though Kali is very much associated with Hinduism, she transcends religion. Unfortunately, most of [...]
Dec 01, 2010 · 1 Comment »
For many years now, I’ve heard about a phenomenon called the generation gap. There’s supposedly a huge difference between young and old; a gap in interest, mentality, understanding etc. I remember this so-called generation gap was particularly stressed back in the sixties and seventies. Now, it’s pretty much taken for granted that young and old [...]
Nov 30, 2010 · 1 Comment »
Every culture throughout the world has produced some form of heroic fiction. It’s an important genre, perhaps the most important genre of all, because heroes represent the ideal individual. Even though they’re usually larger than life and capable of superhuman feats, heroes nonetheless provide a standard of conduct to be emulated by mere mortals. Heroic [...]
Nov 29, 2010 · Comments Off
The moving images of television and films have made people forget the power of the static image. I like moving images too, but I’ve never found them to be any more compelling than the so-called non moving image. I say so-called because to me, the static image can have tremendous movement and impact. It all [...]
Nov 29, 2010 · 2 Comments »
I love a good mystery. And one of my favorites concerns the band Earth, Wind and Fire. In my opinion, Earth, Wind and Fire is the greatest pop band of all time. They were highly accomplished musicians, talented songwriters and electrifying performers. But more importantly, they also reflected a type of consciousness seldom seen today. They [...]
Nov 28, 2010 · 1 Comment »
Heroes are crucial because they represent everything we aspire to be. I’ve always had them, both mythical and real, and they’ve been very influential in my life. For many years now, my hero has been the artist Clive Barker. It’s been said that a true artist must create like a god, command like a king [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
A few years ago I was teaching a filmmaking class at a summer camp for kids. One day, I asked the students what they wanted to be when they grew up. And most of them gave the same answer. They wanted to be famous. Actually, only about 75% of the class wanted to be famous. [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
Remember that sci-fi novel from back in the day called Farenheit 451? It was about a time in the not so distant future when the State would burn books in an effort to control thought. There was a time when such an idea might have seemed plausible, but certainly not now. There’s no need to [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
I’ll never forget the day I dropped out of graduate school. I had already completed the course work for my Master’s degree and was ready to write my thesis. But one day I had an epiphany, a word I learned in college by the way. (and haven’t used since) I realized that for me, school [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · 2 Comments »
Ask the average person to define the word “fashion” and they’ll immediately start talking about clothes, shoes and airhead supermodels. That’s because people have forgotten that the word “fashion” is also a verb. Fashion means “to mold, change or configure”. The fashion industry is one of the most important elements in culture because it functions [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
The vampire is without a doubt the most beloved of predators. And for good reason. They’re just so cool. They sleep all day, party all night, wear great clothes and absolutely no one can resist them. Oh yeah… and they’re immortal too. What’s not to love? They’ve got a lifestyle to die for. Of course [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
A few years ago when I was in Paris, I spent a lot of time hanging out in bookstores, vinyl/dvd stores, poster shops, art galleries, etc. And I noticed something that really surprised me. The only American city I ever saw represented in any way was Las Vegas. Not Hollywood, not New York, not Washington [...]
Nov 24, 2010 · Comments Off
Raven Diablo is the main character in my first novel, Raven Diablo: Agent of Kali. Raven is a modern day warrior woman doing battle in the real Sin City, Las Vegas. She’s a highly trained assassin with a wide assortment of skills, martial and otherwise. She’s ruthless, merciless and fearless. In fact, she’s so badass, [...]
Nov 09, 2010 · 1 Comment »
Welcome friends. This is my first blog and it will be the first of many. My blogs will primarily focus on my major two obsessions; culture and mass media. Along with commentary on a wide variety of subjects, there will be reviews of books, movies, music and other arts. My commentaries and reviews will not [...]
Aug 09, 2011 · Comments Off
ComicCon (more formally known as San Diego Comic-Con International) is an annual event that showcases comic books, sci-fi/fantasy films and television, and related popular arts. In recent years, along with being a geek “mecca”, Comic-Con has become particularly important to Hollywood, acting as a kind of testing ground for up and coming product. Comic-Con 2011 [...]
Feb 16, 2011 · 1 Comment »
Las Vegas. It’s the self proclaimed “Sin City”; big of tit small of brain, oversexed, under cultured and hopelessly tacky. It’s a one factory town that produces weapons of mass distraction. And business has been booming for over sixty years. The most famous resident is a lady… the legendary Lady Luck. Naturally, she’s everybody’s dream [...]
Dec 19, 2010 · 1 Comment »
My first novel, Raven Diablo: Agent of Kali became a physical reality when boxes of books were delivered to my store. When I opened a box and beheld the neat stacks of MY BOOK packed inside, I felt delirious. Now that the writing of the novel is behind me, I find myself reflecting on what [...]
Dec 13, 2010 · 1 Comment »
I love film noir, and one of the best examples of the genre is Detour. Made on the cheap in 1945, none of the participants could ever have imagined that they were making a classic. With a running time of only 67 minutes, the film hits the ground running with a bizarre tale of a [...]
Dec 11, 2010 · Comments Off
Whatever happened to musical skills As a musician, I’m perplexed by a phenomenon I began to notice a few years ago. There are vast numbers of musicians who can’t play instruments very well. In fact, many successful musical artists don’t play instruments at all since it’s possible to compose and perform entirely with a computer and [...]
Dec 09, 2010 · 1 Comment »
I have a degree in philosophy. But I’m not bragging. Far from it. Because if life had a rewind button, there would be a different piece of paper hanging on my Mom’s living room wall. The wall might even be bare. Now, in retrospect, I often wonder how I ended up in the philosophy department [...]
Dec 03, 2010 · Comments Off
Recently, an article appeared in Paste, an award winning online zine devoted to “music, film and culture”. It was entitled “Bela Lugosi’s Dead: Vampire History From Scary Monster to Sexy Beast” and claimed to be a definitive history of vampires in books and films. It was an interesting article save for one problem. There was [...]
Dec 03, 2010 · Comments Off
Recently, I was the subject of an interview regarding my first novel, Raven Diablo: Agent of Kali. I was asked, from where I get my ideas and the question completely stymied me. Because I have absolutely no idea from where I get my ideas. From where does any artist get his/her ideas? It’s a question that’s [...]
Dec 02, 2010 · 3 Comments »
I am not a Hindu. I subscribe to no religion. I prefer to think of myself as spiritual as opposed to religious. But I do consider myself to be a believer and follower of the Goddess Kali and all that she represents. Though Kali is very much associated with Hinduism, she transcends religion. Unfortunately, most of [...]
Dec 01, 2010 · 1 Comment »
For many years now, I’ve heard about a phenomenon called the generation gap. There’s supposedly a huge difference between young and old; a gap in interest, mentality, understanding etc. I remember this so-called generation gap was particularly stressed back in the sixties and seventies. Now, it’s pretty much taken for granted that young and old [...]
Nov 30, 2010 · 1 Comment »
Every culture throughout the world has produced some form of heroic fiction. It’s an important genre, perhaps the most important genre of all, because heroes represent the ideal individual. Even though they’re usually larger than life and capable of superhuman feats, heroes nonetheless provide a standard of conduct to be emulated by mere mortals. Heroic [...]
Nov 29, 2010 · Comments Off
The moving images of television and films have made people forget the power of the static image. I like moving images too, but I’ve never found them to be any more compelling than the so-called non moving image. I say so-called because to me, the static image can have tremendous movement and impact. It all [...]
Nov 29, 2010 · 2 Comments »
I love a good mystery. And one of my favorites concerns the band Earth, Wind and Fire. In my opinion, Earth, Wind and Fire is the greatest pop band of all time. They were highly accomplished musicians, talented songwriters and electrifying performers. But more importantly, they also reflected a type of consciousness seldom seen today. They [...]
Nov 28, 2010 · 1 Comment »
Heroes are crucial because they represent everything we aspire to be. I’ve always had them, both mythical and real, and they’ve been very influential in my life. For many years now, my hero has been the artist Clive Barker. It’s been said that a true artist must create like a god, command like a king [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
A few years ago I was teaching a filmmaking class at a summer camp for kids. One day, I asked the students what they wanted to be when they grew up. And most of them gave the same answer. They wanted to be famous. Actually, only about 75% of the class wanted to be famous. [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
Remember that sci-fi novel from back in the day called Farenheit 451? It was about a time in the not so distant future when the State would burn books in an effort to control thought. There was a time when such an idea might have seemed plausible, but certainly not now. There’s no need to [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
I’ll never forget the day I dropped out of graduate school. I had already completed the course work for my Master’s degree and was ready to write my thesis. But one day I had an epiphany, a word I learned in college by the way. (and haven’t used since) I realized that for me, school [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · 2 Comments »
Ask the average person to define the word “fashion” and they’ll immediately start talking about clothes, shoes and airhead supermodels. That’s because people have forgotten that the word “fashion” is also a verb. Fashion means “to mold, change or configure”. The fashion industry is one of the most important elements in culture because it functions [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
The vampire is without a doubt the most beloved of predators. And for good reason. They’re just so cool. They sleep all day, party all night, wear great clothes and absolutely no one can resist them. Oh yeah… and they’re immortal too. What’s not to love? They’ve got a lifestyle to die for. Of course [...]
Nov 26, 2010 · Comments Off
A few years ago when I was in Paris, I spent a lot of time hanging out in bookstores, vinyl/dvd stores, poster shops, art galleries, etc. And I noticed something that really surprised me. The only American city I ever saw represented in any way was Las Vegas. Not Hollywood, not New York, not Washington [...]
Nov 24, 2010 · Comments Off
Raven Diablo is the main character in my first novel, Raven Diablo: Agent of Kali. Raven is a modern day warrior woman doing battle in the real Sin City, Las Vegas. She’s a highly trained assassin with a wide assortment of skills, martial and otherwise. She’s ruthless, merciless and fearless. In fact, she’s so badass, [...]
Nov 09, 2010 · 1 Comment »
Welcome friends. This is my first blog and it will be the first of many. My blogs will primarily focus on my major two obsessions; culture and mass media. Along with commentary on a wide variety of subjects, there will be reviews of books, movies, music and other arts. My commentaries and reviews will not [...]