(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) The pilot episode of Gotham, the Batman prequel, is a textbook lesson for screenwriters on establishing your hero. The two textbooks I have in mind are Save the Cat by Blake Snyder (Blank Check, Stop or My Mom Will Shoot) and The Story Solution by Eric Edson (Lethal Vows, Uncaged Heart).…
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Alameda Writers Group (AWG) Co-Presidents Scott and Gail Moss are stalkers. After viewing the filmTouching Home at the Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival in Florida, they were so impressed that they hunted down the twin brothers who wrote and directed the film, until they were able to meet them. Friendship ensued. Now,…
I recall some discussions we’ve had at our Social Media Toastmasters meetings about the good and bad aspects of the tracking of your activities that takes place online.
Thompson Square’s two big hits, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” and “If I Didn’t Have You”, set me up to expect an evening of melodic ballads and sweet romantic banter. Surprises followed.
Healthcare has long been recognized as the most un-disruptable industry on earth. Until Dr. Zubin Damania came along, that is. Damania, the closing speaker at SXSW V2V in Las Vegas on July 16, 2014, spent 10 years as a doctor at Stanford. Although he won awards for clinical teaching during this period, he became increasingly frustrated with a medical system that, as he put it, “Pays you to do things to patients, instead of doing things for them.”
When you hear the words “Space, the final frontier” and “The Federation”, the electrons in your brain are most likely to fire back: Star Trek. Not so quick, space geek. There’s a new federation in town.
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) What do an Austrian rapper, an English comedian, a U.S. Congressman and 500 scientists have in common? For one, you could find them all at the 9th International Conference on Climate Change (#ICCC9). The event, sponsored by political think-tank The Heartland Institute, brought people from all over the world together to learn about…
Can two people love each other too much? As my wife and I moved into our third decade of marriage, especially after I retired, we became more focused on just each other. She had no girlfriends, unless you count her manicurist, or the nurse at the doctor’s she’d info-dump on. We didn’t go to dinner…
Your life can change in an instant. Let those whom you love know that you love them every day.
Storming the Castle – A film I co-produced with my daughter for the Producers Guild Weekend Challenge. Click on the poster to watch the film.
The last day of the Olympics and I finally figured out what the slogan meant.
We used these table topics at my home club – Chino Creek Toastmasters — and they provided a good challenge.
At a recent meeting of a writers group, we were doing table-reads of our screenplays in order to critique and improve our writing. One of the participants was less than enthusiastic, lamenting that this would be better done on a computer before coming to the meeting. So, was he correct? Why do we read out…
My friend Marc Cushman has published the definitive guide to Star Trek season one, These are the Voyages. Gee, William Shatner looks much younger in this picture than he does on those Priceline.com commercials.
One day can change your life. One day can ruin your life. All life is is three or four big days that change everything. — Beverly Donofrio
This observation, by the author of Riding in Cars with Boys,
