Making It Up As I Go

When night covers the world And leaves all in shadow, The sun still shines.

When clouds envelop the sky And flood the earth in rain, The sun still shines.

When fog blankets the land And shrouds the path ahead, The sun still shines.

In dreary haze, Raging storm And blackest night, The sun remains; The sun awaits For the fog to lift, For clouds to give way, For the earth to turn; Then then eyes will…

It's been seventeen years since 9/11 and we still pay the price from the destruction that day.

It’s raining in New York today, September 11, 2018.

If the weather always matched our moods and emotions, like so often happens in books and movies, then it would storm on this day each year for a few lifetimes.

It wasn’t raining in NYC seventeen years ago. Ask anyone there on that day and they’ll tell you how beautiful it was, not too hot, with a perfect sky, unmarred by any clouds to obscure…

During the '90's, did you spend your Thursdays watching "Seinfeld?" If so, check out my article on 5 suprising things from the show's pilot episode.

Seinfeld was one of the greatest television shows of all time. It was hilarious and quite unlike anything that had been seen before. It became such a classic, pervasive piece of pop culture that, today, if you were to say a line from the show (such as “yada, yada, yada” or “no soup for you”) to someone who was an adult in the ’90’s, you’ll likely get an instant laugh, giggle or chortle as they…

Check out this week's article about "Early Autumn," one of the best of the Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker and a great book to read before summer ends.

Looking to read a good book before fall arrives? Perhaps one that’s easy to read, but has some substance and emotion?

Check out Early Autumn (1981) by the late Robert B. Parker, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the Apple book store.

Early Autumn is the seventh novel in Parker’s series of best-selling novels about Spenser, a Boston private investigator. The plot of the Spenser novels are,…

via 5 Songs That Created Incredible Movie Scenes

Movies and music. Flicks and tunes. Two great things that go great together. This week, we look at 5 instances when a song made a movie scene great.

Movies and music. Flicks and tunes.

Two great things that go great together.

Since the advent of motion pictures, music has played a huge part in cinematic storytelling. In the days of silent movies, pianist, organists and, sometimes, small orchestras would play music along with the movie. Later, after films incorporated recorded sound, music (either through the film’s score or lyrical music)…

The American director defined a good movie as having "three great scenes and no bad ones." Today we look at three incredible scenes that helped make "Casablanca" the greatest movie of all time.

What makes a great movie great?

The talented director Howard Hawks (The Big Sleep, Rio Bravo) provided an excellent answer when he declared that a great movie had “three great scenes, no bad ones.”

In light of Hawks’s definition, today we’re looking at three great scenes from what many consider the greatest movie of all time:  Casablanca, the 1994 Best Picture winner directed by Michael Curtiz…

Have you ever been struck by a great idea, one that came out of the blue like a thunderbolt? These ideas may seem like magic, but they're not. Read my article this week as we discuss how to be struck by ideas a regular occurrence.

Have you ever had a really great idea, one that came out of the blue and hit you like a thunderbolt?

As a writer, I love when a thunderbolt idea strikes. It’s like magic. One moment, the idea doesn’t exist. Then, next, it appears out of thin air like a rabbit pulled from a hat, bringing with it excitement and wonder at its sudden arrival.

It’s no surprise that the Ancient Greeks believed in the…

"Life is a journey, not a destination." Check out this week's article to see explore this perspective and how Vincent Van Gogh and a Time Lord illustrate the point.

“Life is a journey, not a destination.”

Are you familiar with this quote?

If you’re not, the saying (attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson — according to some — incorrectly) suggest that we are aware of the present rather than focuts on some future outcome or goal. The thought is that, if you base your happiness, peace, or self-worth on some outcome or goal occurring, you’re less likely to find those…

In this week's article, I take a break from writing about things I like. Instead, I discuss things I really hate: typos.

I hate typos.

I mean it. I really, really f#*king hate typos.

There’s a special pain that you feel when you’ve written something you like, perhaps something  good, and then later (after publication of course), you find an obvious typo, usually in the first few paragraphs.

Typos are like weeds that pop up, marring an otherwise gorgeous flower bed or a luscious green lawn. Like weeds, you rid typos…

Come celebrate the holiday with me as we take a look at a July 4th institutation: "Jaws."

This July 4th, I’ll be sitting on a beach in Westhampton, NY, looking out at the Atlantic Ocean, and, as I do so, my thoughts will be on those things that represent the holiday to me:  America’s independence, fireworks, hot dogs, and the movie “Jaws.”

What? “Jaws” is a July 4th institution?

Absolutely. The film is quintessentially July 4th.

“Jaws,” based upon a novel by Peter Benchley and…

For years, the show "How I Met Your Mother" has been compared to "Friends." Read this week's blog where we look at the show's pilot episode and see why the show as better than "Friends."

About a month ago, I published a column that looked at the pilot episode of “Friends,” a hugely popular show about a group of friends living in New York City. Today, we’re looking at the pilot for “How I Met Your Mother” (hereinafter “HIMYM” to save my fingers from typing strain), a hugely popular show about a group of friends living in NYC.

From HIMYM’ s debut to the present, HIMYM often has…

This week, I've written a blog that looks at two products and services that have helped me incredibly with physical and mental fitness. Check out my blog where I discuss Peloton and Headspace.

When I relaunched this blog a few months ago, I had a few intentions:  1) publish a new article each week, 2) cover topics that interest me (and hopefully others), and 3) have fun. I have not always been able to meet the first goal, but I have been pretty consistent with the second and third.

Which brings me to this week and this article. Right now, I have approximately five or six different…

It's Father's Day weekend and we're looking at one of my favorite movies about fathers, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

This Father’s Day weekend, we’re taking a look at a movie classic where a father/son relationship is a key component. There are plenty of great movies from which to choose, movies such as “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Nothing in Common,” “Field of Dreams,” or “The Road” (if you really, really want to feel bummed out).

Today, though, our fatherhood movie is the first movie that comes to my mind when I…