Alanis Morissette’s perhaps most famous song gave stand-up comedians with a humanities degree a good five minutes of material in the 90s. The problem with “Ironic”, they said, was that it was about things that were unfortunate, or sad, or bad timing. But not irony. And we’ll come back to that. “Ironic” was on the … Continue reading On being “Ironic”
It started with an app. An app that filtered photos to make them look like they’d been taken with a tintype camera. I’d never really thought about tintypes, or wet plate photography, much before. It was Victorian families standing stiff and upright; Billy the Kid captured in time; eerily close-up portraits of long-dead people. But … Continue reading On Tintypes
I have already discussed how much I love the photo adventures curated by my partner in crime. We drive around the dark corners of Austin, TX, on a Sunday morning, coffee in hand and something appropriate on the radio. During COVID, these adventures took on more importance as (a) we weren’t going out much, so … Continue reading Austin in lockdown: Public artworks
It is a policy of mine to never review something that I don’t like. I want to celebrate what I feel is the good in my culture, and not dunk on something, just because it doesn’t fit with my tastes. Which is a problem when I think about Reacher, the TV series on Amazon. Reacher … Continue reading On Reacher
My first “novel” was written in a dedicated notebook given to me by my primary school teacher. It was called The Rats and based on the cover of one of the James Herbert novels my older brothers were fond of reading around that time. I don’t remember much of the plot - just that the … Continue reading First Novel
I have this idea to open a restaurant and call it CHAR. This is, as you might expect, a reflection on my cooking style. Twice now, in our new house, I have cooked my foolproof pork chop method, set off the fire alarm, and received an urgent call from our home security company. If I … Continue reading Construct It!
It is only now that I’m beginning to realize how much I love music. I mean, it should be obvious, but it doesn’t fit in with my self-image. I’m a movie guy. I’m a reader. I’m not a musician. I only listen to music all the damn time. I’ve spent a chunk money on Sonos … Continue reading Music is a Miracle
To understand Miss Jeanie, the newest member of our crew, we must first discuss Phoenix. Over the Xmas and NY period, we - my estimable wife and I - wondered if we were ready to take on another pug…which is how we came to spend the two-week holiday period with Phoenix. Phoenix’s foster folk were … Continue reading The Ballad of Ms. Jeanie Underfoot
I just turned 50. This is my level of insight. The only change is on the outside.
No response, as yet. Maybe I can spin this into a Netflix true-crime show.
Small Change on Strangers 