To visit Martin's writing website, press here.


January 20, 2015

The Last List of 2014

This year’s winners of the Earl Awards for best picture are:
Arthur Newman
Barbara (German)
Before Midnight
Detachment
Film Blue
Hitchcock
Man of Steel
Marilyn
Metropolis (complete restored version)
Night Train to Lisbon
Promised Land
The Hunt  (Danish)
The Impossible
The Master
The Spirit
THX1138 (director’s cut)
To the Wonder
 
That’s not as many motion pictures as in previous years because ...
Well I guess I was watching television. This year I saw some excellent TV shows, I hate to admit. But here’s the list of personal favorites:
Fargo
Fleming
House of Cards
In Treatment
Lilyhammer (Norwegian)
Profilage  (French)
Salamander  (Belgian)
Sherlock
The Knick
The Newsroom
True Detective
Wallander  (British)
 
That and my musical work were responsible for my list of books enjoyed being rather light:
A Poet’s Companion, Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux
American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
Basho’s Narrow Road, Basho
Erased, Jim Krusoe
If You Want to Write, Brenda Ueland
Killing Time, Caleb Carr
Lost Stories, Dashiell Hammett
Oblique Prayers, Denise Levertov
Oceans of Wisdom, Dalai Lama
Old School, Tobias Wolff
Open Secret, Versions of Rumi, Rumi
The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, Theodore Roethke
The Forgotten Language, Erich Fromm
The King and the Corpse, Heinrich Zimmer
Toward You, Jim Krusoe
Writing Better Lyrics, Pat Pattison.
 
That’s enough.
 
Happy trials, Martin
 
 
 
Mutt:  For the academics: The difference between theory and practice in practice is greater than the difference between theory and practice in theory.
Jeff:  Today is the day for decisive action! ... Or is it?
Mutt:  I used to think I was indecisive ... but now I am not sure.
Jeff:  The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of the time, and the last ten percent takes the other ninety percent.
Mutt:  For people who like peace and quiet: a phoneless cord.
Jeff:  Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Mutt:  Shin: A very sensitive device for finding furniture in the dark.
Jeff:  What first appears to be a sloppy or meaningless use of words may well be a completely correct use of words to express sloppy or meaningless thinking.
Mutt:  Blessed are they who have nothing to say and who cannot be persuaded to say it.
Jeff:  Nothing to say.