TV
Life lessons in song, courtesy “American Idol” and Peter Cetera
"American Idol" is back on again, and it really is oh, so easy to look at those people and say: "Shit, I could do that." And though there's less meanness and crappy singers on than in the Simon Cowell years, it's even easier to say, "Those people are morons. Can't they hear themselves?" Answers: No,…
Read MoreSci-fi/fantasy will eat itself (or) HBO’s bid for literary success
Just returned from the sci-fi convention Arisia, up in the surprisingly temperate zone of Boston, in which I spent several hours on panels talking about sci-fi/fantasy films and TV. (I also sold a book, but that's for another post.) Lesson learned: It is possible to get about 20 people in a room to talk about…
Read MoreAwards Season adrenaline rush: Thank you, Joan Cusack
One of the reasons I got into journalism originally was the newsroom rush. You've seen it — on just about every Hollywoodization of how a TV news or newspaper room works; the hollering, the deadlines, the last-minute frenetic typing or calling of sources, the figuring things out in the moment, and making things happen that…
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