Dear Cary,I’m a month into my 30s, an age I always looked forward to because by then I should have my life together, know what I want, know my purpose, and know who I am.As is the irony of life, my life is in shambles, I am unemployed (for almost a year!) and in debt. I want to be a paid television writer. I think writing is part of my life’s purpose, but I haven’t had any success due to a series of compulsively squandered job opportunities and years hiding in the petrifying fear of showing up to my career — all of which I blamed on my youth. I am still, at the age of 30, on the square before square one while many of my peers have passed me by and are writing on successful shows.Even though I was wrong about most of what achieving 30 would mean, I, with the help of five years in a 12-step program, thought I knew who I was, or at least what I was not. I recently discovered I qualified for three additional programs in addition to my first. So, instead of victorious self-awareness, I’ve had a whole new surprising part of me exposed, a part that was a total mystery, one of which is my debtor behavior. Continue Reading… … Read More
MSNBC guest Dave Zirin: Why is Bush not on trial for war crimes?
Saturday morning on MSNBC, Dave Zirin of The Nation questioned why former President George W. Bush had not been held accountable for alleged war crimes. His remarks came amid a discussion on the U.S. response to terrorism on the Melissa Harris-Perry Show. “I’m a sports writer by…
‘I felt like a traitor when I left Tensta’
Swedish writer Johanna Langhorst is this week’s Swede of the Week, after she wrote a book in defence of the Stockholm suburb Tensta, even though her family left after almost two decades when her teenage son was robbed twice. … Read More
Jon Lee Anderson Explains: Because I Said So
New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson has a blog post on the magazine's website (4/23/13) addressing the controversy over his recent coverage of Venezuela (FAIR Blog, 4/17/13): At issue are sentences in three different pieces written in the course of a number of months—two on the New Yorker's website and one in the magazine. Readers pointed out what they saw as factual errors in each. In two cases I agreed, and corrected the sentences; in the third I didn't, for reasons I'll explain. So you expect he's going to explain why he didn't agree that the third alleged factual [...] … Read More
How to avoid writing an awful screenplay
ALL MY ADULT life, I’d avoided writing screenplays. I didn’t know very many happy screenwriters. I didn’t know any, in fact: even the most successful among them, the ones who had sold pitches for six figures or seen their work solidly produced were miserable, touched with a kind of self-loathing unique to the breed. “A real writer,” says the magnificently-compensated television staff writer to the penniless novelist. “You’re a real writer.” Once, at a party, an Oscar-nominated writer/director—multiply-nominated, in various categories, for almost every film he’s ever made, winner of various other major awards likewise—turned to me and sighed. “To succeed in this business, one must make friends with despair.” It’s always been this way, and yet—Yet, when I was offered a chance to write a script, I said yes. Of course I did. It was 1999, a period in which the narrowing window of “independent film” (scare quotes necessary to indicate I mean not truly independent cinema, but rather corporately-funded inexpensive movies) allowed the possibility of making literate adult dramas. Harvey and Bob Weinstein still ran Miramax, and the other studios—Sony, Paramount, even Warner Brothers as well as 20th Century Fox—had classics divisions. It seemed non-suicidal to attempt an adaptation of a difficult novel, an ambitious book that was, nevertheless at its core, a love story. I adored the novel, but my reasons for taking it on as a screenplay were fundamentally mercenary. As old, then, as the profession itself.Continue Reading… … Read More
Universal Pictures announces “Weird Science” remake
Just days after the announcement that the “Point Break” remake is moving forward, 90s kids nostalgia strikes again, with the announcement of a “Weird Science” remake. Universal Pictures is bringing back Joel Silver, the original producer of the 1985 cult comedy, along with “21 Jump Street” writer Michael Bacall.Deadline reports:This film will attempt to carve out its own identity by being redrawn as an edgier R-rated comedy in line with 21 Jump Street and The Hangover. The original starred Michael Anthony Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith as brainy nerds who attempt to create the perfect woman to fulfill their heavy-breathing adolescent fantasies, only to find she is something more than a sex object. The original also starred Bill Paxton and Robert Downey Jr, with Kelly LeBrock playing the bombshell creation. It was later turned into a TV series for USA NetworkContinue Reading… … Read More
Self-declared ‘Master of Impressions’ arrested in Obama ricin letter case – FBI
Federal agents have arrested a man they believe mailed the letters to President Obama and Senator Roger Wicker that “preliminarily tested positive” for the poison ricin.The FBI named a Paul Kevin Curtis of Corinth, Mississippi as its arrest.Although the letter initially tested positive for the deadly poison, official test results will be available in 24 to 48 hours. According to a law enforcement official, preliminary tests are “unreliable” and often result in false positives. Extracted from a castor oil plant, ricin is a highly toxic substance, even a dose as small as few salt grains – injected or inhaled – can kill adults. First symptoms appear as early as 4-8 hours and as late as 24 hours after exposure, with death typically occurring within 3-5 days of the initial exposure. Ricin is harmful to the whole body, proving deadly by penetrating cells and preventing them from creating the proteins they need. The toxin can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or pellets or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. In an intelligence bulletin obtained by AP, the FBI says that both letters say: “To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance.” Both are signed, “I am KC and I approve this message.”Federal officials said at that time that they believed they knew who sent the letters.Information regarding the suspect, Paul Kevin Curtis, has since emerged via online profiles and YouTube. Evidently, 45-year-old Curtis is a father of four, an Elvis impersonator, a self-proclaimed member of Mensa and a martial artist.According to Prentiss County Sheriff, Curtis, who suffers from severe psychological issues, has been arrested four times before, once for stalking. His LinkedIn profile currently has a long list of seemingly unrelated professions, spanning everything from “reflexology massage therapist” to “Guiness World Record recipient” and “published song writer.”According to his Twitter feed, Curtis attempted to contact Huffington Post reporter Radley Balko in December of 2011 with claims that he was being targeted due to alleged whistleblowing activities. @radleybalko please help me..I am in fear for my life after blowing whistle at largest rural healthcare org in the U.S. (Mississippi) — Kevin Curtis Live (@kevincurtislive) December 20, 2011 Meanwhile, “A letter addressed to the president was received at a remote screening facility containing a suspicious substance. We are working closely with Capitol Police and the FBI in this investigation,” a Secret Service spokesman said in a statement.The letter, which was received at an off-site location away from the White House on Tuesday, is currently under investigation after being intercepted at a postal screening center.”This facility routinely identifies letters or parcels that require secondary screening or scientific testing before delivery,” White House spokesman Edwin Donovan said in a statement.It arrived the same day as an envelope addressed to US Senator Roger Wicker, which tested positive for ricin. The envelope was postmarked Memphis, Tennessee and did not have a return address. The newest letter is believed to be from the same sender..Arizona Senator Jeff Flake also received two suspicious letters at his Phoenix office on Wednesday. He later confirmed that no dangerous materials were found inside the envelopes.Michigan Senator Carl Levin and Alabama Senator Richard Shelby reportedly received suspicious letters, as well. … Read More
