Posts Tagged ‘Work’
I Must Be An Acrobat
A few weeks ago at the “Elizabethtown” premiere party, a woman from UPI asked me, “So, are you a critic?” I answered quickly enough to offend every critic within ear shot, “Oh no, no, no, no. I’d never be a critic.” True, I was on the job for MTV News, so she’s to be forgiven…
Read MoreLong Ride Home
Kentucky straight bourbon is not to be trifled with. And yet, here I am, trifling. 15-year-old, 107 proof Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve is aged in “deep-charred heavy oak” barrels in Frankfurt, Kentucky. It is “untouched by human hands.” It is “unhurried by time.” And it is caustic stuff. Joseph and I sprinted to the…
Read More60B
The gray turned to mist turned to drizzle turned to rain as I drove into Elizabethtown. My colleagues mock me for my affection towards Cameron Crowe. None of them share my appreciation of his forthcoming film, “Elizabethtown.” The film (which I previewed with my colleagues in the Paramount screening room two weeks ago) follows Drew…
Read MoreMeeting Katrina
She’s here. And she’s feisty. The sliding glass door in Hyatt #1226 is rattling. Wind is gusting from the west at upwards of 75 miles an hour. Rain is blowing in gray-streaked vertical sheets. Palm trees are stretching and swaying. Power is out in nearly half a million homes already. And Katrina’s just barely arrived.…
Read MoreInto Miami
While I have complete confidence in the durability of the American Airlines Arena — the basement of which I am currently writing you from — in the face of the descending tropical storm, of the red carpet, white tents and fresh sod just outside the door… well, I’m not so sure. Yes, it’s that time…
Read MoreDifferent Names For The Same Thing
When I was seven-years-old, my parents took Chris and me to “Annie” at Chicago’s Schubert Theatre. Two things stuck: Annie’s “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” (reprised in every song I’ve written since), and Miss Hannigan. Miss Hannigan scared the living shit out of seven-year-old me. (My mother loves to remind me of this.) Heck,…
Read MoreFamous Players
Who’d have guessed a couple a also-rans from Berwyn, PA, would run into each other on the Paramount back lot in Hollywood, CA, some twenty years on. I was trying to catch up with my buddy James all week, but late nights at work and poor planning on both of our parts sabotaged our efforts.…
Read MoreA Shot In The Arm
It’s 110 degrees in Miami, and I have a cold. I first notice a touch of the postnasal drip around 4am this morning. I’m dreaming about foreign lands where people wear T-shirts with their country in the center of the globe — “Look,” I said, “Everyone thinks they’re the center of the universe!” — when…
Read MoreStaring At The Sun
I wake up just before we land. I gather my baggage from the overhead bin (yes, they shifted during flight), thank the pilot, and step off into the warm, wet Miami air. I cue up my iPod to U2’s ‘Miami,’ and walk through the terminal like Bono himself. Her eyes all swimming pool blue Dumb…
Read MoreLeaving New York
I am at Gate D7 at La Guardia Airport. American Airlines Flight 1647 to Miami has begun preliminary boarding. I am steadying myself for takeoff. Standing out front just a second ago looking out at the orange glow of the city on the clouds, I began to do the math. I will board at least…
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