You think we need one more? You think we need one more. OK, we’ll get one more.

The 2001 remake of Ocean’s Eleven is one of my guilty pleasure movies — pretty to look at, full of quotable lines, underpinned by a plot that, though full of holes, is witty and twisty. Plus the clothes! George Clooney’s suits, Brad Pitt’s pointed collars, Elliot Gould’s blinged out chains and florid, floral shirts…. Delightful. …

Writing (or Any Creative Activity) and the Fear of Being Less Than Amazing

If you’ve spent most of your life cruising ahead on natural ability, doing what came easily and quickly, every word you write becomes a test of just how much ability you have, every article a referendum on how good a writer you are. As long as you have not written that article, that speech, that …

Little tramp, big city

Last night I attended the Butler County Symphony Orchestra‘s November concert, in which they performed the film score to Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights as the movie played. The symphony sounded amazing, well-timed to the film and perfectly attuned to the emotional ups and downs of the film. The film itself was a surprise to me. …