Category Archives: arts

Snooki does Florence. Ain’t it ironic?

Posted on August 6, 2011 by oddmanout215

Did you know the hit reality show “Jersey Shore” was quickly “co-opted by the would-be hip” but overcame this potential liability “by staying true to its artificiality”? This must be true, I read it in The New York Times, in … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, mainstream media, NJ | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Debt bill destroys America. Who’s next for a swim?

Posted on August 4, 2011 by oddmanout215

I’m on the home stretch with my novel-in-progress Good Sal/Bad Sal, set in casino-era Atlantic City. One of the final chapters starts with Good Sal asking: Have you ever let the cold surf creep between your toes and thought what’s … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, Great Recession, livable cities, NJ, Philadelphia, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

To Frank Rich, the future looks like Hamlet, Act V

Posted on July 6, 2011 by oddmanout215

You may have noticed that more and more social critics are looking at the future and seeing very few smiley faces. Here’s Frank Rich’s take on the end of the world as we know it: What haunts the Obama administration … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hemingway was right — Big Brother was watching

Posted on July 3, 2011 by oddmanout215

Yes, Ernest Hemingway suffered from depression that grew more acute as he realized his best writing years were behind him. Very late in life he also was plagued by paranoia — i.e., by the notion that the FBI was monitoring … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, mainstream media, New York Times, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In praising Scott-Heron, Inquirer buries his message

Posted on June 1, 2011 by oddmanout215

Gil Scott-Heron, the African-American poet and musician who died this week at age 62, was most famous for his recording of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a funny and uncompromising call-to-arms that envisions the downfall of the corporate masterminds … Continue reading →

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Subterranean homesick Bob

Posted on May 25, 2011 by oddmanout215

I tried, but the hundred Inevitables dogged me all day. By the time I got back to the bunker the medicine man was gone and Beethoven had unwrapped a bedroll with Ma Rainey. I’d missed my chance to give Bob … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, Iraq war, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, pop music, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The hole where Borders was, and the dummies who dug it

Posted on May 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

Writers hate the idea of slush piles, where agents and editors dump unpublished works. On the last weekend of business at Borders in Philadelphia, I saw the equivalent of a slush pile for published works. It wasn’t a pretty sight. … Continue reading →

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‘Low-stoop’ fiction writer seeks agent, brand

Posted on May 16, 2011 by oddmanout215

Citations from an article about the importance of tireless self-promotion in trying to establish a brand for your work: For artists, the great problem to solve is how to get oneself noticed. — Honore de Balzac, Lost Illusions Great success … Continue reading →

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In the neighborhood, in spring

Posted on April 15, 2011 by oddmanout215

What’s he building in there?/What the hell is he building/In there?/He has subscriptions to those/Magazines… He never/Waves when he goes by/He’s hiding something from/The rest of us… He’s all/To himself… I think I know/Why… — Tom Waits Overheard while running … Continue reading →

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Lumet’s gone, but ‘Network’ is forever

Posted on April 10, 2011 by oddmanout215

Reading of Sidney Lumet’s death, I thought of Al Pacino chanting “Attica! Attica!” to rouse the rabble in Dog Day Afternoon; of Henry Fonda, with Obama-like cool, shrugging off Lee J. Cobb’s bully tactics in Twelve Angry Men; of Jerry … Continue reading →

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