Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Last week, I wrote a column about a possible brain worm epidemic in Washington, D.C. Lately, ever since Robert Kennedy, Jr. revealed that this particular parasite had eaten a part of his brain, I have been wondering if he was the only politico who is suffering from this …
Read
Category:Michael DiMilo
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Homesman”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Where No Man Has Gone Before: Film Review of The Homesman By Geoff Carter Compared to the primordial age of films and television during the twentieth century, we live in an embarrassment of riches. Although the groundbreaking miniseries Roots and The Holocaust debuted on network television in 1977, the general entertainment TV fare consisted of …
Read
The Worms Crawl In….
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter Just when it seemed as if current events and political discourse could not become any more surreal or absurd, a story broke that independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr. revealed that at one point he had a parasitic worm that consumed part of his brain. He did not …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Unfrosted”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Sugarcoated: Review of Unfrosted By Geoff Carter One of my fondest childhood memories as a baby boomer was waking up early on a Saturday morning, going to the kitchen and fixing myself a big bowl of Sugar Frosted Flakes, Sugar Pops, Sugar Smacks, Coco Krispies, or whatever the hot new cereal …
Read
Malpractice
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter A close family member is finishing up her first year of medical residency, and I am simply amazed at the sheer volume of knowledge and skills she has had to absorb in order to complete the process of being a doctor. She had to endure four years of …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “The Judge”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter It’s a well-known adage—and rightly so—that cinema is a collaborative process. A wide-ranging conglomerate of artists ranging from cinematographers, stuntmen, screenwriters, make-up artists, costume designers, production designers, composers, musicians, actors, producers, and finally—ultimately–the director. And this is only a sampling of the artists and technicians who make movies …
Read
Not One of Us
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” –(The Declaration of Independence) Right. These words were written by a slave owner …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Surrounded”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo The Middle of Nowhere: Film Review of Surrounded By Geoff Carter The film Surrounded is set in the stunning landscape of New Mexico’s Ghost Ranch, the setting of other notable westerns like The Missing, 3:10 to Yuma, and Wyatt Earp. While Surrounded contains many of the formulaic elements of that genre, including a sociopathic outlaw, the snotty …
Read
Contempt of Court
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter America has always been fascinated with our justice system (observing it that is, not being enmeshed in it). Our popular culture media machine has produced everything from TV lawyers like Perry Mason to Matlock to Jack McCoy to courtroom reality series like Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, Judge Hatchett, or Texas …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Into the Western Wilderness
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter During our recent annual visit to New Mexico, we took a day trip to the beautiful Ghost Ranch, which is situated in a valley surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful rock formations streaked with a veritable rainbow of colors. In past years, we have been lucky enough to visit other …
Read
Kickass and Dumbness
Illustration by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, notes that the keeper, ever alert to significant milestones in life, recognizes that the tipping point may have been reached in the national dumbing down effort and it will be smooth sledding from here on out as those with the most outlandish conspiracy theories …
Read
The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “A Ghost Story”
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Haunted: Film Review of A Ghost Story By Geoff Carter Sometimes, despite the best efforts of The Pen in Hand to stay hip and current, we find ourselves hopelessly behind the times. The other night as I was surfing through Max (HBO 2.0), I ran across a fascinating little film called A …
Read