Alexander Kahle (1886–1968) for RKO Radio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Bette Davis is—still, to this day—the grand dame of American cinema. Her screen presence has been like no other, before, or since. The gravelly and distinctively clipped voice, beautiful eyes, and brimming self-assurance that filled the frame every time the camera …
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Category:Michael DiMilo
Kickass and Banning Books
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is trying to assist the keeper in getting his novel—Margaret’s War banned; and has only succeeded in getting Phyllis to toss it out of the kitchen when the keeper carelessly leaves his ever-present promotional copy too close to a stove burner. Nothing is …
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The Bright Side
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Over the two years that I’ve been writing my weekly blog posts, it seems that there has very rarely been anything positive to write about. Between the January 6th insurrection, the continuing pandemic, the rising gun violence and reckless driving fatalities in our city, and various other sundry crises—including the rise of …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Anthony Hopkins
John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Anthony Hopkins, one of the finest classical actors of his generation, is a master of depicting the contradictions and dualities of the human condition. Many of his roles demand a carefully refined and civilized exterior (at which he …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Leonardo DiCaprio
See Li, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter He has been called one of the greatest movie stars of his generation, which he is, but more that, Leonardo DiCaprio is an artist who has chosen to be more than just a pretty face. From his early work, including his spectacular portrayal of the …
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Big White Lies
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter On the anniversary of the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building, some of our leaders stepped forth to condemn the actions of the rioters as well as those who encouraged and enabled the violence. The enablers have described the attack on the Capitol as an “insurrection” or even—in …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to New Hollywood: The Legacy of Denzel Washington
Falkenauge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter In the three and one-half decades since he’s been a screen actor, Denzel Washington has pretty much done it all. He’s known as one of the film industry’s most charismatic leading men, which is exceedingly evident in works like the titular role in Malcolm X or as the …
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Give and Take
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter We hear a lot about rights in this country. After all, the concept of inalienable personal rights is woven into the very fabric of our democracy and is explicitly delineated in the Constitution. The right to enjoy a free press, to peacefully assemble, to practice free speech, to …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to the New Hollywood: The Legacy of Robert DeNiro
John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Geoff Carter Like Meryl Streep, his name is synonymous with excellence in the craft of acting. He has appeared in films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Godfather II that have become (due in no small part to his involvement in them) cultural …
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The Couch Potato’s Guide to Ringing in the New Year
Maasaak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (Originally posted in December, 2020) By Geoff Carter We thought we had it made after getting out of 2020, but this has been another hard year—remembering everything that happened is painful—but we have to; if we do not remember, we’ll be doomed to repeat the same mistakes yet again. …
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A Few Good Things
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter I’ve been mentoring new teachers in our local public school system for the past few years now. One characteristic I’ve noticed both with them (and myself, during my own career as a teacher) is that every instructor, no matter how experienced, always has one of those classrooms that …
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Kickass and Snow Denial Plan
Taxiarchos228, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons By Bill Stokes Kickass, the doorstop dog, is assisting the keeper in distributing instructions for using the Snow-Denial plan which, incidentally, is similar to how the Repubs embrace the “big lie.” Fact one: Though the ground is covered with something white, that could be god’s dandruff as these things are …
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