Artwork by Michael DiMilo Less than the Sum of Its Parts: Review of The Color Purple The last time I was in New York City, in 2006, we were lucky enough to score tickets to see The Color Purple. Being the curmudgeon I am, I am typically skeptical of Broadway revivals of movies, television shows, or …
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Category:Michael DiMilo
The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Best Valentine’s Day Movies
Illustration by Michael DiMilo Top Ten Romance Films By Geoff Carter It’s Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air, but those of us who choose to enjoy a warm and cozy evening inside, finding that perfect romantic movie is the perfect way to enjoy that special someone. So, rather writing one of my garden variety …
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Mighty Love
Artwork by Michael DiMilo Originally Published 2/14/2022 By Geoff Carter In her novel Surfacing, Margaret Atwood wrote “The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them, there ought to be as many for love.” She‘s probably right, although what passes for love today might not be as important to us as snow …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to the Movies: Review of “Anatomy of a Fall”
Artwork by Michael DiMilo ★★★★1/2 The Slippery Truth: Film Review of Anatomy of a Fall Truth, especially in today’s age of informational—and misinformational—excess, is an elusive beast. We are surrounded by conspiracy theorists, science skeptics, and straight-out liars. Politicians, pundits, and opportunists twist and bend the truth into weapons to further their—usually—personal and professional agendas. …
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Oh, Christmas Tree
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter (Originally posted in December, 2019) Each year, in the family holiday tradition, my wife and I venture out to buy our Christmas tree. We’re lucky enough to live across the street from a big tree lot so we don’t have very far to go—we can walk right over. …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to the Movies: Ringing in the New Year
Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash (Originally posted in December, 2020) By Geoff Carter We’re almost there. We only have one more day of 2023 to endure. It’s been a year of firsts. Some we would like to celebrate, others not so much. But New Year’s Eve is a time to look forward to fresh starts and renewed …
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“Just Like the Ones I Used to Know”: The Pen in Hand’s Guide to Vintage Christmas Movies
Photo by Geoffrey Carter (Originally published, December 10, 2021) By Geoff Carter Well, the Christmas season is upon us in full force. The commercials are everywhere. We’ve seen that ad for the car—or Energizer Bunny, wrapped in a bow and sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning at least one hundred times. Sometimes it’s hard to find the …
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The Pen in Hand Guide to Spinning Classic Christmas Vinyl
Photo by The Retro Store on Unsplash By Geoff Carter (Originally posted in December 2019) While the Couch Potato will always be slavishly devoted to his TV home entertainment center, this week he will be putting down the universal remote in order to turn his focus solely on another entertainment form—music. Part of the reason for this departure …
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The Pen in Hand Presents a Michael DiMilo Production…
Babs and Knuckles in their Holiday Special Deck the Halls Artwork by Michael DiMilo (Originally published in December, 2020) Video and Story by Michael DiMilo In memory of Dave Bolyard The holiday season is all about family tradition. Whether it’s about going to Midnight Mass, carving the Christmas ham, avoiding the mother-in-law’s homemade eggnog, or …
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A Moment of Clarity
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter In a surprise move last week, the Republican Party took a moral stand. Despite their recent tendencies to kowtow, cave, and kiss ex-President Trump’s posterior, the House of Representative Republicans finally decided to demonstrate that they do know right from wrong by expelling disgraced Republican Congressman George Santos. …
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The Pen in Hand’s Guide to a Vintage TV Christmas
“Oscar the Elf” Photo by Geoff Carter
Strange Fruit
Artwork by Michael DiMilo By Geoff Carter “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” –Thomas Jefferson Politics is a strange business everywhere but has become especially peculiar in America. Thomas Jefferson’s Tree of Liberty has been bearing strange fruit. In the past, our democracy …
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