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Browsing All Posts filed under »The Arts«

Bucks Up — a short story

November 12, 2017

“Good to see you. It’s been too long. What you been up to?” He sipped his drink. “Oh, not much. Same old same old.” “Writing?” “A little. Mostly just enjoying retirement.” “Nice to be bucks up.” He shook his head. “I was up for a time, but I kinda burned through most of […]

The Raven — a spooky treat

October 29, 2017

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” — Poe Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American author who is arguably among the greatest writers of horror fiction. He also invented the detective novel and helped usher in science fiction. And he wrote poems. Back in the day — long before radio, records, CDs, TV, the Internet, and streaming […]

Pagliacci

July 2, 2017

Laugh, clown, so the crowd will cheer! Turn your distress and tears into jest, your pain and sobbing into a funny face. — Ruggero Leoncavallo Out of the blue, a friend played for me a famous piece of music, a tragic song about a man trapped in his own anguish. My friend felt deeply touched […]

Crack, Boom

November 8, 2015

photos © Jim Hull It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it. — Robert E. Lee There is something darkly enticing about guns. To men, at least. Something atavistic. The sharp report, the kick of the weapon, the sudden explosion of violent power across a distance. The […]

I Wanted to Be a Jedi Master, But…

January 23, 2014

There’s a test you can take online where you answer a bunch of questions and then they tell you which “Star Wars” character you most resemble. I took the test. It asked questions like “What would you do if your friend got in trouble at a bar?” and you’d select from a set of multiple-choice […]

Interview with the Blogger

September 16, 2013

Who is this “Jim Hull” guy, anyway? Well, for starters, your friendly blogger has some ebooks for sale all over the place, like at Amazon and Smashwords. At Smashwords, they offer a chance for authors to interview themselves. Tempted by this exercise in narcissism, I warmed nicely to the task, and here is what I came […]

“Avatar” and Racism

July 15, 2013

When the film “Avatar” first opened, a lot of critics slammed it, claiming its plot amounted to liberal harping on racial insensitivities in American society. Then a distinguished journalist and science writer, Dr. Annalee Newitz, turned the tables on those reviewers by saying “Avatar” wasn’t liberal enough. In an online critique of the film, Dr. […]

Best TV Quotes

May 23, 2013

Years ago, I posted on my website a page of great quotes from motion pictures. Readers chimed in with their own favorites, and pretty soon the page got really long. But that was fine: we were having fun. Since then, I’ve thought about adding a page of best TV quotes. Finally — to paraphrase […]

Law Porn

April 22, 2013

I’m a bit of a film buff, but I’m picky: I like movies that appeal to my interests and are well made. Porn fits one of those criteria but not the other. Finished guessing which? Pencils down! Answer: they’re poorly produced. The acting usually sucks. (Pardon the pun.) The sets and lighting are substandard. And […]

Angry Sky — a short story

January 24, 2013

The setting sun’s light streaked across the Plains under a dark wall of roiling clouds, to shine on curtains of rain and make a triple rainbow. Lightning scorched the clouds, the electric streaks like something out of a monster movie. His camera captured the moment perfectly. The gigapixel sensor recorded every photon of the stunning […]

Lady Mondegreen and the Whoopee Cat

January 2, 2013

Sometimes we misremember lyrics. You know, like in the song “Purple Haze”, when Jimi Hendrix sings, “‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky!” but it sounds like he said, “Excuse me while I KISS THIS GUY.” (I suppose that could have worked during the Hippie era.) Or when Peanuts character Linus performs in the Christmas […]

Most Popular Composer

September 17, 2012

Back in college, I assumed Beethoven was the World’s Most Popular Composer. After all, his Ninth Symphony (the “Choral”, which you’d recognize in a second if I hummed the main tune for you) was then the top vote-getter for Most Popular Classical Music Ever. And everybody knows the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. (“di-di-di-DAHHH!”) […]

Puns in the News

August 20, 2012

(Hold your nose — here come a bunch of rank stinkers about current events . . . ) A reporter asked Obama’s vice president what it was like in office, and the veep shrugged, saying, “I’m just Biden my time.” Los Angeles experimented with storefront distribution of marijuana, but it all went to pot. They […]

Famous Sayings 2.0

July 9, 2012

Epigrams, quotes, sayings — there are a zillion of them. Many are universally famous; often they were penned centuries ago and need no improvement. But how might they sound if they were written today? “A jug of Wine, a loaf of Bread — and Thou beside me singing in the Wilderness.” — Omar Khayyam Some […]

Marble and Childhood

June 28, 2012

Recently, a security guard at a Southern California museum came upon a group of children climbing on a priceless marble statue. He asked the woman watching them to have the kids get off the artwork. The woman turned and gave the guard lip! She argued that there were no signs forbidding marble climbing; she claimed […]