My Thrilling Golf Career – a Heartbreaking Tale of Utter Frustration

May 12, 2010

THE OTHER DAY I watched Tiger Woods blow his comeback in the Masters on the final back nine. I don’t normally watch golf, but I try to catch the finale of the Masters because of moments like this. My own fling with golf was brief, if intense, and pretty much ended with high school. I […]

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John McDonald’s “Angel Midnight”

April 10, 2010

Note: I wrote this post back in 2010. Tragically, John McDonald died last week, Sunday, April 26, 2020, of Covid-19 after struggling with “Woody Guthrie’s disease” for the past 10 years. I’ll leave the post as written. Goodby “Mac”–rest in peace. Nantucket. In front of the band house with John and Ray Jacques, summer 1973 I’ve started a Facebook […]

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Revolutionary Road: We’ll Never Have Paris

October 25, 2009

I don’t know which is worse, going down on the Titanic or dying of heartbreak on Revolutionary Road. I remember Yates’ book was considered a huge downer when it came out. And so it is today, as a movie. It’s a pretty good example of a dual-main character plot. Neither main character is easy to […]

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Apollo 13 – Hail to our Corporate Heros

October 11, 2009

Just watched Apollo 13 again after 14 years and suddenly realized who the real hero of that movie is – and I’ll give you a hint: it’s not one of the astronauts. Apollo 13 is a veritable orgy of corporate celebration. The astronauts are brave and competent, but they do what they’re told. They’re even […]

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More Love Emails from the Prolific Swain, Gov. Mark Sanford

July 1, 2009

Oh, you Gov! Newly discovered love emails show SC Gov. Mark Sanford continuing to traverse the arc of his most extraordinary teaching moment. A few days ago I shared my thoughts on the first batch in Write a Better Novel. It’s time to move on to other matters over there, so I’ve reawakened my dormant […]

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