Waiting for the bus, two blocks in the distance I saw a woman approaching, with two small kids. … [read more]

For the last week or so, my 20-year-old Chevy has been groaning a lot, and also it’s two months past due for an oil change. I dared myself to change the oil once and did it, and I can change a flat tire if it’s absolutely necessary, but grease is gross on my knuckles, so it needed a mechanic. … [read more]

Unlike everyone else in America, I don’t carry my cell phone with me everywhere, and it’s set to “absolute silence” so I don’t answer when it rings. … [read more]

If you’d said the name Larry Cohen a month ago, I would’ve said “Who?”

He was a moviemaker, most famous for It’s Alive. … [read more]

Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

In the 1960s, Michael Caine starred as superstud detective Harry Palmer in several movies based on novels by Len Deighton. … [read more]

After waiting weeks for my Washington license plates, someone called, and left a message when I didn’t answer. “Mr Holland,” said some lady’s voice, “your plates are ready,” and then she mumbled something long and indecipherable. … [read more]

A New Leaf (1975)

All my life I’ve heard that the comedy team of Mike Nichols & Elaine May was funny, but I’ve had little Nichols exposure and even less May, so I wanted to see this film, written and directed and starring Elaine May. … [read more]

The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)

Bing Russell, a former minor league baseball player who became a somewhat successful actor & father of Kurt, brought minor league baseball back to Portland, Oregon in the 1970s, and he did it his way. … [read more]