Life

“The most unkindest cut of all”: On Re-editing Christie

/ Brad / 24 Comments

Fasten your seat belts: let’s talk about censorship. In March, the Guardian reported that Agatha Christie’s publisher, Harper Collins, would be scrubbing some of the more problematic language out of her books in future reissues: “The updates follow edits made to books by Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming to remove offensive references to gender and race in … Continue reading “The most unkindest cut of all”: On Re-editing Christie

KIDS, DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! The Mini-Mega Hitchcock Draft, Home Edition

/ Brad / 8 Comments

Screen Drafts is a podcast that helped me survive the pandemic and, along the way, captured my heart through the sense of camaraderie that permeated each conversation. Since I first wrote about it nearly seven months ago, I have caught up with all the publicly posted episodes, and I have joined the Patreon group and dabbled … Continue reading KIDS, DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! The Mini-Mega Hitchcock Draft, Home Edition

THE PLAY’S . . . SORTA THE THING: Opening The Mousetrap

/ Brad / 8 Comments

Today marks opening night for the production of The Mousetrap that I directed at the high school where I spent twenty-eight years teaching drama. I woke up all too early and checked my e-mail, only to find this missive, sent to the cast and crew from our play’s stage manager, a remarkable young woman named Kelania: "Hello, … Continue reading THE PLAY’S . . . SORTA THE THING: Opening The Mousetrap

FOR MY DAD

/ Brad / 24 Comments

Today I sit beside my father as he lies in hospice, and I think about baseball.  In the spring of 1964, we lived in Phoenix where my dad was trying to earn a living on a real estate boom that didn’t really boom until after we had returned to California a year later. At school, … Continue reading FOR MY DAD

THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 2: “A Land of Things and Ideas”

/ Brad / 8 Comments

Audiences could relate to The Twilight Zone because it was essentially about the search for happiness. Granted, these searches were highly unusual, and the results were mixed. TZ is a highly moral show, and those who achieve a happy ending are people who earn it, through their general decency and kindness. I argued last week that Mr. … Continue reading THE TWILIGHT ZONE, PART 2: “A Land of Things and Ideas”

“. . . a land of both shadow and substance . . . ” THE TWILIGHT ZONE

/ Brad / 8 Comments

Art mirrors life. And, like many a Boomer, I have found my parallels in books, movies and TV. Take the last six year – please! (Bah dah BUMP!) I have felt trapped in a cross between a Stephen King thriller (both The Stand and The Dead Zone come to mind) and Game of Thrones. Overshadowing it all, there has been … Continue reading “. . . a land of both shadow and substance . . . ” THE TWILIGHT ZONE