First Steps (originally published 9/15/21)I think my mom died a year ago today. I say “think” because the last full day she lived was Tuesday, September 15, 2020. Sometime that night, she died. When we realized what had happened, we called the hospice organization that had been providing… Sep 12 23September 12, 2023Article at Daniel on Authory
NBD(Originally published June 2015) "If you're going to reckon with the past, you might as well reckon with all of it." That's what I said to an old friend as we sat in the living room of a house that ten of us had rented for the weekend. It was a… Apr 21 22April 21, 2022Article at Daniel on Authory
Midnight Mass: That Lame Man, He’s Gonna Fly“Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet which are; that some people see things that others cannot? … Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is… Nov 03 21November 03, 2021Article at The Gist
Where the Buffalo Roam: Why the Western Is the Quintessential American GenreNote: This essay discusses films that reference Native American people and culture in ways that were common in American society at the time but which were as wrong and insensitive then as they are today. “I always liked to hear about the old timers.… Aug 02 21August 02, 2021Article at The Gist
David Lynch’s Search for Meaning//// Infinite Jest is a hard book to pin down. David Foster Wallace’s 1996 opus has dozens of characters and at least as many plot lines, but one of its most constant subjects is the theoretical mode of filmmaking practiced by James O. Incandenza,… Aug 31 17August 31, 2017Article at Bright Wall/Dark Room
Here I Raise My Ebenezer: Why “A Christmas Carol” Lasts Forever by Daniel Carlson“Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’”— 1 Samuel 7:12“I don’t deserve to be so happy.”— “A Christmas Carol” (1951) /// Few works of art can lay claim to… Dec 21 16December 21, 2016Article at Musings
The Craftsman’s Hands: How Samson Raphaelson Shaped Classic Hollywood by Daniel CarlsonThe biblical character of Samson was a man divided. The story goes that he was chosen by the almighty before birth to be separate and consecrated from those around him. He would lead the Israelites to glory, and to do so, he would be given superhuman… Mar 23 16March 23, 2016Article at Musings
May We Always Go on Singing: “Sunshine” and Making Peace With the Past by Daniel Carlson“There is a scene where they are leaving the building where they have just changed their name, and they are laughing and happy. My heart was sad shooting those shots, my heart was sad editing the scene, and my heart is sad every time I see it,… Jan 13 16January 13, 2016Article at Musings
