Blog Archives

The Power of a Pen and Paper

Despite the fact the video interview below is from December of 2012 of The New York Times Magazine, it’s always insightful to get a peak inside the mind of a truly great, creative writer. Jerry Seinfeld is an excellent, iconic stand-up comedian (lucky to have seen him twice), but he’s first a writer. And that’s why this interview is being posted. It’s partly about the subject matter (comedy), but it’s mostly about listening to and seeing the complex, simple, predictable and unpredictable process for writing material that entertains and captures widespread attention and imagination.

And listening to Jerry Seinfeld describe his method is worth your time, especially for a few minutes on a random Tuesday.

Consistently making “nothing” sound interesting and engaging to an audience for a half-hour on television for nine seasons or for an hour on stage or during a five-minute interview is a skill that requires knowing more than a little something about the things we see and do everyday, but just don’t realize until he starts reminiscing about the joys of Pop-Tarts.

Being able to discover those perceptive reveals is nothing to laugh about.

Well, maybe it is…

The Only Seemingly Censored Four-Letter Word Today

David Remnick, the editor at The New Yorker, exhausted not only his literary endurance, but also the patience, interest and eye strength of any casual reader with his 16,648-word journey into the mind of President Obama five years into his presidency (plus select members of his team). There were details of fundraising in posh mansions, but nothing new. There was no new or even worthwhile revelation in the least.

As George Will stated recently, “It was interestingly uninteresting.”

And again, the article is nearly 17,000 words.

Regardless of the subject, that’s a lot of words for anything or anyone that is squeezed into the precious and costly space of a printed magazine in the digital era. However, what’s more startling in the earliest weeks of 2014 is that after days of conversations, inquiries and reflection, the word “jobs” is cited just three times in the article, “Going the Distance: On and off the road with Barack Obama.”

3 times.

Yes, it’s true.

The word that causes an incurable anxiety and is devastatingly on repeat in the minds of millions of struggling and dejected Americans 24 hours a day and 7 days a week for several years now, was almost omitted completely from an interview with the person who has the greatest influence in the country on this essential issue.

There is a single word for this revelation: unbelievable.

The one issue that unites even the most partisan of talkers, debaters and citizens in the United States as the most critically important problem to resolve immediately is nonexistent to the Pulitzer Prize-winning interviewer and President of the United States.

The context for the three mentions of the word “jobs” were this:

  • A brief recap of Jeff Tiller and his ascension to working for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign to working in the Obama White House
  • A description of John Podesta getting people jobs in the Clinton Administration during the transition period for “friends of Bill”
  • Revealing that the reason for visiting DreamWorks for a fundraiser was because the company was creating jobs in Southern California

While depressing, it’s also not surprising that the word, concept and idea of “jobs” completely confuses and frustrates this president. Five years have passed with no visionary or practical solutions. We all remember the “you didn’t build that” statement from a campaign speech in 2012.

The economy cannot be fixed (and hasn’t) by reading a speech that’s been entered into a teleprompter.

But maybe the disenchanted public will get lucky and see him pivot for a day or two in the form of a series of televised non-serious speeches with non-serious solutions.

For anybody who watches basketball, a player that pivots to no end usually shows the crowd not only his lack of knowing what to do, but also how not to play and win the game.

This post is not 16,648 words, but it wouldn’t take that long to realize that jobs (along with trust) are the top priority for the United States of America right now at this precise moment in history.

16,600+ words about President Obama? Okay…

16,600+ words that ultimately reveals a new (yet simple), insightful and opportunity-centric jobs plan for hard-working Americans and dreamers alike that would create quality 21st century jobs for the stressed-out and struggling, but unrelentingly determined and optimistic American people?

And the delusional wait progresses with absolutely no answer on the horizon…

However, the latter would have at least produced an interesting article to read that just might have actually been worth a damn.

Inside the Actor’s Mind

Being on the cusp of another great summer weekend, it’s time to sit back, relax and escape into the intimate spaces of the minds of some of America’s biggest personalities. Today’s edition comes courtesy of an actor who has a mild knack for such a venture. When it comes to terrific impressions, he’s one of the usual suspects

http://youtu.be/mMCz6qAlLF4

Reintroducing a Classic

Through all of the variations of Superman, whether in cinema, television or comic books, Christopher Reeve established himself as the standard bearer 35 years ago. The richness Reeve brought to life in Clark Kent/Superman, and his superb supporting cast, has defined this movie from the ’70s as a classic well into the digitally-driven 21st century. We the audience did not simply watch in awe as a powerful man flew through the air and battled bad guys, but instead got caught up in a heroic story and a love story involving another world and people and a particularly feisty Daily Planet reporter. Terrific elements of realness and fantasy intertwined, which potently lifted Superman off the 2D screen into our hearts and imaginations.

Will 2013s, “Man of Steel” have the same impact as 1978s, “Superman”?

Richard Donner cared about Clark Kent/Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Mr. White, General Zod, Lex Luthor and so forth. His dedication to showing us a story about Superman instead of telling us was just one of the many “it” factors that has cemented, “Superman” as the best movie thus far about the man with the “S” on his chest.

We cared because he cared.

The story for “Man of Steel” was written and concocted by David Goyer and Christopher Nolan (both of “The Dark Knight” trilogy). Below is an interview with Mr. Goyer.

The paramount question: Did Goyer and Nolan write a screenplay and create a story that Superman fans from multiple generations will care about in 2013?