Writer • Musician
'Love Me Tender' is part of that rare breed of song that really cannot be sung by many others since it so greatly represents the man who did so first, and Elvis does sing it in a way that is indeed very tender, very vulnerable, almost as if the King was truly desperate for the …
Prologue Through its access to entertainment and the general media, Hollywood has earned a reputation for setting trends, for laying the groundwork for what becomes the American consensus regarding everything from fashion to philosophy. This notion, weaved together with the old spirits of Manifest Destiny, has made the whole West coast something of a rallying …
So arrives October and the leaves rush in The winds awake Over the grave of summer and the sun departs below the drifting clouds Consoling, conferring with sky knights before the final ascent And the coming of the night sky Summer’s gone Summer’s gone And so arrives the autumn song Bring on the winds And …
Sunday’s back with the third week of football, which reminds me of how this season already feels unlike any other, for we may have needed our pastime more than we realize. And football is the new pastime. Baseball has let us all down with its overpaid stars who put themselves in the horrible danger of …
I tried to eat tonight and as I stared into the pores of my plate I felt somehow undeserving of it. How anything I took in would be somehow gluttonous in light of what day it was. I wondered if I was alone in that regard, if there were others who perhaps weren’t guilty but …
When I think of the passengers of United Flight 93, I think of how, beneath the accumulating rubble of the past ten years, the most subtle and profound of gifts to this country lies waiting to be discovered, and cherished in a way that very few ideals, if any, ever have in our modern history. …
The fortune telling lady, who sits ready in a rolling valley, Puts her cards out and says as she smiles, "Young man, I hope you choose wisely." And the iron-clad angel returns one last time before heaven's army sets final sail. Removing her veil, she plays her golden trumpet. A note, eternal, she cries, "Hail!". …
Well, Hey Mr. McGrath, Did you hear the rumor from those distant shores? A black cat sang a loathsome ballad, talking of destruction and old, broken down routines. This world's gettin' too small for me, man. Time for me to split 'fore the comet hits. Maybe then me and some friends, Will tell the of …
Continue reading "Jude Moonlight Walks Through the Elysian Fields"
Today I sat beside a drifter who was drinking water with sweetener (from Mentos) and lemon. I was trying to write my story but he wanted to keep talking. He spoke of how his male boss tried to seduce him, bribing him with a promotion. He spoke too of wanting to make friends in LA …
Quinby's Pad, the new blogging app? Wha?! I used to think iPads were unnecessary and useless, but I was wrong. I now have the ability to write and access my work without the cumbersome load of the laptop, and without the tedious task of transcribing from lightweight paper journals to the Mac. Technology's climbing at a …
On the Southern Streets of the Delta May, No voices sing the bandleader's song. You might hear the humming tune of stone eyes piercing the day, And the dust on the glass which blankets the dawn. On summer afternoons, with fallen rain beneath the sun, The wandering turn, blink toward the sky. None shall hear …
On a warm California night, I look up at the stars that reappear from the rolling clouds of violet. They continually speak to me. They watch me, wait for me, though I feel that I am not their only subject of scrutiny. Still, they whisper theories as to what I may do when the time …
Continue reading "Clouds in a Violet Sky (Rawling’s Journal 8/23/2011)"
By Michael Quinn This glass o’ wine (is home) It ain’t my own As I feel the walls of stone cold. There’s a shadow behind Creepin’ up on time All has vanished from below. The solo guard Wearing his old star Eyes pierce through the back of my brain. His baton in his hand I …
Reading Rimbaud. A passage called Credo in Unam. The Gods lose love and they fall in love again. They are stuck in the stupor and bliss of the heavens, and yet they still experience human emotions. And this is the backdrop for the problems of the human world. Perhaps they are not problems, but merely …
Casablanca and Citizen Kane: a story of an un-review by G.T. Phillips Part I I always prefer to sleep on my sofa. At least these days. It keeps me feeling mobile. On the move. Never settled. All these thoughts swarm and scurry through my brain at two in the morning as I lie awake in …
Continue reading "The Disgruntled Critic or: ‘The Fallacy in Film Criticism’"
It surprises me, the moments I might have in a cafe, comparable to those I might just as easily experience on a beach at sunset. The sound of the waves might be replaced by the radio or the chatter of patrons, unaware of the music they create for me; while the beauty of that fading …
I remember when I met Rick Bragg two years ago at the Storyteller’s Summit Writer’s Workshop at the University of Florida. I explained to him that I was an aspiring filmmaker and also a great admirer of his work, which was true even though all I’d read was ‘Somebody Told Me’, an anthology of pieces …
When I created this thing a year ago today, I had very little idea what to expect from it. Its title those first several weeks was ‘Pancakes and a Working Title,‘ and I actually had to be talked out of keeping it, which today strikes me as scary but still pretty hysterical. In that time …
By Michael Quinn I gaze at the day. I search though the twilight, and I Try and embrace the night for a little dignity. But I feel cold and wet. I feel so fat and unkept, Like there's no one there beside me. I hear kids at play The song of lovers sway. I catch …
I walk the city at night I know the walls remain hollow I'm a prisoner a rat in a glass cage, the nights they conquer everyday though I dreamt I broke free of this maze walked out into the night and I stayed And for the first time I felt the grace of the falling …
Ren Michael 