Left-Handed Form: The Professionals

The first of an occasional series of posts about crime, both in its real-world manifestations and its portrayal in popular culture.  The title of the series comes from the great 1950 noir The Asphalt Jungle, in which the moneyman Roland Emmerich describes crime as “a left-handed form of human endeavor”. *** …

At the Movies

Regular readers of this site — hey, you three! — will know that I regularly feature long-form film criticism of movies both old and new.   You may not know, however, that I see about ten movies for every one I write about, and time simply doesn’t permit, nor quality …

Goin’ to a Town Where Nobody Knows Me

From the 2014 edition of my book series, Frontage Road U.S.A.: Adventures Just Off the Superhighway, I am pleased to present the chapter entitled “Oddest-Named Cities in America”. Special thanks to Jug-o’-Shine Publishing for permission to excerpt this material. Nipples, FL. Originally planned as a cultural and intellectual haven in the …

Mix A Tonic

Dear Ben, The news is nothing but good! Finally got a tenure-track gig, and at a school on the east coast, too! Miskatonic — ever heard of it? Their sciences departments are supposed to be top-rate, but I don’t know a lot about their liberal arts school. Ah well; a …