Wish I could cook like SuperMom

The smart, wicked, beautiful and amazing Andreae Prozesky's got a new blog. Food. Motherhood. Writing. Food. Did I mention food?

"Bottle Pit" -- interview with Joel Thomas Hynes in The Antigonish Review

Litmag The Antigonish Review #157, just out, includes my in-depth interview of writer and actor Joel Thomas Hynes. The interview focuses on craft, personality, fusions and history.

"Does Big Brother exist?"

Trailer for the 1984 film of Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. This movie is a brilliant and extremely loyal adaptation of the novel ... and very hard to watch.

I admire Orwell's work greatly, and, while I acknowledge his fame, I still think he's grossly underrated as a writer and a thinker.

I wish Orwell and Nineteen Eighty-Four were no longer relevant. I wish we all could look at this in complete dumbfounded shock and recognize none of it.

Cold War angst

Duran Duran's video for "New Moon on Monday." A bit silly in places, sure, but if you're too young to remember how the world felt before the Berlin Wall came down, this might give you a taste. Not that anyone behind the Iron Curtain had clothes or hair like that. Or glowy-sticks.

New Romantic sensiblities

Duran Duran, "Union of the Snake." Just plain theatrical fun. Fun, imagine that in the coldest Siberia winter of the Cold War.

Audioslave -- "Doesn't Remind Me"

Yes, more Cornell ... with the band Audioslave this time. Video for "Doesn't Remind Me." The song's already brilliant. The video: it's a short film.

More on Cornell

He writes honestly and powerfully about clinical depression, how it numbs you, alienates you from others -- and he does it with some comedy and much skill. He expands his own suffering into empathy for others and then creates art out of it. I admire this.

Chris Cornell's "Scream"

Love this record. Cornell's brave -- tries new stuff. The video for "Scream" rocks.

Why I post rough drafts in the Grab Bag

Because my rough drafts suck. Because I need to keep giving myself permission to write shite. Because I love the creative process. Because writing is like walking naked in front of the world. Because I need to wrestle with the black dog of depression, and posting rough drafts is a weapon.

New Grab Bag content at michellebutlerhallett.com

Cleaned out the Grab Bag at my site and put up the opening of a short screenplay and the first two scenes of a stageplay -- rough as rocks.

The Bookshelf -- new blog by Kerri Cull

So the smart and saucy Kerri Cull has started a books blog: The Bookshelf. Ms Cull's a diverse reader and hilariously blunt. Find her here.