Everybody’s Talkin’ 3 – 20 (Chatter from Other Bloggers)

What a difference a week makes.

This time last week, I was at the end of a stretch that seemed pretty damned brutal. You take a lack of sleep, some community shenanigans, some workplace tragedy, and you get a guy not wanting to leave his house come Saturday morning.

This week though, it’s like night and day. Despite me being down sick one day, and not setting foot anywhere near a bar on St. Patrick’s, the ball just seemed to keep bouncing my way as the days went along. I won’t lie – a big part of my enthusiasm comes from the fact that my Lena Dunham post has quickly become one of my most-read entries ever. On its own, that’s reason to be proud, but it makes me especially proud when I think of the fact that the only posts above it were a small number festival reviews when I got to see something with a following early. This is the first time an op-ed piece of mine has latched on, and I know I owe a huge debt of its popularity to a pair of outlets who were nice enough to link to it this week.

As if that wasn’t enough, I got a smile a few days back when a reader sent me a small “Hey – you’re alright!” note out-of-the-blue. There are few things that bring me a bigger smile than votes on confidence like that. Maybe it’s because we’re in an age where people are quick to write complaints, but seldom write praise. Or maybe it’s because it comes from someone whose work I so respect. Regardless, it hit the mark.

So that brings us to today – a day where the sun is shining here in The T-Dot, where there are screenings a-plenty through the next few days, a day where I’m just a few sleeps away from gathering with my friends, and where I’m well-rested. If you’d sat me down last Friday morning and told me this would be my state-of-mind one week out, I’d have called you a damned dirty liar. But like I said – what a difference a week makes.

For your listening and reading fulfilment, I give you…

The chicks with accents are back (who can now be found on Stitcher radio btw). With two of them celebrating birthdays this week, they were feeling some youthful exuberance, thus the topic at hand is “Teenage Dream”. Y’all know this will be a fun listen.

You know when you read a post and think to yourself “It’s like they’re inside my head?”. Courtney Small put up one of those this week.

Holy shit you guys – Brian J. Roan is writing again!!

Every once in a while, I find myself stopping and taking stock of where I am as a writer. Oddly enough, it can sometimes lead to a decent post! This week, Dan Heaton did that same thing – and wouldn’t you know it, he clocks in with a damn fine post!

As I note every week, my Freeze Frame series is inspired by Nathaniel’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot series over at Film Experience. Really and truly, I should be participating in his series instead of copping it for myself – but I’m trying to stick to films thirty years old and older, and many of his selections are more modern. However, if there was ever a week where I was going to throw out my “30 Year” rule, it’d be this week when the gang tackled ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. Nick Prigge was smart enough to join in – take a look-see at his shot selection.

Meanwhile, in non-movie news, Chris has taken a moment to point people towards some of the best new records that this young year has already brought into our headphones. For my money – the man is spot-on with his recommendations. I’ve been playing the daylights out of all these albums for weeks!

 

As for The Tweet of The Week, well – how could I resist? …

 

My life goal is to be the tweet of the week on @matinee_ca‘s weekly link posts #undateable

— Andrew Robinson (@gmanreviews) March 14, 2014

 

Enjoy!