Episodes
Wednesday Jan 28, 2015
158: Track By Track
Wednesday Jan 28, 2015
Wednesday Jan 28, 2015
For the era of album-oriented music (rock, jazz, etc.), understanding the history of a musical artist or group happened at a track-by-track level. Back then we bought albums rather than songs, and the way those tracks were laid out on either vinyl or plastic was part of the artistry.
Different Drummer: Brian Eno
Track By Track at InappropriateConversations.org
Tuesday Oct 28, 2014
152: Anticipating the Bang
Tuesday Oct 28, 2014
Tuesday Oct 28, 2014
The best thing about suspense films, whether thrillers or horror, is the build up not the payoff. Getting the the edge of your seat doesn't happen at the moment of shock or surprise, it happens on the way there. Les Diaboliques is one of my favorite examples. It's a movie that might be described as the one that got away from Hitchcock.
Different Drummer: Alfred Hitchcock
Spoiler scene from the 1954-55 Clouzot film
Saturday Feb 15, 2014
138: Missing Someone I Never Knew
Saturday Feb 15, 2014
Saturday Feb 15, 2014
Storytelling has always been a part of Inappropriate Conversations. Sometimes that involves telling the stories of others to make a point. Other times it truly is personal storytelling in the realm of nostalgia. I learned an important lesson this month about the power of personal storytelling, as if answers to questions I was raising might be coming from the grave.
Different Drummer: Frank Capra
Sunday Jun 09, 2013
122: 'Past Tenths' of 'Disappear Here'
Sunday Jun 09, 2013
Sunday Jun 09, 2013
One of the ways I know that I lean toward introversion is my experience at reunions. In journals and poetry, I describe those events with both a longing and regret over what I might call invisibility. "Disappear Here" is the name of the poem. No doubt, it was inspired by the "people are afraid to merge" theme in Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis. Some people are afraid to merge; at least, I know one. I also answer the question: how do you know if you are a bigot? Different Drummer: Ingmar Bergman
Tuesday Feb 26, 2013
114: The Father Of Lies
Tuesday Feb 26, 2013
Tuesday Feb 26, 2013
Citing language Jesus used to describe those who tell lies and defend deception in God's name, one of the most demonic spirits at work in our world has taken seed within Christianity. Lately, I have encountered politically active Christians who not only mislead people by putting words into Christ's mouth -- "Jesus tells us to hate" is one example -- but they also shrug their shoulders in confusion when taken to task for this. Jesus never taught that any ends would justify such means, and only a liar would claim otherwise. So, if "Satan is the father of all lies" as Jesus said, then we know a great evil has taken the microphone from prominent so-called "leaders" of the church and is speaking through organizations that often identify themselves with words like "family" and "evangelical." Don't be deceived. Different Drummer: Jonathan Nolan "Person Of Interest" Season 1 recap
Thursday Jan 24, 2013
111: Safeguarding Marriage
Thursday Jan 24, 2013
Thursday Jan 24, 2013
Should we tax adultery into oblivion or merely minister to its casualties? No, I don't really believe that using taxation as a punitive fine will stamp out infidelity in marriage, but it would stand a better chance of succeeding than other methods of "legislating morality." When I was a child, a wise man in our church taught me that the real answer to divorce is setting aside the urge to cast judgment and surrounding those dealing with the consequence of shattered relationships with the love of Christ. I wish the church today was filled with such wise people. Different Drummer: John Hughes
Saturday Nov 03, 2012
104: Whoever Says The Truth (Shall Die)
Saturday Nov 03, 2012
Saturday Nov 03, 2012
Lore of the United States' "founding fathers" is that they were brave, creative thinkers who were not afraid to discuss ideas and both learn from and break with the past to create a new vision of the future. So why are our current leaders so frightened? At election time, both Republican and Democrat candidates seem to be fearful about the future, their past, and anything resembling "truth." Above all, they are afraid of independent political thought and 3rd parties -- meaning, non-RepubliCrats. Different Drummer: Pier Paulo Pasolini