I've always loved Autumn - and we're in it now, in my part of the world. To be honest, it's just beginning to come in, so I'm anticipating the leaves turning into those beautiful oranges and yellows (and all the variations therin), before they begin piling up ...

October Arrives
Banes at 12:00AM, Sept. 28, 2023Top Five Tales of Bands
Banes at 12:00AM, Sept. 21, 2023
Having a love of music, forming a band, struggling together, maybe rising to fame and fortune, then falling from those heights, and then figuring out what to do next…it's a version of the Hero's Journey that can be found in real life.
There've been plenty of ...
At Them With Them
Banes at 12:00AM, Sept. 7, 2023
Redlettermedia, in an old review of Michael Bay's Pain and Gain, contrasted that movie to The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese.
In the Wolf of Wall Street, the RLM guys say, there's a subtext that we're ALL capable of the mistakes the main character ...
Imitation and The Content Avalanche Ahead?
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 31, 2023
During the filming of Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock was unable to be on set one day. His crew filmed the scene for that day (I believe it was where Arbogast, the detective, goes up the stairs where he encounters Mrs. Bates). Hitchcock saw the footage, and said he had to reshoot ...
They Make You Believe
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 24, 2023
A long time ago I read something, I think an interview with a respected screenwriter or something, where he brought up the movie “Rain Man”.
If you haven't seen it, it's about a struggling wheeler-dealer type guy, played by Tom Cruise, who goes on a road trip with ...
A Look at Books
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 17, 2023
I was thinking about the power of books in fiction - like, secret journals, diaries, and such.
In the show Supernatural, the brothers found a lot of information, help, and intrigue in their father's journal of his monster hunting exploits. I will say that it got harder to believe later ...
Don't You Know Who You Are?
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 10, 2023
The movie “Hook” is not one of Spielberg's best-regarded movies - I've always liked it quite a bit, though. One element of it that speaks to me is the main character who's forgotten his true identity and true nature. I love the story about the writing of the ...
The Opposite of Cardinal Sin #1
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 3, 2023
I think many of us who make comics or write stories or are interested in writing can agree that mistake number one in writing is to front-load a story with a long-winded backstory. We've talked about it here on the site plenty of times.
There is an opposite mistake ...
Horror - The Morality Play
Banes at 12:00AM, July 27, 2023
The idea of “sin” is a prevalent one in horror stories. In terrifying tales, the monstrous against the human also explores good vs. evil.
There is often a “sin” perpetrated by horror Protagonists. The classic Psycho begins with Marion Crane stealing money from her job. Her intentions are understandable, maybe ...
AI-EEEEE!
Banes at 12:00AM, July 20, 2023
Many of us have been talking about AI increasingly over the last little while, and it's a discussion point in the WGA writer's strike that's been going on right now. Actually, as of this Newspost, the actors have just gone on strike as well, joining the writers ...