One of my favorite actors is Orson Welles. His masterpiece is Touch of Evil. It’s a perfect film. The characters, plot, music, pacing, dialog, delivery of the dialog, editing, camera angles—everything is exceptional. As an actor Welles conveyed pathos extremely effectively, even when he was a monstrosity. He played monstrosities often in his career: Charles…
Discomfort is not assault
February 13, 2014
I just read an op-ed about artist Tony Matelli’s “Sleepwalker,” currently installed in the open at Wellesley College. Many of the students want the sculpture placed indoors because they say it makes them feel unsafe. Rather than comment on this particular contretemps, I’d like to talk about a quote from Robert Shibley, senior vice president at…
Some victims are worth more than others
February 13, 2014
I wrote yesterday about how I can’t get anyone interested in how Mike Albee and Lura Dold of Sandpiper Publicity bilked me of $40,000 by exploiting the suicides of my parents. It’s a combination of factors, but the most decisive is that I’m not the right kind of victim. This bias permeates journalism all over…
Internet tough guys actually gutless invertebrates
February 12, 2014
Reddit.com—the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet”—has refused my request to do an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) on how Mike Albee and Lura Dold of Sandpiper Publicity defrauded me of $40,000 by exploiting the suicides of my parents in 2013. Though I provided all the documentation, I got the following message. Please do not use…
Is culture a good thing?
February 12, 2014
First, no news on the Mike Albee and Lura Dold front. As you may know, they defrauded me of $40,000 by exploiting the suicides of my parents in 2013. I’ve made a few inquiries here and there, and I’m planning a couple of things that may result in more exposure. Right now I have to…
More evidence that Mike Albee is a fraud
February 11, 2014
Before I hired Mike Albee and Lura Dold of Sandpiper Publicity—the two frauds who conned me out of $40,000 by exploiting the suicides of my parents—I didn’t know much about book publicity. Now I know a lot more. Today I had a long phone conversation with a real publicist, a friend of Scott Thunes. He…
The urn does not care
February 9, 2014
I’ve been told that my posts about my father cause anger. Though I’m under no obligation to explain anything, I will. My intention is to chronicle a life gone awry. I do this to banish lingering pain. Some of that pain is the result of things my father did to me, and some is the…
The most judgmental person in literature
February 8, 2014
Recently a reviewer called me one of the most judgmental people she’d ever come across in literature. That really pissed me off. I want to be known as the most judgmental person in literature. So here’s part of a letter I wrote a lifetime ago. If this doesn’t cement my reputation for viciously expressing opinions,…
Stop being stupid
February 7, 2014
I’m not religious. However, I am a theist. That means I believe in a deity who cares about us and helps us endure the vicissitudes of life. If you’re not a theist, I don’t think any less of you. This is something we all have to decide for ourselves. I would never try to convince…