IN PRAISE OF…

Thumbnail image for Me and Charles Bukowski

Me and Charles Bukowski

by Tony Shea December 18, 2019

I was 17 years old when I saw Barfly for the first time. My friend’s father had LaserDisc and among the titles which otherwise included The Last Remake of Beau Geste and Young Frankenstein (my friend’s old man really loved Marty Feldman I guess) was Barfly, a film about the exploits of a drunken bum […]

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William Burroughs 102

by Tony Shea February 5, 2016

image via America’s ultimate “Junkie”, William Burroughs would have been 102 today. One of the primo Beat writers along with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Paul Bowles, Burroughs was an unrepentant drug addict for most of his life, traversing some truly weird cerebral territory along the way and somehow living to be 83 years old, […]

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Thumbnail image for Chicks Dig Scars – The Life of Evel Knievel

Chicks Dig Scars – The Life of Evel Knievel

by Tony Shea October 19, 2015

The great Evel Kneivel would have turned 77 last weekend. One of America’s ultimate badasses, Knievel died in 2007 at the age of 69. The pioneering godfather of extreme sports like the X-games, Knievel was a wild man living on the constant edge of death, stapled and sewn and bolted together like Frankenstein flying through the […]

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Thumbnail image for The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience – Experience

The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience – Experience

by Tony Shea June 21, 2015

I decided to throw Jean-Paul Sartre a surprise birthday party just because I knew he would hate it. Surprise! He doesn’t look amused, and this amuses me.

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Thumbnail image for That’s Mr. T – Fool!

That’s Mr. T – Fool!

by Tony Shea May 21, 2015

His parents knew him as Laurence Tureaud, but the rest of the world knew him as Mr. T, a seminal character of 80’s film and television who became a one man product endorsement machine; Mr. T breakfast cereal, anyone?

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Thumbnail image for Like It or Not – Bob Seger is Awesome

Like It or Not – Bob Seger is Awesome

by Tony Shea May 6, 2015

image via Bob Seger turns 70 today. Though he’s released only one album of new music is the last 18 years, he continues to sell out arenas – why? Because he’s awesome.

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Daniel Day-Lewis Day

by Tony Shea April 29, 2015

Daniel Day-Lewis turns 58 today. Born and raised in London to parents of Anglo-Irish and Jewish descent, Day-Lewis is the only person to win the Best Actor Oscar three times, making a case as the finest actor ever in the process. DDL, as I  like to call him, has carefully selected his roles throughout his […]

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Thumbnail image for Jack Attack – The 9 Best Films of Jack Nicholson

Jack Attack – The 9 Best Films of Jack Nicholson

by Tony Shea April 22, 2015

Jack Nicholson turns 78 today. One of the greatest method actors of all time, Jack has been a sheer force of personality for more than fifty years so far. To celebrate his birthday I’ve assembled my list of his 9 best films.

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Thumbnail image for Bruce Willis – Five Best Films

Bruce Willis – Five Best Films

by Tony Shea March 19, 2015

Bruce Willis turns 60 today. In a career spanning thirty years, Willis has appeared in more than sixty films, earning more than $5 billion dollars worldwide. Along the way, Willis has become a bald icon, finding success in a number of genres including: comedy and drama, as well as science fiction and action for which […]

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Thumbnail image for In Praise of Terry Gilliam (Top 5 Films)

In Praise of Terry Gilliam (Top 5 Films)

by Tony Shea November 21, 2014

Tomorrow we celebrate the 74th birthday of the great Terry Gilliam. One of the most unusual filmmakers in the history of cinema, Gilliam’s work through the years has been nothing short of astonishing, a wild ride down the rabbit hole of the imagination of a singular genius that fuses science fiction, fantasy, and fairy tale, exploring […]

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Thumbnail image for The Tall Man – Tim Robbins – Top 5 Films

The Tall Man – Tim Robbins – Top 5 Films

by Tony Shea October 16, 2014

Tim Robbins, who turns 58 today, has always been a sort of unlikely Hollywood movie star, too tall and overly boyish – it does’t seem like he could grow a beard. But it’s that awkward vulnerability that has served him well in both comedic and dramatic roles (71 so far as an actor), earning him […]

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The 5 Best Talking Songs

by Tony Shea August 9, 2014

Some singers have high-pitched squeals for voices; some singers have guttural rasps; some singers are stentorian; some singers lilt; and some singers…well… sort of talk their way through the songs. Unlike rap and hip hop, talk singers don’t flow so much as recite, usually in a monotone voice that seeks to serve the story at […]

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Thumbnail image for A Water Ballet Tribute to the War of 1812 – Only in Baltimore

A Water Ballet Tribute to the War of 1812 – Only in Baltimore

by Jay Hood August 7, 2014

In 1812 the British and American armies met for a second time in less than fifty years. While the colonies won their independence in the first war, all was not well. The War of 1812 could be considered the coda to the American Revolution. The American Revolution 2: Unresolved Issues. Fought over a two and […]

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