Idle Idolatry

Our contributors examine themselves and their relationships with an “other.”

Thumbnail image for Me and Ray Bradbury

Me and Ray Bradbury

by Tony Shea December 19, 2019

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people […]

LOS ANGELES Read more →
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 […]

IN PRAISE OF... Read more →
Thumbnail image for Here’s What I Did Yesterday in NYC (VOl. 1)

Here’s What I Did Yesterday in NYC (VOl. 1)

by Tony Shea December 18, 2019

The New York City Marathon was happening yesterday so I thought I would head over to the finish line to watch it. But when I was on my way to Central Park I could already see that it was going to an absolute madhouse: police cars, ambulances, scores of people everywhere, more than there always […]

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for Critical Tits Bike Ride – A Look Back at Burning Man

Critical Tits Bike Ride – A Look Back at Burning Man

by Jane Tarzana August 14, 2018

This post was originally published on September 2, 2014. Ah the lands of Facebook, Flickr and Instagram are abuzz with the sights and sounds of Burning Man. Even Seth Rogen announced at James Franco’s Roast on Comedy Central that he was going to Burning Man this year. Yes, it’s really the cool thing to do, […]

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for Before Portlandia, There Was Tonya Town

Before Portlandia, There Was Tonya Town

by Ben Easher August 10, 2018

Anyone whose knowledge of Portland, Oregon comes from the television series Portlandia is likely to think of the city as being populated entirely by whimsical and finicky white people sipping gourmet coffee and riding customized bicycles to performances of Star Trek episodes in the park. Behind this media image is a much more complicated place, […]

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for By Grabthar’s Hammer! Remembering Alan Rickman

By Grabthar’s Hammer! Remembering Alan Rickman

by Bill Chott January 15, 2016

You may not know my name, but you’ve probably seen me as “that guy” in dozens of projects on TV and film. I played a very small role in the film Galaxy Quest. I was the nerd at the convention who gets his autograph from (Alan Rickman’s character) Sir Alexander Dane and proudly announces, “By […]

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for UFO Over New York?

UFO Over New York?

by Tony Shea September 12, 2015

I got up this morning at about 2 a.m., awoken by a strange dream. Somewhere around 5 a.m. I noticed that there was a strange round object in the sky. I thought at first it was the reflection of my computer off the window. But then something else strange happened, I felt an odd presence […]

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for Me and Robin Williams – RIP

Me and Robin Williams – RIP

by Tony Shea August 11, 2015

Robin Williams died one year ago today. This article originally appeared on August 12, 2014. Robin Williams died yesterday from an apparent suicide at the age of 63. I met him once, at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah, back in 2002. At the time, I was a fledgling filmmaker. I had, along […]

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for The Artist

The Artist

by Jeremiah Johnson January 4, 2015

There was an old man who lived in the hills, he took pictures of women to get him his thrills. How did he do it, this dirty old man? We may never know. He called it “art”. Art I have seen, this was pictures of titties. Know what I mean?

FICTION Read more →
Thumbnail image for How Do You Spend Your Sundays? LSD and Leisure

How Do You Spend Your Sundays? LSD and Leisure

by Jeremiah Johnson November 4, 2014

For years I would buy a vial of liquid LSD each spring.  It was only in the warmer weather that I wanted it as I always needed the option of walking off into the mountains should the mood strike me.  A day tripper, I didn’t like being stuck inside while high, so it was always […]

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for A Ghost Pulled Her Leg. Did She Pull Mine?

A Ghost Pulled Her Leg. Did She Pull Mine?

by Alfred Guy October 23, 2014

image via james hood “A Ghost came through the wall and pulled me out of bed by the leg!” At 9 years old, this is not what you want to hear from your aunt, as you start your weekend stay at her apartment.

ME AND... Read more →
Thumbnail image for 35 Years after the Bogey Man

35 Years after the Bogey Man

by Nate "Chops" Johnson October 22, 2014

“He’s gonna get you! He’s gonna get you! The Bogey Man is coming!” It was 35 years ago in 1978, on Halloween that terror was unleashed on the small, quiet town of Haddonfield, IL. It was completely unexpected and seemingly out of nowhere, that a psychotic killer was on the loose and wreaking havoc on […]

FILM Read more →
Thumbnail image for Looking Up and Down on Mount Dana

Looking Up and Down on Mount Dana

by Christopher T. Wood September 8, 2014

A decade ago, I looked up at Mount Dana. Last weekend, I summoned my inner Captain Ahab and attempted to climb that very same Yosemite Valley peak.

ME AND... Read more →

← Previous Entries