I used to work in a grocery store deli. Most of the customers would be regulars, coming daily to get the same half-pound portions of meats, cheeses, and salads. As time went on, you began to learn the little quirks for each one; Some were kind, some were funny, some were rude, but most were simply trying to get their food and go. Regardless, I was a part of their routine as much as they were a part of mine,…

Learning about early cinema is truly a blessing and a curse. For instance, I knew nothing of the Italian Superspectacles, excessively budgeted and exuberantly crafted works of cinema that pushed the medium forwards by challenging the conventional methods of production; these movies were bonafide prestige pictures, and could only be seen in "real theaters," as the dumpy commodities that nickelodeons tended to be were incompatible with the heightened ticket price films this expensive to produce demanded. Audiences were eating up…

I was gonna make a joke about how a movie this demented could only be made by "that kid" from middle school; the kind of kid who either wore all black or a trench coat to school every day, never talked in class unless it was about World War 2, and probably killed cats in his garage.

Then that shit basically happened in the movie, and I felt a little weird.

Baxter challenges the concept of innate evil through a…

My Grandpa was put on oxygen a couple weeks ago.

It's been a long time coming, and thankfully unrelated to the current pandemic that plagues us all. However, it doesn't make his struggles any less challenging; he's faced heart conditions for the better part of the decade, and in the last couple years has seen his health deteriorate significantly. He has always been something of a rock in the mess I call a family, his authoritative presence, endless wisdom, and…

Masculinity, frayed and tattered,
Broken hearts and spirits shattered.

A scoop's a scoop, no matter how far,
You'll hurt who you hurt, you'll scar who you scar.

All you see is the ladder, the climb to the top,
No matter who you crush, you just can't stop.

Gossip, lies, scandals and smear,
Truth is fiction when your reach has no peer.

Your shadow grows long with each passing day,
But in the pursuit of power, you shrug off hearsay.

So…