Writing for the budget

When you first start writing scripts, one of the great liberating experiences is the ability to start a scene with something like this: [scrippet] EXT. PARIS STREET – AFTERNOON Smith steps to the curb and hails a cab… [/scrippet] And then, you can follow up with the next scene, with a quantum leap: [scrippet] EXT.Continue reading “Writing for the budget”

The Last Ramble of Wolf 18

A century after timberwolves had been officially declared extinct in Missouri, one wolf traveled 460 miles with hopes of recovering this lost frontier. This article originally appeared online in 2002. WHEN WALKING AT NIGHT, I’m tempted to howl. I have a feeling that a wolf might respond. That’s a strange impulse in central Missouri. HowlingContinue reading “The Last Ramble of Wolf 18”

Back from Ciudad Juarez

Spent a few days on the border. The border patrol didn’t believe me when I said that I was, “just walking around.” I suppose there aren’t many gringos who just wander the back streets of Juarez unless they’re looking for drugs or sex or some sort of nastiness. But the residential districts close to theContinue reading “Back from Ciudad Juarez”

Still all about the content

It’s funny, after years designing for the web, how often I forget the old mantra: content is king. This site is proof. It’s a simple concept (the best concepts always are) where folks send in anonymous postcards revealing a secret. The best are posted to the web. It doesn’t get any more basic…it’s a virtual corkboard.Continue reading “Still all about the content”