August 20, 2013

Can You Guess the 10 Highest Grossing Martin Scorsese Films?

from collider.com
In this 1990 interview, Martin Scorsese talks about the future of movies and how he hopes, one day, one of his movies will make a lot of money. I was curious to see if any had so I looked up the box office of his films. Using $100 million as an arbitrary measure for success, only three of his movies have been commercially successful.
  • The Departed: $132,384,315
  • Shutter Island: $128,012,934
  • The Aviator: $102,610,330
  • Cape Fear: $79,091,969
  • Gangs of New York: $77,812,000
  • Hugo: $73,864,507
  • The Color of Money: $52,293,982
  • Goodfellas: $46,836,214
  • Casino: $42,512,375
  • The Age of Innocence: $32,255,440
Does the result surprise you? Does it matter?

January 18, 2013

Part Time Author

Friends.

I'm a regular (Friday) contributor to PartTimeAuthors.com, a blog started by 4 of the best dudes I know.

To see what I have to say each week, please give it a visit. The posts from me will be more regular there than here.


January 4, 2013

My Favorite Music and Books of 2012


Here's the music I loved and listened to the most this year. Also, I read a few books.

Music
Gossamer - Passion Pit
It came out, I started listening to it and when I stopped it was 3 weeks later. It is brilliant.
Recommended tracks: "Take a Walk," "Carried Away," and "Love is Greed"

Bloom - Beach House
It's slow but beautifully enchanting.
Recommended tracks: "Myth" and "The Hours"

Shields - Grizzly Bear
Understandably not for everyone but I love this sort of thing: acoustic instruments, layered vocals, and found sound.
Recommended tracks: "Speak in Rounds" and "Yet Again"

Port of Morrow - The Shins
Will always have a soft spot for these guys.
Recommended tracks: "It's Only Life" and "No Way Down"

Heaven - The Walkmen
Still one of the most unique-sounding bands around.
Recommended tracks: "Heartbreaker" and "The Love You Love"

Swing Lo Magellan - The Dirty Projectors
Again, not for everyone. In fact, I don't like much of this album. But when it's good, it's better than most music out there.
Recommended tracks: "Just from Chevron" and "Dance for You"

Books
Now, with books, I can't list stuff that came out in 2012. I can only list the stuff I read. I don't read as much as I used to but I read more in 2012 than I did from 2006 to 2011.

"The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien - Worthy of its reputation. Although, it is a little anti-climatic.
"Bossypants" by Tina Fey - Laughed so much.
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card - You think you know where it's going and then it smacks you in the face.
"The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" by John le Carré - Gets your heart pumping.
"World War Z" by Max Brooks - Sad, funny, intense, warning of what might happen in a global crisis.
"Start with Why" by Simon Sinek - Inspires you to do what inspires you.
"Writing Movies for Fun and Profit" by Thomas Lennon and Robert B. Garant - Helpful?
"Improv Wisdom" by Patricia Ryan Madson - Day-to-day application of improv techniques.
"Managing Content Marketing" by Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi - Good stuff for my work.
"Content Rules" by Ann Hadley and C.C. Chapman - Great stuff for my work.



Favorite TV of 2012

Here is a summary of the TV I watched in 2012. There's a lot.

My Favorite Comedies in order:
Parks and Recreation
Ben and Kate
New Girl
30 Rock
Happy Endings
Bob's Burgers
Community
Portlandia
Modern Family
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The League
Saturday Night Live
South Park

My Favorite Dramas in order:
Sherlock
Doctor Who
Justified
Breaking Bad
Luther
Southland
Suits
Mad Men
Nashville
Downton Abbey
Arrow
The Walking Dead
Falling Skies
American Horror Story & American Horror Story: Asylum
Alphas
Elementary

My Favorite Shows to Watch with the Kids:
Gravity Falls
The Legend of Kora
Thundercats

Shows I Want to Start/Finish Someday:
Parenthood
Vampire Diaries
Dexter
Fringe