I have written many articles over the years. Some are still of interest, though just as many are not. Journalism, like other things, can become dated or loose relevancy. What follows is a selection of my published work from 2015 to today. I’ve chosen these pieces as I feel they have some value or still may be of interest to readers. A few are personal favorites, while others are markers which show some aspect of my work as a journalist. I have linked to as many pieces as possible.
If you are interested in checking out more of my online or offline journalism, visit one or more of the following pages.
1984 – 1999 // 2000 – 2009 // 2010 – 2014 // 2015 – today
“Wings – About the Film:. RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, May 4, 2024.
— program essay
“The Phantom Carriage.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, April, 2024.
— program essay
“Florid in a Good Way: Herbert Brenon’s The Spanish Dancer (1923).” Film International, December 16, 2023.
— DVD review
“The Street of Forgotten Men (1925): From Story to Screen and Beyond.” Film International, September 20, 2023.
“The Unexpected Raymond Griffith.” Film International, September 20, 2023.
— DVD review
“All Quiet on the Western Front.” Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium, September 2023.
— program essay
“Those Were the Days . . . One bookseller’s memoir told through trading cards (part 6).” Medium, August 28, 2023.
“Those Were the Days . . . One bookseller’s memoir told through trading cards (part 5).” Medium, June 22, 2023.
“Those Were the Days . . . One bookseller’s memoir told through trading cards (part 4).” Medium, June 13, 2023.
“Those Were the Days . . . One bookseller’s memoir told through trading cards (part 3).” Medium, May 2, 2023.
“Lulu By the Bay.” East Drink Films, April 28, 2023.
“Lulu in America” : ‘Sin Lust Evil!’ and the Lost History of Louise Brooks and Pandora’s Box.” Film International, April 23, 2023.
“Those Were the Days . . . One bookseller’s memoir told through trading cards (part2).” Medium, April 19, 2023
“Those Were the Days . . . One bookseller’s memoir told through trading cards (part 1).” Medium, April 13, 2023
“Louise Brooks: Silent Muse.” Fiction magazine, September 4, 2022.
“Marion Davies’ Slow-Burn Revival: Zander the Great (1925) and Beverly of Graustark (1926).” Film International, May 28, 2022.
“San Francisco’s Street of Forgotten Men,” San Francisco Patch, May 9, 2022.
“The Street of Forgotten Men.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, May, 2022.
— program essay
“Anvil Orchestra.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, May, 2022.
— profile of the musical group in Festival program
“Ukrainian Film and Restorations at Silent Film Festival.” Film International, April 5, 2022.
“Restored Silent Film The Street of Forgotten Men Debuts Louise Brooks.” Pop Matters, March 31, 2022.
“Wings.” Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium, February 2022.
— program essay
“WINGS to screen at Cleveland Silent Film Festival,” Cleveland Patch, February 11, 2022.
2021
“Rock Stars and Author Trading Cards: Tales from a Decade of Bookstore Events,” LitHub, September 24, 2021.
“A Far From Complete History of Booksmith Author Cards.” Non-Sport Update Card Talk, August 6, 2021.
2020
“Mank and Lulu, and contact tracing the origins of Rosebud. ” Louise Brooks Society blog, December 11, 2020.
— did Herman Mankiewicz learn of William Randolph Hearst’s special pet name for Marion Davies clit from Louise Brooks?
“Lulu Forever: the 2020 Louise Brooks FilmPodium Retrospective (Zurich).” Film International, November 9, 2020.
“Buster Keaton’s Genius, Derailed: The Cameraman (Criterion Collection).” Film International, July 6, 2020.
— review of a Buster Keaton DVD release
“The Irrepressible Alloy Orchestra.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
— profile of the noted musical group to be published in the Festival program (originally intended to appear in the 2020 program, but delayed and then cancelled due to the pandemic)
“(Re) Considering Rudolph Valentino.” Film International, March 4, 2020.
— review of three new DVD releases
2019
“Marion Davies: Gifted Actress and Impossible Boy.” Film International, December 23, 2019.
— article on the early film actress
“Behind the Black Velvet Curtain: Louise Brooks and Rudolph Valentino.” August 23, 2019.
— keynote address at the 92nd Valentino Memorial Service
“Kate Zambreno Screen Tests Louise Brooks. ” Louise Brooks Society blog, July 25, 2019.
— a piece about enthrallment
“Catching Up a Bitter Buddhist: An Interview with Allen Ginsberg.” in Conversations with Allen Ginsberg (University of Mississippi Press, 2019).
— my 1984 interview with the famed poet
“Keeping Time with Timothy Brock.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Summer, 2019.
— interview with the noted conductor and composer, published in the Festival program
“The Chaperone marks a return to Berkeley for Louise Brooks.” Berkeleyside, April 30, 2019.
— local interest article
“Mendocino Made Film to show at San Francisco Silent Film Festival.” Ukiah Daily Journal, April 30, 2019.
— article in local newspaper
“Louise Brooks Returns to Ann Arbor.” Ann Arbor Observer, April 22, 2019.
— article on the film from PBS Masterpiece
“Never the Victim: Louise Brooks and The Chaperone.” Film International, April 16, 2019.
— review of the film from PBS Masterpiece
2018
“The Real Stan and Ollie.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Winter, 2018.
— program essay
“It’s The Old Army Game – W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks in Ocala Florida.” Silent Locations, July, 2018.
— I contributed to a three part series of posts on John Bengtson’s film blog
“The Musical Mind of Guenter Buchwald.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Summer, 2018.
— interview with the German musician, published in the Festival program
“San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2018: A Transformative Cinematic Experience .” PopMatters, May 30, 2018.
“The Beginnings of Fritz Lang.” Louise Brooks Society blog, April 3, 2018.
— review of a DVD box set
“Keeping Up With The Jorgensons at Nugget Fringe Festival.” Sacramento Patch, January 17, 2018.
2017
“Best Film Books of 2017: Silent Comedy Edition.” Huffington Post, December 15, 2017.
“Best Film Books of 2017.” Huffington Post, December 11, 2017.
“The BFI Re-Opens Silent Film Pandora’s Box.” PopMatters, December 7, 2017.
“Pola Negri: Her films were silent. She wasn’t.” Huffington Post, December 4, 2017.
“Rescuing the Past: The Fall and Rise of Silent Film.” Huffington Post, November 30, 2017.
“A World Turned Over: Wellman’s BEGGARS OF LIFE.” University of Wisconsin Cinematheque, November 28, 2017.
“The Case for Marion Davies.” Huffington Post, November 22, 2017.
“Before Hollywood, there was Fort Lee, New Jersey.” Huffington Post, September 22, 2017.
“Two Film Historians and Their Lifelong Labor of Love.” Huffington Post, September 6, 2017.
“Louise Brooks, Lost Girl.” Brattle Theater / Film Notes, August 27, 2017.
“Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star.” Huffington Post, August 22, 2017.
“Now We’re in the Air Travels the World.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Summer, 2017.
— program notes, published in the Festival program
“Long Missing Louise Brooks Film Found.” Huffington Post, March 30, 2017.
— my article was written-up on Fandor
“Opera with Louise Brooks inspired character debuts in Chicago, and it’s not Lulu.” Huffington Post, February 20, 2017.
2016
“Son of Best Film Books of 2016.” Huffington Post, December 5, 2016.
“Best Film Books of 2016.” Huffington Post, December 1, 2016.
— HuffPo editor’s pick; referenced on the University of St. Andrews Department of Film Studies website
“Laurel & Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies.” Huffington Post, November 21, 2016.
— sometimes I have notable readers (see below)
“It’s All True: Bruce Conner at SFMOMA.” Huffington Post, November 18, 2016.
“Boogie Woogie Festival Returns to SFJAZZ.” Huffington Post, November 1, 2016.
— quoted in later promotional campaigns
“New Book Surveys Jules Verne on Film.” Huffington Post, October 27, 2016.
“Spooky Film History Books for Halloween.” Huffington Post, October 25, 2016.
“Girls Will Be Boys in San Francisco.” Huffington Post, May 25, 2016.
“getTV Premieres Rare Cary Grant film.” Huffington Post, May 4, 2016.
— cited in Edwin M. Bradley’s Hollywood Musicals You Missed: Seventy Noteworthy Films from the 1930s (McFarland, 2020)
“Lulu in New York: Pandora’s Box at Film Forum.” Huffington Post, March 16, 2016.
“I Like Una Merkel, Helen Twelvetrees, and Sally Phipps.” Huffington Post, March 10, 2016.
“Live365 is Dead, Long Live RadioLulu.” Huffington Post, January 27, 2016.
“Memory and Meaning Explored in ‘Book/Marks: What We Leave Behind’.” Huffington Post, January 19, 2016.
“A Musical Movie Marathon at LACMA.” Huffington Post, January 13, 2016.
“Windy Riley Goes Hollywood.” Fandor, January, 2016.
2015
“Biggest Books of the Year.” Fandor, December, 2015.”
Best Films Books of 2015.” Huffington Post, November 23, 2015.
— this piece received a considerable amount of attention (see below)
“Louise Brooks Celebration in San Francisco.” Huffington Post, November 13, 2015.
— this piece ran in Huffington Post San Francisco
“Detroit Shines at San Francisco Boogie Woogie Festival.” Huffington Post, November 13, 2015.
— this piece ran in Huffington Post Detroit
“Boogie Woogie Festival Now in Third Year.” Huffington Post, November 9, 2015.
“Lulu-mania Sweeps New York City.” Huffington Post, November 9, 2015.
— this piece ran in Huffington Post NYC
“Danger and Desire: 6 Great Lulus.” Huffington Post, November 9, 2015.
“A dense atmosphere of intense emotions: Diary of a Lost Girl (1929).” Fandor, November, 2015.
“The Return of Baby Peggy — The Last Silent Film Star.” Huffington Post, October 21, 2015.
“Rick Geary’s New Comic, Louise Brooks: Detective.” Huffington Post, July 7, 2015.
“California Welcomes the World: The Centennial of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.” San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Summer 2015.
— program essay, published in the Festival program
“William Gillette and the Making of SHERLOCK HOLMES.” EatDrinkFilms, May 22, 2015.
“San Francisco Silent Film Festival Celebrates 20th Year.” Huffington Post, May 19, 2015.
“Two Earthquake Films to Strike San Francisco on May 29.” Huffington Post, May 13, 2015.
“Fair Reading About the Panama Pacific International Exposition.” Huffington Post, April 28, 2015.
— referenced on the PPIE100 website
“Louise Brooks Returns to Detroit in Pandora’s Box.” Huffington Post, March 26, 2015.
— this piece ran in Huffington Post Detroit, and was syndicated aggregated hijacked by World News network
“Hobo Author Jim Tully Celebrated in New Documentary on PBS.” Huffington Post, February 11, 2015.
“Best Film Books of 2014.” Huffington Post, January 5, 2015.