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New Novel, “West Falls Revisited” by D. H. Schleicher, now available on Amazon!
The Influence of Film in Contemporary Literature In my 2018 novel, Then Came Darkness, I was greatly influenced by The Night of the Hunter – not the novel, but the classic film, which I previously...
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Best Western Films Poll results; Best Songs of 1957 Poll results; Best Songs...
by Sam Juliano Wild action this week! Two polls have ended, and two have just started! (Our best Western Poll attracted 104 ballots, the most for any of our polls ever!) “The Searchers” wins massive...
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Continued Voting on Film Noir and 1958 Song Polls on Monday Morning Diary...
by Sam Juliano I was thrilled to hear Criterion’s October announcement of the long-awaited Blu-rays of the final two Val Lewton films to be released in that format—I Walked with a Zombie and The...
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Greatest Film Noir Polling results; Greatest Popular Song of 1958 results and...
by Sam Juliano Double Indemnity handily wins our massive Best Film Noir polling! Billy Wilder’s 1944 “Double Indemnity” was voted the Greatest Film Noir of All Time, according to Voting Tabulator...
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Greatest Comedy Films Polling on Monday Morning Diary (July 29)
by Sam Juliano There is much excitement on the political scene, what with Kamala Harris gaining traction against Trump. The next few months will be frantic. Greatest Feature Film Comedies of...
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Comedy Poll Results; 1959 Song Poll Results; Musical Poll Launch; 1960 Song...
by Sam Juliano “Mack the Knife” Named Best Popular Song of 1959! Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife,” a song with an iconic history dating back to the German “The Threepenny Opera,” was voted the greatest...
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Musical Poll, 1960 Song Poll and Election Euphoria on Tuesday Morning Diary...
by Sam Juliano The Favorite Film Musical polling and the Best Song of 1960 balloting continue until the upcoming weekend. Those who still wish to cast ballots can do so on last week’s MMD or this...
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Democratic Convention, Mikey’s Absolution, 1960 Song Results, 1961 Song Poll...
by Sam Juliano For the second week consecutively, I offer a Tuesday Morning Diary rather than the normal first-day-of-the-work-week routine. This will not become a habit. Next week, we will return...
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Green Border and Broadway “Cabaret” on Tuesday Morning Diary (August 27)
by Sam Juliano I’m very sorry for violating my promise to return to our Monday Morning Diary this week. For the third consecutive week, I was distracted. This time, my 70th birthday, August 26th, took...
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National Anthem, 1961 Favorite Popular Song Results; Favorite War Film Poll...
by Sam Juliano Labor Day is over, and school has resumed. I wish those in education a fantastic 2024-25 school year! I loved the National Anthem. It was beautifully filmed, elegiac, moving, erotic,...
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Completion of Mikey’s Absolution and Last Summer on Monday Morning Diary...
by Sam Juliano The “Favorite Childhood/Coming of Age” poll will continue until Saturday, September 21, and the 1962 Best Song Poll will run until Friday, September 20. My Third Novel, “Mikey’s...
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Don McLean concert; 1962 Favorite Song results; Childhood/Coming-of-Age poll...
by Sam Juliano Lucille and I attended Don McLean’s “Starry Starry Night” concert at the State Theater in New Brunswick on Saturday night. Skeeter Davis’s “The End of the World” Named Favorite Popular...
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Close Your Eyes, Megalopolis and continued voting for Science-Fiction Films...
by Sam Juliano Mikey’s Absolution was sent to editor Rob Bignell on Saturday. It came in considerably longer than I planned, at 130,000 words. At some point shortly, I can send all or part of the...
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Didi, 1986 Song Poll Results and 1987 Song Poll Launch on Monday Morning...
by Sam Juliano Mikey’s Absolution was sent to editor Rob Bignell last Friday (9/27). The novel is 130,000 words, NOT the 105,000 I initially reported. Publication is expected between November 20 and...
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Favorite Horror Film Polling, Jamie Uhler’s 2024 Horrorfest and White Bird on...
by Sam Juliano Favorite Horror Films of All Time! Again, we will allow 25 choices. Angelo prefers that we don’t use numbers. Our polling has been timed to coincide with the Halloween season. The...
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Conclave, Anora, Favorite Political Film Polling Launch and 1988 Song Polling...
by Sam Juliano My apologies for the miss last week. I have been frantically working on the manuscript of Mikey’s Absolution, going over it repeatedly to ensure it is error-free before it is formatted...
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Anora, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin and 2024 Presidential Election on Monday...
by Sam Juliano The big day has arrived. Harris or Trump? A Republican House of Representatives or a Democratic one? A Republican or Democratic Senate? For those of us solidly behind our...
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Sansho the Bailiff, Part One: Be Merciful to Others
The iconic image of Kannon, the Buddhist Bodhisattva of mercy, is at the center of the ethical precepts honored in Sansho the Bailiff (1954). At the left is Eleven-Headed Kannon, a Japanese lacquered...
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2024 Election; Cover Art for “Mikey’s Absolution,” Results of 1988 Song Poll;...
by Sam Juliano The 2024 Presidential election is over. Many of us remain in shock, while others have warned of this outcome for the longest time. Lucille and I saw Heretic on Saturday night. My...
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Sansho the Bailiff, Part Two: The Impermanence of All Things
Cherry blossoms are honored as symbols of impermanence in Japan as they bloom briefly in spring. “Blossoming Cherry Trees by a Stream” by Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760-1849). Woodblock...
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