Of Blogathons and Film Quizzes

The past couple of weeks have been a flurry of work/life things that for various reasons I didn't feel the need to put down here.  But that doesn't mean I haven't been writing at all - in fact, I have two lengthy pieces over at Celluloid Moon, freshly baked and ready for your perusal!

First up is my contribution to Tony Dayoub and Cinema Viewfinder's David Cronenberg Blogathon.  Tony's wrangled up a great group of well-known online writers and should-be-well-known online writers to examine the films, themes, and impact of this excellent director, and my piece proposes that Cronenberg's controversial adaptation of J.G. Ballard's CRASH (1996) is the key film that bridges his earlier, genre driven films and his recent mainstream resurgence with films like A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and EASTERN PROMISES.  You can read the original article and great comments from the community here.

Too high-fallutin' for you? Not interested in sexual fetishs and the search for orgastic euphoria in the tearing scream of metal against metal?  Looking for some great film recommendations?  Then you should definitely check out the latest Film Quiz from Dennis Cozzalio and Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule.  Each "quiz" is a chance to reflect back on our favorite films and filmmakers, and an opportunity to share moments and experiences that have affected our lives.  I've posted a number of my answers here on Geek Monkey before, and by week's ends I'll have my latest batch up as well.  In the meantime, you can find my answers here on Celluloid Moon, and you can read everyone else's fantastic answers over at the original article.

I plan on getting back to writing here on Geek Monkey soon, but the one thing I'm learning, especially with the help of the above articles, is that the best writing comes from that need to connect on some level, and right now the opportunity to connect and interact with a larger community about a subject I love is reinvigorating the spark to put fingers to keyboard again. 

So I hope wherever I am you check it out, comment, argue, but as always, engage!