“He just mobilized the English language and sent it to war.” So says a rueful Viscount Halifax moments before the credits roll in Darkest Hour, an account of Winston Churchill’s installation as prime minister and the fraught initial weeks of his administration leading up to the events depicted in Dunkirk. Halifax meant that, at that moment, Churchill […]
'Darkest Hour' is a movie about words, and that makes me sad Read More »
I used to work at this little liberal-arts college in Wisconsin called Ripon College. Great little school with awesome people. One of their most-used phrases when talking about the value of a liberal education was that it supposedly engendered “lifelong learning” as a value. I’d really drank the Kool-Aid there so that sounded really nifty
What an 82-year-old man taught me about 'lifelong learning' in 2018 Read More »
Many years ago, I wrote screenplays. This was while there was an actual spec script market in Hollywood, and at the time I had a mentor of sorts who reinforced that prospect. So I wrote. A lot. And as you might expect, it was sort of bad. The last script I finished was about a
On the mildly traumatic experience of reading my unofficial first novel Read More »
Today marks the official launch of The Perfect Generation. But it’s not just the launch of a book—it’s what I hope to be the launch of a long and successful career as an author. The process of writing this book was both similar to, and different from, the experience of preparing to launch it. Let me
Reality Check #2: The Launch Read More »
Many moons ago, I worked for a Fortune 50 company. One of the two most odious managers I’ve ever worked with decided on day one that he didn’t like me, and the feeling was quite mutual. Let’s call him Barney. One day, during a performance review, Barney’s brow furrowed disapprovingly. He said, “Now, Cody, I’ve
That time I learned I shouldn't do better at things I like Read More »
