Getting lost in world of movies
One early review on `The Last American Newspaper’
By Ken Tingley
The Adirondack Film Festival will be held in Glens Falls this year Oct. 13-15.
I’ve covered the film festival in the past because I love movies. I could not pass up the opportunity to watch dozens of movie features and shorts over several days and then write about them.
Miriam Weisfeld, the producing artistic director at Adirondack Theater Festival who also runs the film festival, must have remembered my columns. She asked me to be on a committee this year to help select this year’s movies. It was kind of a dream come true.
Be giving me the password to “Film Freeway” and all those movies was a ticket to paradise.
Each day earlier this month I watched one or two full-length feature films, and a half-dozen or so shorts. In almost every case, I watched the movie from beginning to end.
My evenings would often be spent telling my wife about the latest plot twist from some obscure short I had watched.
I paid special attention to the documentaries, the journalism of the entertainment world, and saw a couple of really great ones I’m hoping make the cut for the film festival.
For my money, movie shorts are often overlooked by the general public. They are often simple, to the point and pack a devastating emotional punch. There was no shortage of that this year. The final selections have not been made for film festival but I am looking forward to the conversation.
So mark your calendar for October and take a weekend to immerse yourself in the glory of cinema.
Home run race
There have been eight 60-home run seasons in Major League Baseball history, but six of the eight were accomplished by steroid-using players - Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
If your are a traditionalist like I am, that makes Roger Maris’ 61-homer season the best ever. Aaron Judge, the Yankees star outfielder, hit his 53rd home run on Sunday and is on a pace to hit 64 home runs if he plays all the Yankees’ remaining games.
That alone will make the end of the season historic.
Last American Newspaper
I noticed last week that Amazon did not have my new book in stock, but that appears to have changed over the weekend. So if you were looking to use Prime for free shipping, the book is now available on Amazon
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Some positive feedback
After announcing the release of my book last week, I heard from one of our former reporters who is the subject of one chapter.
“The difficult Mr. Lehman, I like it,” Don Lehman wrote to me.
When I responded that I thought he might like that title, he wrote his wife’s response was, “Lisa says difficult is an understatement.”
More layoffs
The Poynter Institute and The Washington Post reported last week that Gannett, the largest newspaper chain in the country, had laid off 400 employees and cut 400 open positions over the past month. At one small Ohio newspaper, the chain laid off its only full-time news reporter.
Your book “The Last American Neespaper” arrived this afternoon. Just finished the 9/11 chapter. Had to put the book down to cook dinner. It is total newspaper crack. I can’t wait to start reading it again.
I plan to watch those movies in October….love movies and documentaries. Horrible, horrible news re Gannets lay offs. Ugh!