Hello World!

Before we get started, how about an appetizer?

Let’s call it a “Declaration of Principles” (with apologies to Charles Foster Kane):

(1) I will feed the patrons of this blog with tasty commentary and opinion on a wide variety of topics covering cinema in an effort to engage myself and my readers in conversation, writing and critical thought about film (I work in film and I’ve found that the work has had the ability to take my sight off of the reasons why I fell in love with the cinema in the first place. This is, among other things, my attempt to rediscover my roots in film.)

(2) As I said, I work in film. My wife works in a restaurant. Naturally, two great tastes that taste great together. Having said that, I’ll also take pleasure in serving up film reviews, recommendations and (get this) suggested food pairings to accompany those reviews – as sometimes a bucket of popcorn simply isn’t enough. Look for the little crock pot icon for those suggestions.

About the name: you already know the ingredients (see above). What’s more, I have a weakness for American Chop Suey. At least, that’s what I’ve always called it. When I was a child, my grandmother, rest her soul, would stoke the wood fired stove and slop up a pot of piping hot comfort food that was both very simple and very satisfying. Elbow macaroni. Ground beef. Tomato paste. Chopped onion. Heat and stir together. Serve on an old china plate with a slice of white bread and margarine spread. My wife, the Midwestern girl, likes to add onto that dish by throwing a little bit of everything into the mix. She calls it Goulash.

I imagine this blog will be written with a similar recipe at heart. Thanks for visiting and be sure to come back for seconds.