September 2004

Sophia, three years old, a moppet sprouting wavy dark brown hair, tall as my leg, naked, and tired of her eel avocado hand roll, whines to her mother. “Booty. I want booty.”

Languishing in the shadows of bigger-shouldered cities like Washington and Philadelphia, Baltimore is burdened with something of a municipal chip on its shoulder, exposed in reasonless civic sloganeering like the much-scorned recent campaign proclaimin

When he’d just sprung from the college gates in 1972, John Sayles embarked on a cross-country hitchhiking trip. “It was a lot safer than it is now,” he said.

Charlie Kaufman: Screenwriting seminars are bullshit

Donald Kaufman: In theory, I agree with you. But this one’s different. This one’s highly regarded in the industry.