Category: Opinion

Bri Castellini Investigates the ‘Weird’ – @brisownworld

by Bri Castellini

Weird, yeah?

Sometimes I worry that the things I write/create and publicly promote are too weird. My short film Ace and Anxious (spoiler alert) ends with a visual gag implying a man has had sex with a playing card. My web series Sam and Pat features escalating and absurdist visual gags set against two characters being mean to each other and talking about therapists. My web series Brains is a narrative vlog from the perspective of a narcissistic sociopathic YouTuber trying to get a boyfriend post zombie apocalypse.

The worry about the weird comes not from a worry that the things I make aren’t good. I think they’re quite good- I’ve even got some awards to prove it!

The worry comes more from the fact that it’s very hard to succinctly explain these projects and their value to people more successful than me. “Oh, you make films too? What are they about?” “You better sit down for this.” read article

Art is an imperfect catharsis

Author Nathan Bransford of How to Write a Novel and Jacob Wonderbar fame has been thinking about recent events many of us may want to forget. But if anything is worth remembering it’s this look into the arts, and artists, and our world of pain:

We’re so glad we saw this extraordinary image at podwabbit.com

by Nathan Bransford

My heart is incredibly heavy this week with the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and the ongoing poisoning of our shared culture by people who see more to gain in distracting us with hate than in inspiring love.

This is a moment in history that seems designed to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best. read article

What TV Can Teach You About Lazy Writing

The negativity inherent in the title of this article definitely captured our attention. After we read it, we felt that it would attract that of our visitors as well.

Bottom line: Yes, the writer of this article dishes on TV writing pretty well. But what she says is true. And what she recommends for writers is, well, absolutely on the proverbial money. (Yeah, using that old phrase was a fine example of “lazy writing.” But, well, you know….)

by Noelle Sterne

As a writers, you are sensitive to words. After all, they’re your currency. Even when you’re taking a break to watch TV, you may unconsciously be evaluating—with disdain or grudging admiration—the words you encounter. Developing sensitivity for lazy language can help you assuage any lingering guilt for taking breaks, especially with TV shows. read article

Bri Castellini takes on Outward Displays of Empathy – @brisownworld

by Bri Castellini

About a month ago, Quinn and I were having dinner with a friend who was discussing a personal situation that had gone sour fast. He was explaining the story and the various causes for the souring, including the personalities and quirks of each person, and gestured to me saying “you know what I mean, Bri. You also don’t have a lot of empathy.”

That’s not a direct quote, and it also wasn’t by any means an insult, but what he was saying was essentially “you, Bri Castellini, do not appear to be a person whose behavior is motivated by and taking into account empathy and the concerns or opinions of others, so you’ll understand why this personal issue got out of hand due to what I’m assuming your own experiences have reflected.” This was very interesting to me, not the first time someone has made this assumption in New York (important: only in New York. This had not been a problem previously. Back to that later), and the most hysterically false statement of all time. read article

Bri Castellini is Tired of the Hustle – @brisownworld

by Bri Castellini

I’m tired, y’all. Absolutely wiped. This blog was gonna be about something else but then I sat down to write and damn near fell asleep in this Starbucks. 

I have agreed to too many film projects, I am working a job where I have more responsibility than ever before in increasingly terrifying areas I feel wholly unqualified for, I am attempting to be a person with interests and plans outside of work, and I am tired. read article