Finding Forrester (2000)

Fondly remembered, I went looking for it. Watched. Liked it; watched it twice. Ebert gave it three stars.
Ebert: The movie contains at least two insights into writing that are right on target. The first is William's advice to Jamal that he give up waiting for inspiration and just start writing. My own way of phrasing this rule is: The Muse visits during composition, not before. The other accurate insight is a subtle one. An early shot pans across the books next to Jamal's bed, and we see that his reading tastes are wide, good and various. All of the books are battered, except one, the paperback of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, which looks brand new and has no creases on its spine. That's the book everyone buys but nobody reads.

Both Connery and Brown are superb in their acting. 

A war on punctuation

America’s next president, Newt Gingrich, is also a prolific author of poorly reviewed historical fiction. As it is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, it seems as good a time as any to remember Newt’s own book about the subject—a novel that The New York Times called a “war on punctuation.” The first 23 pages are available online

US President? Whoa there, Nellie! if he gets nominated by the Republicans, and that is still a big if, he does an election to contest (and I can only begin to imagine how much Bill Clinton looks forward to that –sparing all the obvious metaphors,too).

Roads to Quoz

William Least-Heat Moon's new book is Roads to Quoz. I'll get to it, soon. I still remember how much I enjoyed Blue Highways (1982).