Tweaking the Masquerade

I’ve had vampires on my mind lately. Between writing the draft of Cold Streets, seeing the season finale of True Blood (that’s another post entirely…) and chatting via Twitter with Justin Achilli, I’ve been wondering how Vampire: the Masquerade might be improved. I don’t see Vampire: the Requiem as an improvement, merely a sequel or… Continue reading Tweaking the Masquerade

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gangster No. 1

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/gangster_no_1.mp3] ‘Crime drama’ is a pretty broad spectrum for stories. Some are from the perspective of those on the people’s side of the law, following detectives and prosecutors in their pursuit of justice. Others give us the point of view of the individual criminal, from the ones trying to rise above a life of crime… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Gangster No. 1

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/bad_lieutenant.mp3] In 1992, vocal independent director Abel Ferrara teamed up with Harvey Keitel to make Bad Lieutenant, the story of an abusive and sleazy cop of the NYPD charged with solving the case of a raped nun. While he was self-indulgent, scandalous and even downright cruel, there existed a glimmer of humanity in the man… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans

Requiem for the Masquerade

    Has it really been 20 years? Obviously it has, since the 20th Anniversary Edition of Vampire: the Masquerade is coming. I’m definitely interested, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which the time I spent playing that game both on the table and in live action. This pending milestone, plus my… Continue reading Requiem for the Masquerade

Grains of Salt

Courtesy Jared Fein & laryn.kragtbakker.com Sooner or later, the work you do is going to come under fire. Mistakes are going to be made. Guess what? You’re a human being. Mistakes are inevitable. How those mistakes are handled, corrected and prevented from repeating themselves matter more than the mistakes themselves, with the experience informing the… Continue reading Grains of Salt

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Law Abiding Citizen

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/law_abiding_citizen.mp3] As a generally enlightened culture, we are fascinated by the concepts and procedures of justice. We debate what is in society’s best interest, study those who act against that interest and determine ways in which those parties can be dealt with. It’s the reason Law & Order is one of the longest-running shows on… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Law Abiding Citizen

Free Fiction: Miss Weaver's Lo Mein

Okay, I’m going to be honest. This isn’t likely to be my best story ever. I haven’t been editing as thoroughly as I could have over the weekend, which makes this essentially a first draft. And as Hemingway put it, “The first draft of anything is shit.” So it’ll probably be better when it gets… Continue reading Free Fiction: Miss Weaver's Lo Mein

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Casino

This week’s IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! brought to you by a generous donation by Mike Jarossy. Thank you for your support! [audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/casino.mp3] Good filmmaking is rightly lauded in modern cinema. Consistently good filmmaking is damn close to a miracle. Take a look at the films of Martin Scorsese, and it’s very possible that this little… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Casino

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Black Book

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/blackbook.mp3] This review marks the one year anniversary of ICFN’s podcast component, and to celebrate this, uh, monumental occasion, this review is being written and voiced by me, Danielle, aka that wife Josh always talks about. You’ll probably notice some stylistic differences between the two of us, too, so try not to get your panties… Continue reading IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! Black Book