Table and Teaser
Preview of April articles with a table of March’s contents
March brings new stories as well as a series announcement and an additional author. Autonomia debuted an article by a new writer for the first time. Read about a meaningful connection with this new intellectual in April’s articles preview below.
In the view of one of Autonomia’s paid subscribers, Randy Goertzen’s review of Coda, made by the Cupertino, California-based Apple company’s movie studio, is “excellent.” I’ve known the author for over 30 years. He’s a friend, for purposes of full disclosure (incidentally, he’s also a paid subscriber). I invited him to review the movie after he told me he’d seen Coda and recommends it.
Reviewing a work of art, such as a movie, entails recapping basic facts, expressing a clear view of whether it’s valuable, including giving reasons, ideally with examples, and, additionally, explaining why both the review and the art work matter. Today’s distractions add to the challenge of writing a review. To borrow a baseball analogy, Randy Goertzen hit a home run with bases loaded; as far as I’m concerned, the guest essay’s a grand slam. Read Randy Goertzen’s review of 2021’s Oscar-winning Best Picture Coda, which was published on the day of the 95th annual Academy Awards.
This month’s articles roundup includes two stories about Pittsburgh’s miniature industrial display, which both link to my exclusive story on the history of the diorama for NEXT Pittsburgh, a Steel City publication which recently asked me to serve as a contributing author. I’ve also written about TV’s controversial I, Claudius series, actor Tom Sizemore, who died at 61, and added a new article for the Clint Eastwood Movies series, which continues for paid subscribers.
Another new series, Liza Minnelli Movies, was announced on the entertainer’s birthday.
Table of March’s contents
This month’s contents include:
Book review of the official book on Pittsburgh’s Miniature Railroad and Village
50th anniversary of the U.S. combat troop withdrawal from South Vietnam
This date in history: nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania
Randy Goertzen’s take on Coda, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2021
Visiting Carnegie Science Center’s miniature land and cityscapes and the history of the diorama, for Points in Pittsburgh
Clint Eastwood Movies: 1999’s death penalty film, True Crime
Teaser of April articles
When I saw Falling Down in a theater, I took it as a precautionary tale of a despondent man. I recently watched Joel Schumacher’s film again. I’ve reached a slightly different judgment about the Michael Douglas-Robert Duvall film. Read the review in April. Look for the debut of a personal journal-type series, Heartstrings, featuring stories for Autonomia’s paid subscriber. The original movie stars revolving series resumes soon.
A new subscription model is in the works. Stand by for details, updates and stories.
Finally, April marks my 30th year in journalism, which I’ll commemorate throughout 2023. Look for an initial article on my career milestone. As I think about the worst and best aspects of writing for a general readership, I’m amused by happy coincidences.
April marks 30 years since my first paid writing assignment, a newspaper article about the 50th anniversary of The Fountainhead, was published. The publication was a daily newspaper. To my surprise, my story was published on the section’s front page. A kickoff article marking three decades of journalism is coming soon.
Those happy coincidences? One happened as I attended a client’s Christmas party. I was celebrating when I looked up and was unexpectedly reunited with the article’s editor. We hadn’t seen each other in decades. We reminisced, toasted and re-connected. Now, we meet in various LA places—at Barney’s Beanery, at Swingers—and she’s kindly reviewing some of my unpublished writing. Ours is a true reunion.
One source for that first paid article, a curious coincidence which I had forgotten when assigning and planning this month’s stories, would become a friend for life. His name is Randy Goertzen, Autonomia’s first additional author. It’s wonderful that, in my 30th year as a journalist, two individuals who made that assignment possible still have impact—both on the eve of my anniversary—in momentous ways.
A third crucial connection ties into my 1993 newspaper article. This involves someone you probably know or have read about—I’ve previously written about this person for Autonomia—and you’ll learn more about this author, whose enthusiastic response to my article jolted my writing career and changed my life, next month in Autonomia.
Autonomia is a free and independent press publishing for its third year in 2023. Free readers can upgrade to a paid subscription. A gift subscription is an ideal birthday, graduation or encouragement gift. Paid Autonomia subscriptions support the ability to research, write, edit, produce and promote the articles. Table and Teaser is a free monthly preview of coming stories with a table of previous contents.
