John Feinstein Visiting Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC

Lenoir-Rhyne University kicked off its current series of Visiting Writers for its twenty-second year, and punched a long one right through the goal posts.

John Feinstein (FINE-steen), came to the P. E. Monroe Auditorium on the LRU campus for a 7:00 p.m. showing on 10 September, 2010.  He talked about his most recent book, his twenty-fourth, Are You Kidding Me?  And with impressive teamwork by his interviewer, Mike Collins from WFAE, Charlotte Talks, they covered many of the other works Feinstein had written, two of which  were the two top best-selling nonfiction sports books in history.   

It quickly became obvious that Feinstein loves his work.  He appears to have been designed in some otherworldly Human Creation Factory expressly for the job he does now.  His love for his art shows in the fun and joy seen in his constant laughter and sudden displays of shock and disbelief at the memory of some of the things he has reported.  

It is also highlighted by his cascading displays of unfolding memories about almost any event that was brought up in the discussion with his host or questions from audience members.  Now, true - he disparaged his memory, saying that it has failed him time and again.  When Collins challenged that statement, Feinstein gave an example:  once when Sxhvy Koibnhe of the Phillies hit a home run, he said, on a 3-2 count, swinging on an inside breaking high curve ball thrown by Rjnsdiu  Cokejrhh of the Cjhdgwuu Sox - who had come in for relief of Hgohgd  Iopjslfgkfid in the 7th inning, he - Feinstein - had remembered that as having occurred in the 9th inning, but Xdjlfiwe Jkdldujfj, who used to work for the Lileu Nkdkj Times before he went to FNDB, reminded him that had actually happened in the 8th inning!  And that happens, Feinstein said, “all the time”.  

He has  talked with, and came to know well, a stupendous number of famous sports personalities.  It is almost as if meeting with Feinstein has become a threshold indicating arrival into the big time of sports.  Listening to him in this interview was like encountering a time machine that has accumulated and is now presenting for your amazement some of the major personalities of sports since 1977, including John McEnroe, Michael Jordan, Bobby Knight, Tiger Woods, Red Aurebach, and - well - I’m afraid that is not even a good representation - but John Feinstein has stories about all of them and many many others.

So - in short, if you get a chance to see John Feinstein in person, don’t miss the opportunity.  We had an hour and more of discoveries, surprises and a lot of laughs.  He is impressively quick witted and will amaze you with details that you may have already seen but didn't understand what they really meant - until now. And while you are waiting for him to show up in your area, remember that he has written twenty four books so you can enjoy him on your next trip or vacation, or just have him available to brighten up a rainy day or a dark lonely night.  The people he has written about have said that he came to know them better than they knew themselves.  So you will have discovery,  fun and amazement waiting for you.

Please Give? "Frankly my Dear . . ."

This was not good at all.  There was no story, no characters were found in this empty echo chamber and there was no character development.  Just a cowpath through an alien (to me, at least) neighborhood in New York City, littered with a lot of cowpies and skeletonaceous people-thingys. Aberrant photography showed people awash in money that they made by creating it out of thin air, a woman who wanted to help people who needed help until she found them.  Then she could cathartize in a conveniently nearby toilet and become a spiritual-looking blank face with vacant eyes and the hint of a sad smile again .  Her pitiful husband was also a man of money without any visible means of making it, who would mindlessly dilly if he found an available dally and who wound up with a fabulously beautiful dalliance but there was more gritty than nitty there so he quit her - no prob - SHE was at fault -  bad girl was she  - he, honorable guy that he suddenly became -  for a moment  anyway - he cut her off -  REAL easy -  Really?  

Nasty people they all were with nasty words about each other.  They should know but why should we care?  Mean people they were.  People who all lived alone even though they lived in a big city in a busy neighborhood and a crowded building with people hanging on to them every where they were and everywhere they went.  There was a nice gal there and she found a nice guy, but there was a faint clockwise swirl about their relationship and its future already showed signs of pixilation. 

Go.  Go back.  Start all over again.  Get a writer.  Get a photographer.  Get an editor.  Get a director. Then try again.  And pray you can get a story this time, and then tell the thing.  Bring some dimensions together and create something with bright sparks.  Find some characters who have more than a simple skin-covering.  Enjoy the writing and filming of your story.  Love it.  Live it. Make it come alive, make it live, let it fill us all with joy or astonishment, perhaps a sense of fulfillment  or let it teach us lessons of life or show us amazing things, instead of simply a firm resolve to go out and become a psychotherapist.

There is no excuse to make a movie this bad.  And if you do, then trash it.  I know there are people who will sit around and say “Well, this really wasn’t THAT bad, after all making movies is hard”.  That’s true, but WATCHING them shouldn’t be THIS hard.


BUT - in one respect the movie was FANTASTICALLY GOOD!  It's the first movie I have seen in a long time that had NO CIGARETTES!  Obviously could not have been made in America.