MISTER FADED GLORY
I'd call this blog a "Critique of Life," except that sounds way too pretentious.
Watch for my first novel, These Monks, a comedy about friendship, frustration, and Des Moines, available later this year.
Email me: jjh(at)misterfadedglory.com.
-
Previously
Twitter
Category Archives: Writing
A Friend of the Family [Book Review]
An engrossing novel with wry commentary on the dysfunctional nature of family, Lauren Grodstein’s A Friend of the Family is an excellent surprise – one of my favorite novels of the last few years. Though the title and even the … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Reading, Writing
Tagged A Friend of the Family, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Favorites, Fiction, Lauren Grodstein, Literary Fiction, Novels
Leave a comment
How to build a cheeky sports blog with everyone else’s ideas [Grantland Review]
First, there’s nothing wrong with Grantland. Let’s just get that out of the way. It’s fine. As a landing spot for talented essayists yearning to boost their profile, it’s understandable. As a home for willful expansion of silly twitter asides, … Continue reading
Posted in Irony?, Sports, Sports Media, Writing
Tagged AV Club, blogs, Chuck Klosterman, Content Marketing, Deadspin, Drew Magary, ESPN, Filmdrunk, Grantland, Hipsters, Katie Baker, Kissing Suzy Kolber, Louis CK, Lunchroom Effect, Simmons, Strategy, Videogum, Web sites
Leave a comment
House of Lies [TV Review]
Are you like me? Have you been a marketer? Business developer? Junior executive? Maybe you’ve shopped for vendors: software companies, management experts, processors, each promising to save you something. Maybe you’ve been privy to boardroom meetings. . Maybe – god … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Humor?, Television
Tagged Ben Schwarz, Better Off Ted, Consultants, Corporate Underbelly, Don Cheadle, Franklin & Bash, Grantland, House of Lies, Josh Lawson, Kristen Bell, Pitch, Showtime
Leave a comment
Vertical: The Sequel to Sideways [Book Review]
You probably haven’t read Sideways. But you probably have seen the movie. You chose wisely. The movie Sideways is amusing and genuine, a triumph of character study, male friendship, and shifting expectations. It succeeds where the novel fails. And it … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Film, Humor?, Reading, Writing
Tagged Alexander Payne, Rex Pickett, Sideways, These Monks, Vertical
Leave a comment
I Just Want My Pants Back [Book Review]
I’ve got white-guy problems. I’ve had them all my life. As a writer and reader, I’m drawn to tales of frustrated white guys careening through their 20s with no direction, hope or meaning. It happens to the best of us. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Irony?, Writing
Tagged Face Punch, High Fidelity, How to Talk to a Widower, I Just Want My Pants Back, MTV, These Monks
Leave a comment
Chris Cornell, Salina, Kansas, Dec. 10 [Wistful Review]
You’re just not prepared for the voice. Gone are the days when grunge music powered MTV and FM radio. Once, Cornell’s Soundgarden stood alongside giants Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains as the acts who dethroned Michael Jackson and … Continue reading
Posted in Grunge, Music, Nostalgia
Tagged Audioslave, Chris Cornell, Kansas, Salina, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog
1 Comment
The Visible Man [Book Review]
Chuck Klosterman has his share of detractors. All successful writers do (which is why no one hates me, and also why I can’t read Joe Posnanski continuously whine about Tim Raines.) After years in the public eye, countless feature stories, … Continue reading
The Postmortal [Book Review]
Drew Magary is the rare writer who exudes talent yet fails to prompt scorn. At least in me. Magary once interviewed he “writes like he talks,” an admirable quality that proves true in his Deadspin and KSK essays. He’s biting … Continue reading
The Art of Fielding [ Book Review ]
I wanted to dislike The Art of Fielding. I really did. The swirl of hype around The Art of Fielding primed the novel for backlash: Author Chad Harbach’s $600,000+ advance. The e-book about the making of the book. Baseball poets … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Writing
Tagged Chad Harbach, Dan Fielding, Goodreads, Night Court, The Art of Fielding
Leave a comment
This blog’s life
THIS BLOG’S LIFE. You’ve probably noticed it’s been fairly sparse around MFG, save for Franklin & Bash and Breaking Bad recaps. Unfortunately, even though Franklin & Bash just ended season 1, the dearth of posts is likely to continue. I’m … Continue reading
Posted in These Monks, Writing
Tagged Breaking Bad, Franklin and Bash, John Hanley, TLT Publishing, Twitter
Leave a comment
Franklin & Bash, 108, “The Bangover”
I’m not sure when the bottle episode became fashionable. Breaking Bad, of course, did “The Fly.” Mad Men had “The Suitcase.” Community had the one where they finally didn’t parody something in pop culture. In fact, shows have always mixed … Continue reading
Franklin & Bash Recaps: The Secret Ingredient is Love
Recapping television shows is nothing new. Practically everybody does it, so to consider yourself groundbreaking is pure folly. Sure, gripping series like Breaking Bad and serialized dramas like The Killing demand water-cooler scrutiny, but no one begins recaps assuming they’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Television, Writing
Tagged Breaking Bad, Chuck Klosterman, Franklin & Bash, Recaps, Warming Glow
Leave a comment