Welcome To Some of My Favorite Things!

Hello, and welcome to Schnitzel With Noodles! No, this is not a new cooking blog (but sometimes it might be about food...more on this in a moment). The odds of me actually writing about schnitzel here at any point in the future is unlikely-bordering-on-laughable. Hell, I've never even tasted schnitzel, though from what I know about it, I'd probably like it fine. Nor is this a blog about The Sound of Music, even though I definitely have stories to tell, not just about the film, but about my own appearance in my high school production of the musical, in which I played Rolf, the delivery boy and eldest-Von-Trapp-daughter crush who goes native...if "native" is a hip shortened term for "National Socialist." Fun fact: Bicycles and waltz choreography do not mix as smoothly as one might expect. Additional fun fact: There are few experiences to match the awkwardness of starring in The Sound of Music and being the only Gentile cast as a Nazi.

No, this blog is actually an outgrowth and expansion of "The Movie Zombie," the blog I have maintained on this hosting platform, and have contributed to with varying degrees of regularity, since 2009. I have greatly enjoyed writing as The Movie Zombie, and have prided myself on giving you the best possible online film journalism. But I realized, as time went on, that by only focusing on cinema, I was limiting myself as a writer, thinker, and cultural commentator. Because, like all of us out there, I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things, and I have been chomping at the bit to share more of my thoughts about the world as I encounter it with you, and not just as it's reflected through the movie camera. My six years as a regular contributor to JazzTimes scratched a portion of that supplementary itch, but what if I had something to say about a fascinating new art exhibit I had attended...or a horrible book I had read...or a mouth-watering restaurant I had patronized? 

I didn't want to let these thoughts and insights go unaired, so I have decided to resurrect my blogging project as Schnitzel with Noodles, where I will share with you thoughts about not just movies or jazz, but ALL my favorite things. This is where I'll share with you my musings on cinema and (on the very rare occasion when I get to see it) television; books and literature; fine art of the classic and contemporary variety; theater, opera, and dance; live and recorded music; food and drink; tourist attractions; spiritual sites; and other experiences of interest and worth. It will be a one-stop shop for what I think, and how I feel, about the cultural and experiential activities that make up my life as I enter my fortieth year of it. 

What this will NOT be is a print version of Andy Daly's pitch-black lunatic sitcom Review. I am not looking to turn every single aspect of  my existence into an opportunity to put on my critic's hat, so if you're looking for reviews of someone's night's sleep, the glass of water I just drank, or my cats, this is not the place where you're going to find that...unless that sleep was accompanied by a particularly effective ambient sound CD you must try...or that glass of water washed down a steak or a fine piece of fish at an exciting new eatery...or if the cats finally finish that rock opera about Grover Cleveland they've been tinkering with for months now, and can somehow find someone to back the thing.

Those of you who were readers of the Movie Zombie may be wondering if this means that site will no longer be active. I will be leaving the original Zombie site online for a month or two, while I archive and repost some of the site's more memorable, worthy-of-preservation pieces. But going forward, new original Movie Zombie content will be included as part of the fun here at Schnitzel with Noodles, including my forthcoming best-of-2017 blog, where I count down my favorite films of the year, and the 8th annual Zomboscars, where I honor the outstanding achievements of this year's cinema. And in case you've visited the original site lately and noticed that the initial forty-plus entries in my ongoing 101 Favorite Screenplays series is no longer available, rest assured that these are currently being prepared for a special project that will be available soon.

All of this is part of my ongoing project to take greater ownership of both the content I produce and the writer that I am. I don't want people to read my work and think of me as just a film critic, or as someone who writes about jazz but has no insights into any other kind of music. I pride myself on drinking deeply from the stream of arts, entertainment, and culture, and I want to share as much of that with all of you as I can. So here's hoping you'll be joining me as I take you on a journey into the best (and occasionally the worst...and probably a lot of the mediocre and forgettable) of film, music, art, writing, dining, travel, fashion, and all the rest of it. 

Sing it with me!

Films by Scorsese and albums by Tom Waits

Restaurants that Matt loves and people that Trump hates

Books and museums and barbecue wings

These are words about Matt's favorite things...

P.S. Since we've still got two weeks of holiday shopping left, I would be delinquent in my self-promotional duties if I didn't remind you all that Dan O'Bannon's Guide to Screenplay Structure, the best-selling screenwriting volume I co-wrote with the late great writer / filmmaker behind Alien, Total Recall, and other genre classics, is still available for order in time for Christmas! You can order it directly from the publisher, Michael Wiese Productions, and get yourself a fine discount in the bargain...right here.  

P.P.S. Thanks to graphic designer Kurt Waldron for the ever-snazzy Movie Zombie logo!