Media Category

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Stickler for Details… The movie Race, about American hero Jesse Owens, looks terrific. The sound? Well, that could use work. Just listen to the movie trailer. Notice something odd about the cameras?Read More

by Dr. Sonjia Kenya, Research Professor + Author/Podcaster of “Sex In South Beach”; intro by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango… Freddy’s Intro: People ask me why I don’t podcast. It’s simple: my brain refuses to cooperate. It’s bizarre. Over the past 6 years, I’ve lectured live before hundreds of people, both friends and strangers, students and executives, and I’ve never had a problem. In fact, I dig on public speaking. Then I tried recording one of my class lectures in the privacy of my office – just me,Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Former MCA Records Operative… If Hollywood ever sets a James Bond movie in L.A., The Blue Agave should perform the all music. Indeed, their cover of “Besame Mucho” would make a killer 007 opening credit sequence. The Blue Agave’s eponymous debut album takes you on a sonic cruise across Los Angeles: primarily Spanish vocals amidst layers of surf guitar, retro lounge, mariachi, and killer rhythms. As The Blue Agave describe themselves, “sexy, soulful atmospheric originals blending surf, spaghetti western and flamenco.”Read More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Marketing Professor; photo by Manuel Cacciatore via Wikimedia Commons… So you’d like to learn more about business but can’t take a class right now. Or maybe the idea of school gives you nightmares about forgetting class until the final exam. (Been there, dreamed that.) No problem. While I teach university courses, I understand the need to learn on your own. So I compiled this business reading list to enlighten, inspire, even entertain. Academic vs Commercial Most of these books are lightRead More

by XDL, Filmmaker… Why do particular films and actors succeed when many believe they’re undeserving? You’d be surprised how many people in Tinseltown lose sleep over that question. My answer: Hollywood is a branding and marketing mechanism, and once the gears get moving, it’s there to perpetuate content. The trick is to get the gears moving, and therein lies the art of it. Every now and then the mechanism takes steps to protect itself. An example: Avatar. This was not a particularly good movie. It wasn’t horrid, but the filmRead More

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Likes To Think He’s Cultured But Digs On Watching The Walking Dead… I blame Jane Eyre. Although it’s supposedly one of the great works of literature, having to read it for my 10th grade English class made me feel like I was locked in an attic somewhere, going totally mad as the pages plodded on, while screaming, “OH COME ON, JANE – JUST STAND UP FOR YOURSELF ALREADY AND PUNCH SOMEONE!” Who knew I was a budding feminist atRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Recovering Hate Watcher… I recently fell in love with a new expression. And, thankfully, it’s not “sharing economy.” “Hate watching” has been around a few years (I’m slow on the uptake). In case you’re not familiar with the term, that infinite fount of wisdom knowledge hearsay, Wikipedia, defines it as “watching a television show while simultaneously hating its content or subject.” I may have to update that definition, because it should include movie sequels and, more significantly, two key qualifications: HateRead More

by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Amateur Neologist; word and illustration by Claire Barry… As a writer, I love learning new words and phrases. I recently came across “vegetarian inclined,” which describes omnivores who are eating less meat for health reasons. (Count me among them — and wow, do I miss bacon.) Then, the other night, I had a dream where an attractive woman tells me she likes men with “gypsy necks”: perfectly smooth flawless necks that look like “wisps of smoke that have been cut off.”Read More

Editor’s Note: We sought out our multi-talented friend XDL to give us his take on life as a creative professional — specifically, as a film editor working in Hollywood.Read More

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Still Hurtin’ Firefly Flan… When “Battlestar Galactica” concluded, some fans lamented that the series had to end, but others were thrilled that it departed on a good note. Compare that to the fans of “Lost,” who screamed “WTF?!” after its later episodes.Read More