Mike Sirota's Blog – Swords, Specters, & Stuff
Welcome to My World
I started this blog in January 2012 for one simple reason: I love to write. I named it “Swords, Specters, & Stuff” because I especially love to write about writing, about books and movies in my favorite genres, about authors that mean a great deal to me. But there’s so much more than that, hence the all-inclusive “Stuff” in the title. It is “Stuff” that gives me carte blanche to write about anything, which is why you’ll see stories about special trips to Cooperstown, Sedona, and other places; about getting older; about baseball; about the otherworldly way in which I met my soul mate; about the loss of good friends, and so much more. Enjoy! And feel free to leave a comment.
Throwback Thursday: The Rock-And-Roll Afterward
Imagine having a chance to visit any deceased rock star! I first presented this post in 2017.
THE CHANGELING: Horror At Its Best
The 1980 Canadian-produced psychological horror film, THE CHANGELING, offers little violence. And forget about buckets of blood—there is maybe a thimble full. That said, it is truly one of the most chilling tales ever told.
Throwback Thursday: “I Love The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning”…War Movie Quotes
I don’t know why—maybe it’s the militancy and negativity that pervades our world these days—but I’ve been watching quite a few war movies of late. Here are some of the most memorable quotes from a few of them.
Play Ball—Once Again!
Last week my bride and I were among the 10,000+ fans (20% of capacity at Petco Park, thanks to Covid-19) to attend Opening Day for the San Diego Padres, my favorite team. Padres baseball being my religion, I could not have been happier. Here is a post that I’ve run at the start of previous baseball seasons.
Throwback Thursday: Sedona, The…Movie?
Sedona is a funky town in central Arizona, one of our favorite places to visit. SEDONA is also a 2011 indie film, a comedy-drama that, unfortunately, not a whole lot of people got to see.
Report From The Quarantine Cave 11.0
Year Two (for crying out loud!) of the freaking coronavirus pandemic. Sure, it seems to be trending in the right direction, and many more people have been vaccinated against Covid-19, including my bride and me. But it is far from over, and I choose to listen to the experts, who say that the effects of the new variant strains could launch another surge.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—GHOSTS OF MARS
Rapper/actor Ice Cube is the bad guy/good guy in GHOSTS OF MARS, a sci-fi/horror “clunker” (according to the critics). This post first ran in 2017.
Jack Miller, Meet Teddy Roosevelt
My last two Throwback Thursday posts centered around the Devils Tower in Wyoming, one of my favorite places in the world. I mentioned that in my latest book, BACK ON THE BIKE PATH, my cosmic bike rider, Jack Miller, pays two visits to the Tower, also known as the Bear Lodge to a number of Native American tribes.
Throwback Thursday: Touching The Magical Tower
“Dammit, I know this. I know what this is! This means something. This is important.” – When Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) uttered those words forty years ago in the classic Spielberg film, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, he was attempting to shape the Devils Tower out of mashed potatoes.
“My, What A Big Bat!” Lines From Vintage Horror Movies
No CGI in the classic horror movies of yore, but they could still scare the crap out of you. Here are some memorable lines from a few of them.
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