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 more to it than that, which is why I included “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.
“Ghostbusters, Whaddya Want?”—Lines From A Great Film Series, Part One
Having just watched the fourth film in the nearly forty-year-old franchise, GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, I decided to feature these movies in my next three posts. This week: lines from the first two films. The following week, lines from the more recent entities. And finally, I’ll rate the films—in my humble estimation, of course.
More Dinosaurs? Yaay!!!
The long wait is almost over! (Drum roll here.) JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION is scheduled to open in theaters on June 10th. I haven’t seen a film inside a movie theater in years, but I will make an exception for this one. I mean, it’s dinosaurs, right?
A Novelist’s Challenge: “What Book Should I Write Next?”
When the pandemic drove us indoors in early 2020, I found a number of ways to keep busy. At that point I hadn’t written a new book in years, but circumstances being what they were, I decided the time had come to do just that. So I journeyed far and wide to the repository of unfinished stories and unrealized book proposals—aka the file cabinet in my attic—to see what I could find. And one partial manuscript of 35,000 words that seemed to call out “finish me, please finish me” caught my attention.
Bernie Smith Is Back! Well, Soon…
It is about time to announce (trumpets, here) that I am hard at work on a new book! THE HORRORS OF HARRMEL, a Sword & Planet spoof, is a sequel to my 2016 novel, THE WIZARD FROM HARRMEL, sub-titled “The Weird Adventures of Bernie Smith on the Distant and Deadly World of Persus.” If the tides don’t rise and the meteor misses Earth, it should be ready in a month or two.
The Mystery Of The Ghost Blimp
I’ve written about ghost ships and ghost trains, but a GHOST BLIMP? This true story about an incident that took place during World War II ranks way up there on the Weird-O-Meter, I kid you not.
The Changing Face Of Baseball: A Woman Hired As A Manager!
Rachel Balkovec has broken through the domed ceiling of professional baseball in a big way. The New York Yankees had hired her in 2019 as their hitting coach, making her the first woman to hold that position full-time. And recently the Bronx Bombers promoted her as manager of their Low A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons, making her the first woman to manage a team affiliated with MLB.
Myths And Legends: The Ghosts Of The Dakota
“Your girlfriend lives in the corner penthouse of spook central.” Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) delivers that line to fellow Ghostbuster Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) in the 1984 comedy/horror classic, one of my all-time favorite films. The building Ray is referencing happens to be one of New York City’s oldest and most renowned structures, The Dakota.
“I Ain’t Got Time To Bleed”—Memorable Lines From PREDATOR
The sci-fi/horror film, PREDATOR (1987), made a ton of money, got great reviews, and spawned a franchise that continues right up until today, with one or two more sequels apparently in the works. It didn’t hurt that its cast included Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura, two future governors, and one of the most iconic “villains” in the genre, a trophy hunter from another world that can render itself invisible with a cloaking device.
Guilty Pleasures: VERTICAL LIMIT
I was on the fence about presenting the 2000 survival thriller, VERTICAL LIMIT, as a Guilty Pleasure. No problem with the box office, and it did have some decent reviews, including one from Roger Ebert. But other reviewers were brutal, including one who called it “…ludicrously contrived and clichéd.”
“I Ate His Liver…”—More Horror Movie Quotes
Gather ’round the campfire, kiddies, and let’s see if we can gross one another out with some juicy lines from a few creepy movies. The first three sets are from films that feature cannibals. Yum!
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