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.
Throwback Thursday: Disasters—Great For Bringing Estranged Couples Together
Recently, while watching the Gerard Butler-fueled disaster film, GREENLAND, it occurred to me that a lot of couples with troubled marriages/relationships have been brought together by their harrowing experiences in movies of this genre. Weird. Here are just a few examples.
Thank You, Padres
To be clear, 2024 has been the worst year of my (long) life. It had to be after losing Jacqueline, my wonderful bride, life partner, and passionate San Diego Padres fan, to insidious cancer in April.
Throwback Thursday: Can You Take A Bath In Bath?
McDONALD AND DODDS, a BritBox original series, is a crime drama set in the city of Bath, about ninety-odd miles from London. The quirky show highlights the trials and tribulations of women—specifically Black women—and seniors in the good-ol’-boy world of law enforcement.
RIP Pete Rose
An exercise in hypocrisy. Last week, baseball legend Pete Rose passed away at the age of 83. The all-time MLB hits leader (4,256), Rose—a polarizing figure throughout his career—was given a lifetime ban in 1989 for betting on baseball, apparently wagering on his own team.
Throwback Thursday: They Built It…We Came
A real baseball game on the Field of Dreams? Yes, it really happened, back in 2021. “Three years ago at dusk on a spring evening, when the sky was a robin’s-egg blue and the wind as soft as a day-old chick, I was sitting on the veranda of my farm home in eastern Iowa...
It’s (Not) Good To Be The King
With the presidential election a little more than a month away, and with democracy—the very soul of this country—at stake, I’m re-running this satirical (but in truth disturbing) scene from BACK ON THE BIKE PATH. You’ll surely recognize one of the two candidates. (Hint: it’s not the woman.)
Throwback Thursday: A Perfect Ending To A Beloved Film Series…Or Not
Indeed, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY provided the perfect ending to the franchise, but it was not to be. This post first ran in 2021.
“Cancel Christmas””—More Gems From The Language Of Baseball
The wonderful language of baseball must be quite extensive for author Paul Dickson to create a dictionary of nearly a thousand pages! Here are more of my favorites.
Throwback Thursday: “I’m The King Of The World!”—Well-Known Movie Lines That Were Ad-Libbed
Film actors and actresses—especially the most creative ones—will deviate from a script more often than you’d think. Some of the most iconic movie lines were improvised. Here are a few of them.
Really? CHILD’S PLAY Is NOT A Guilty Pleasure?!
The 1988 “supernatural slasher” film, CHILD’S PLAY, introduced the world to Chucky, the Good Guy doll possessed by the spirit of a deranged serial killer. I’ve watched it a number of times over the past 36 years and had always thought of it as one of my (many) guilty pleasures. But it’s not.
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