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.
This Soggy Sequel Should’ve Been Deep-Sixed
Like so many sequels before it, did the direct-to-video DEEP BLUE SEA 2 really need to be made? As a big fan of its predecessor, DEEP BLUE SEA, I of course had to watch it. Wow, what a downer. I should’ve taken its Rotten Tomatoes score of 0% (yes, zero!) as a warning.
I Knew The Time To Retire Had Come When…
To be honest, I had planned on working into my seventies—where I am now. As a writing coach, editor, and teacher I totally enjoyed what I did, especially when I saw so many of my students and clients find success as published authors. So what changed? I’ll get to that. First, the backstory.
My 2021 Halloween Playlist
I mentioned before that as an old guy living in a gated 55+ community, I no longer have to hand out Halloween candy at the front door, since no one does trick-or-treating. These days I spend Halloween enjoying a horror movie marathon…at least three or four shockers.
Myths And Legends: The Friendliest Ghost In San Francisco
The Queen Anne Hotel in the City by the Bay probably didn’t ask for the notoriety of being haunted. But then, it didn’t count on housing the spirit of a woman named Mary Lake.
Too Many Giants Spoil The Brew
The 2013 fantasy-adventure film, JACK THE GIANT SLAYER, is based on a nearly 300-year-old British fairytale titled, THE STORY OF JACK SPRIGGINS AND THE ENCHANTED BEAN. We all know it better as JACK AND THE BEANSTALK.
Guilty Pleasures: THE MEG
Okay, just to clarify, THE MEG is a borderline Guilty Pleasure by virtue of its so-so reviews (one reviewer said, “…neither good enough, or bad enough”), though it did do well at the box office, and a sequel is planned. Whatever; I would’ve enjoyed this creature feature no matter what.
Graboids Never Say Die
That title is a double entendre, don’t you know? In the first place, the giant worm-things known as graboids are back on the small screen in TREMORS: SHRIEKER ISLAND (2020), the seventh film in the long-running Tremors franchise. And second, when a graboid dies a really gross creature called a shrieker emerges from its carcass to carry on the lineage.
The Last Voyage Of The SS SULTANA
Imagine that you’re a Union soldier imprisoned by the Confederacy during the Civil War. When the war ends you and your fellow prisoners are freed, and you’re finally going home! But you never make it there. Why? Because your northward journey up the Mississippi River is aboard the ill-fated SS SULTANA.
A Galactic Rest Stop…In Wyoming?
In my comedy/science fiction series, bicyclist Jack Miller enters numerous worlds through “gates” along the cosmic tunnel known as the Ultimate Bike Path. It could be Earth’s past or future, otherworldly dimensions, even the pages of literature, among many others. While the majority of Jack’s adventures are wild and crazy, I often temper them with an occasional serious “statement” chapter, for want of a better word.
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.
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