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.
Can Old Dogs Learn New Tricks?
While hanging out in the quarantine cave for most of this year, my bride and I have watched a lot of police procedural/detective shows on BritBox, Acorn, and Prime. They range in presentation from intense (BROADCHURCH, VERA, PRIME SUSPECT) to outrageously funny (AGATHA RAISIN). Somewhere in the middle, joining favorites such as MIDSOMER MURDERS and THE BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES, is the delightful BBC production, NEW TRICKS.
Report From The Quarantine Cave 6.0
Day 18,764 of the coronavirus pandemic: enough already! I mean, FREAKING ENOUGH! Are we back in the Dark Ages with the Black Plague? And it only seems to be getting worse.
Remembering Sean Connery
Just like the many larger-than-life characters that he played on the silver screen, Sean Connery toughed it out for ninety years on this plane of existence before succumbing on Halloween. I count many of his films among my favorites and have previously written about some of them. The one I’ve chosen for this post as an homage is the lesser-known 1981 science fiction “space western,” OUTLAND.
My 2020 Halloween Playlist
To tell the truth, I don’t think any horror movie, past or present, could be much scarier than YEAR 2020. Am I right? (Well, maybe THE CONJURING or THE BABADOOK come close.)
Attack Of The Giant…Penguin?
Would a horror movie with a title like that make you want to sign up with another streaming service so you can watch it? No, I didn’t think so. But just such a creature emerged from the ocean off Clearwater, Florida over seventy years ago—or did it?
Myths And Legends: The Cannibals Of Ancient Scotland
When Wes Craven, the late film director, needed source material for his 1977 horror classic, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, he turned to a story that combined truth and possibly fiction. An easy choice: he referenced the legend of SAWNEY BEAN.
Writers: Take A Hike!
Yes, I mean that literally…but not in a nasty way. Quite the opposite. I’ve written over two dozen novels and countless stories, articles, blog posts, etc., and there has been one consistency over the decades that I’ve been engaged in this: I do my best preliminary thinking about scenes, characters, story arcs, and everything else I write while either on a LONG WALK OR A HIKE.
Report From The Quarantine Cave 5.0
Day 11,587 of the Coronavirus Pandemic (give or take): feels like it anyway, right? We all want it to be over, but the reality is that the blasted thing will likely be around for a long time to come. We’ll just have to deal with it as best we can.
“Mrs. Peel, We’re Needed”
British actress Diana Rigg passed away last week at the age of 82 from cancer. She had a long and successful award-winning career in theater, film, and television. But her most iconic role—at least for us older folks—was that of Emma Peel, the kick-ass government agent who worked alongside the dapper John Steed (Patrick Macnee) in protecting the Crown from week to week in the 1960s TV series, THE AVENGERS.
Alligators In The Crawl Space: Bad Idea
The 2019 creature feature/disaster flick, CRAWL, is an anomaly. It did well at the box office, which is not that odd for the genre. But it also garnered its share of excellent reviews, compiling 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and that doesn’t usually happen for creature features.
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