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.
“Dinosaurs Eat Man…Woman Inherits The Earth”
Paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) uttered that awesome comeback line in JURASSIC PARK (1993). I’ll give you the full context shortly. There are a lot of great lines in what I consider the best of all the films in the Jurassic DinoVerse (my word). Here are a few more.
Throwback Thursday: Films About Writers—HALF LIGHT
The 2006 mystery/ghost story, HALF LIGHT, starring Demi Moore, somehow got past me all these years. Well, better late than never. Here is a brief introduction, with absolutely no spoiler alert. I do not want to ruin this compelling film for anyone.
Myths And Legends: “America’s Most Haunted Hotel”
What? The MOST haunted? That is what the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas perceives itself to be. And whether we believe it or not, there is an extensive history of paranormal activity at this venerable building.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—10,000 BC
The 2008 “epic adventure” film, 10,000 BC, would not be a guilty pleasure if judged only by its box office. It made a fair amount of money. But the reviews for its story, which is set in prehistoric times, were uniformly harsh, many citing it as “archaeologically inaccurate.” Give me a break!
Cannot Hit Curveball? Jobu Maybe Help…
The 1989 baseball film, MAJOR LEAGUE, is one of the most outrageous comedies ever to hit the silver screen. The characters and their lines are still quoted to this day, thirty-three years later. But one such character, who had no lines in the movie and was not even alive, may be more popular than any of them. I’m talking about Jobu, the cigar-smoking, rum-drinking voodoo demi-god.
Throwback Thursday: So Much Hate…So Much Evil
Have things changed much since I first presented this post in 2018? If anything, they’ve gotten worse.
Cruising Through The MonsterVerse: Part Two
The Legendary MonsterVerse almost ran out of steam with the lack of success of its third entry. Fortunately, the fourth film in the series bailed it out. So does that mean the franchise will continue? Read on.
Throwback Thursday: Hill House—A Scary Place, In The Night…In The Dark…
So what did horror-meister Stephen King think about the Netflix series, “The Haunting of Hill House,” a revisionist version of the 1959 classic ghost story by Shirley Jackson? He tweeted that it was great, practically a work of genius.
Cruising Through The MonsterVerse: Part One
The MonsterVerse, produced by Legendary Entertainment, didn’t actually start out to be a franchise, but rather a vehicle for an American reboot of Godzilla. It was only after Legendary acquired the rights to King Kong and visualized the two famous monsters appearing in a film together down the road that the MonsterVerse was born.
Throwback Thursday: Films About Books—BOOK CLUB
It seems as though, of late, both the big screen and the small screen are paying more attention to those of us who are, uh, a bit older than most. This is true of the 2018 chick flick, Book Club, which offers up a quartet of impressive actresses, all of whom have been around for a long time.
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