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.
Revisited: Where Was #MeToo Back In The Day?
Something excellent happened for WOMEN last week. This post, which I presented a couple of years back, was relevant then, and I think it is even more so now.
Throwback Thursday: Films About Writers—Papa: Hemingway In Cuba
I first saw this 2016 film six months ago, during a limited release in the U.S. I’m talking real limited—hardly in any theaters, and in most cases for no longer than a week. But no way was I going to miss a film about one of our greatest—and most messed up—writers.
Report From The Quarantine Cave 3.0
Day 7,658 of the Coronavirus Pandemic—okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, though for many of us I’m sure it feels like that, am I right?
Throwback Thursday: Myths And Legends—The Mad Gasser Of Mattoon
This is one weird story…and I do mean weird. It occurred a long time ago, and to this day the “explanations” are no more than guesswork and speculation. Some even say that the incidents didn’t happen, that they were the result of mass hysteria.
Myths And Legends: The Jersey Devil
Did a woman named Deborah Leeds give birth to a spawn of Satan in 1735? According to the folklore of the forested Pine Barrens region in the southern part of what is now New Jersey, she sure as heck did.
Throwback Thursday: Bestselling Authors Make Great Film Directors—Not!
The bestselling author in question here is none other than Stephen King. His directorial effort, singular, is the 1986 “science fiction action horror comedy” film, MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE, based (loosely) on his short story, TRUCKS. The movie was a disaster both critically and at the box office…
One More Inspirational Baseball Movie That You Probably Missed
The 2019 drama, BOTTOM OF THE 9th, initially drew me in for two reasons. First, it’s a baseball movie, and if I haven’t seen every single one ever made, I’m pretty close. Second, much of it takes place in The Bronx, where I spent the first 21 years of my life. But ultimately, this powerful tale of redemption kept me engrossed from beginning to end.
Throwback Thursday: Films About Books—In The Mouth Of Madness
It is pretty well accepted that reading books can influence people in many ways, both positively and negatively. But can they drive readers to madness and murder?
Columbo Would Have Loved Vera
She’s old; she’s short; she’s disheveled; she’s irascible. She’s also brilliant. She’s Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, head of the Major Crimes unit of the (fictional) Northumberland & City Police.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—Wild Wild West
I’ve watched this goofy film one more time since this post first ran in 2016, and I still think it’s a hoot—which puts me in a vast minority.
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