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.
Myths And Legends: Icelandic Trolls
When my bride and I returned from an amazing trip to Iceland over a decade ago, we brought home the studious troll you see pictured here. Icelanders love their trolls (and elves, too) and are happy to point some of them out to visitors—the ones that have been turned to stone, of course.
Report From The Quarantine Cave 4.0
Day 9,254 of the Coronavirus Pandemic (give or take)—did the Mayans get it wrong, or did we misread their calendar? Was it 2020, not 2012, that would mark the end of the world as we know it?
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?
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.
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.
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.
Report From The Quarantine Cave 2.0
It’s July already, and this freaking coronavirus shows no sign of letting up. Truth be told, it’s only getting worse, and with no vaccine in sight it appears that we’re in this for the long haul.
Dual Guilty Pleasures Depict Nasty Alien Invaders
I don’t usually write about multiple Guilty Pleasures in one post. But the sci-fi/action films, BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (2011) and BATTLESHIP (2012) have much in common, so this seemed to make perfect sense.
Murder In Kiwi Land: The Brokenwood Mysteries
Spending most of our time indoors these days, my bride and I have discovered a number of great shows from around the globe on some of the streaming services. One of our absolute favorites (on Acorn) is the detective drama, THE BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES. The only negative I can say about it is that there are only twenty-four episodes, and we’ve seen them all. Waaaa!
Images Of Hate: The Number People Revisited
I’ve run this post before. But with our beleaguered country, as well as the rest of the world, undergoing a much-needed reboot, I felt that the time was right to run it again. THE NUMBER PEOPLE, although presented in fictional format, is a true story right out of my childhood in The Bronx.
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