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.
Curious Possessions II
With seven-plus decades in the rearview mirror I’ve had plenty of time to collect a whole lot of “stuff.” Here is a look at some more “Curious Possessions” floating around my domicile.
Throwback Thursday: So Glad Shoeless Joe Jackson Came To Iowa
It began as a short story by Canadian author W.P. Kinsella in an anthology of baseball stories titled, “Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa.” Later on, Kinsella expanded the story into a novel called, simply, “Shoeless Joe.” Most all of us know it as FIELD OF DREAMS…
“The Supreme Excitement Of Our Time!”
The above gaudy title was the tagline for THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955), a science fiction thriller from the “golden decade” of that genre. For generations raised on CGI, motion capture, and other high-tech wizardry, this film’s special effects might come off as laughable…
Throwback Thursday: The Incredible Shrinking Man—Me??!!
I scored my first driver’s license as a teen in New York City, shortly after they invented the automobile. It listed my height at 5’10”, and it still says that today. Tell the truth, I don’t think I was ever actually 5’10”, but at 5’9½” I guess that was close enough.
Likes His Basketball, Yoda Does—Hmm?
My bride and I (and a certain Jedi Master) are having a grand old time following our two teams during this college basketball season.
Throwback Thursday: Blacklisted Writer Dalton Trumbo Stuck To His Convictions
Issues with our government have prevailed from the time we first HAD a government. This post first ran in 2016.
Outrageous Film Teasers
I happened to be drinking coffee last week as I read some film teasers on Amazon Prime. The coffee wound up shooting out of my nose after reading one teaser in particular. It will be the first one on the following list. (Don’t be drinking anything.) A few others will follow.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Sean Connery’s final on-screen movie is one of my favorites. Doubtless, I stand alone…but when did that ever stop me?
Blowing Shit Up: The Final (I Hope) Rambo Film
Now I could’ve written about RAMBO: LAST BLOOD as a Guilty Pleasure, given its weak box office and awful reviews. But first off, it was hardly much of a pleasure to watch, and second, the earlier films all qualified for this particular series.
Throwback Thursday: Films About Writers—Crimson Peak
In the 2015 Gothic thriller, CRIMSON PEAK, director Guillermo del Toro has crafted an atmospheric period piece designed to scare the living crap out of viewers. Young, aspiring novelist Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) likes to write ghost stories, but I doubt if she planned on living one.
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