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.
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.
“A Wizard Is Never Late”—Memorable Lines From THE LORD OF THE RINGS
I absolutely love THE LORD OF THE RINGS, both Tolkien’s classic novel and the sprawling epic film series of Peter Jackson. There are countless memorable lines from the latter, which makes the following merely a small sample.
Throwback Thursday: Two Decades And 3,242 Miles
I still keep in touch with old friend and multi-published author, Hank Garfield. This post first ran in 2016.
And This Week’s Guest Star Is…H.G. Wells?
My bride and I have gotten hooked on MURDOCH MYSTERIES, a popular, award-winning Canadian television series on Acorn that, to all intent and purpose, might as well be called “CSI: Nineteenth Century.” We’re into the fifth season as of this writing, and given that the program is in its thirteenth season (and counting), with over 200 episodes, we have a long way to go.
Throwback Thursday: A Taut Thriller From Down Under
I’m a sucker for “creature features” and I always keep an eye out (ouch!) for ones that I might’ve missed. When Netflix recommended ROGUE, a 2007 indy thriller from Australia with some familiar names in the cast and—amazingly, for this genre—a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I just had to see it. Glad I did.
20/20 In 2020: We Can Only Hope
The year is just about done, and like others before it, 2019 has been a challenging one. Challenging for Jacqueline and me, challenging for this country, challenging for the world.
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