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: Vampires In…New Mexico?
I could easily have presented the 1998 horror flick, VAMPIRES (aka JOHN CARPENTER’S VAMPIRES) as a Guilty Pleasure, since it met all of my parameters. (A D+ rating by audiences, no less!) But I gave it a pass because it was filmed in New Mexico, one of my favorite places, and the film’s scenery was totally cool. Apparently the bloodsuckers liked it too.
A Lot More TWISTERS…But One TWISTER Is Still The Best
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the 2024 disaster movie, TWISTERS, with its numerous tornadoes dealing death and destruction all over Oklahoma. But its 1996 predecessor, TWISTER, holds a lofty place on my list of all-time favorite movies. Much of that has to do with its amazing cast…
Throwback Thursday: Nightmare On The East River
The 9/11 terrorist attack on New York in 2001 was—and still is—the city’s worst disaster involving loss of life. Prior to that, the dubious record was held by an incident that occurred nearly a century earlier. This is the story of the paddle steamer GENERAL SLOCUM and its ill-fated voyage in 1904.
Myths And Legends: “This Island Is Cursed!”
Gaiola Island sits off the coast of Naples, Italy, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, part of a volcanic archipelago. It is actually two rocky islets, connected by a stone bridge. Once occupied, it now sits abandoned as a result of its checkered history of drownings, murders, disappearances, even suicides. Locals won’t go near it. Ask any one of them and they will tell you, “This island is cursed!”
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—DEAD SILENCE
This weird film could easily have been titled, HORROR FOR DUMMIES. I first presented this post in 2021.
Guilty Pleasures: SILVER BULLET
Oh yeah, this is a golden oldie, to be sure. The 1985 horror flick, SILVER BULLET, is based on a 1983 novella by Stephen King titled, CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF. King wrote the screenplay for the film, which did not resonate with most critics. Who cares? I’ve always enjoyed it. What else is new?
Throwback Thursday: Blowing Shit Up—PREDATOR And PREDATOR 2
Each of these two movies, the classic PREDATOR (1987) and the not-so-classic PREDATOR 2 (1990), features a single antagonist—a nasty-looking dude with dreads. So why, one would wonder, does it take an ungodly amount of blowing shit up to bring these alien hunters down?
The Wonderful Language Of Baseball
It’s not exactly a novel, but THE DICKSON BASEBALL DICTIONARY is one of the best reads that I know. The author, Paul Dickson, defines just about every word and phrase, common and obscure, related to the most excellent game in the world. If you’re a baseball fan, it should be on your bookshelf.
Throwback Thursday: “The Only Good Indian Is…”
Writing has always been a great outlet for me to vent, and it always will be. This post first ran in 2021.
Guilty Pleasures: THE RUINS
The 2008 “survival/horror” film, THE RUINS, is based on the 2006 novel of the same name. Its author, Scott Smith, also wrote the screenplay, so he must’ve known what mattered in paring down the nearly 400-page tome into 90 minutes of screen time. Even so, the much-acclaimed book was a box office bomb, and its reviews were so-so.
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