by mike | Jan 29, 2024 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Movie Lines, Movies, Quotes, Uncategorized |
A wizard of the Istari order, Gandalf the Grey—later, after his death during a battle with a Balrog, Gandalf the White—is a dominant figure in the two remarkable screen trilogies, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Admirably portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen, he also...
by mike | Jan 25, 2024 | Aging, Death, Fantasy, Movies, Thrillers, TV Shows, Uncategorized |
Can’t believe that the awesome Diana Rigg has been gone for four years already. I first presented this post in 2020. British actress Diana Rigg passed away last week at the age of 82 from cancer. She had a long and successful award-winning career in theater, film, and...
by mike | Jan 18, 2024 | Creature Features, Disaster Movies, Horror, Horror Movies, Monster Movies, Movies, Thrillers, Uncategorized |
A creature feature that the critics liked? How rare. This post first ran in 2020. The 2019 creature feature/disaster flick, Crawl, is an anomaly. It did well at the box office, which is not that odd for the genre. But it also garnered its share of excellent reviews,...
by mike | Jan 15, 2024 | Adventure fantasy, Aging, Books, Life, Science Fiction, Uncategorized |
This hardcover copy of the Jules Verne classic, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, has been in my life for as long as I can remember. A “Rainbow Classic,” this edition was published in 1946, the year of this “young fart’s” birth. It is generously illustrated and...
by mike | Jan 11, 2024 | Curious Possessions, Myths & Legends, Travel, Uncategorized |
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...
by mike | Jan 8, 2024 | Aging, Holocaust, Humor, Life, Uncategorized |
Being retired means never having to wear a tie. But I was a long way from retirement the last time I actually put on one of the damn things. How long? Let me share this story. QUITE AN HONOR March 6, 1996: a significant date in my life for a number of reasons. First,...
