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.
Remembering The “Roller Skating Cook”
One of the primary reasons that the 1982 sci-fi/horror film, JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING, is considered one of the best movies of its genre is its outstanding ensemble cast. A young actor named T. K. CARTER was part of that ensemble. Mr. Carter passed away last week.
“Lizzie Borden Took An Axe…”
That blasted fog bank in my latest opus, THE MAGIC OF THE BIKE PATH (A Jack Miller Senior Moment: Book Six), is the gift that keeps on giving. This particular life form that Jack encounters will make him a bit…er, uncomfortable.
Merry Christmas: “I Wear The Chain I Forged In Life”
As a Jewish kid growing up in The Bronx I had little exposure to Christmas, other than learning it wasn’t “our” holiday. Even so, I enjoyed many of the Christmas movies that played all through December. My two favorites were MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947) and A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951). I thought it might be fun to list some quotes from these two gems.
Sometimes You Just Need Dinosaurs
All of us are familiar with comfort food, that special dish we turn to when the day—and life in general—is going poorly. For me, the chances are that I’ll turn to a comfort movie when life goes sideways, and that movie almost always involves dinosaurs.
“Dad Is Gonna Love This!”
My three daughters know this old guy pretty well. When it comes to choosing gifts, they’re always spot on. And the latest one was a doozy!
Jack Miller Meets Bigfoot
In my latest opus, THE MAGIC OF THE BIKE PATH (A Jack Miller Senior Moment: Book Six), cosmic bike rider Jack Miller finds himself in a never-ending fog bank, where he meets some, ah, “unique” life forms. This includes Bigfoot, who Jack encounters as he walks alongside his bike. Here is the scene.
“Death Is Only The Beginning”—Lines From THE MUMMY
With all the buzz about a new entry in THE MUMMY franchise on the horizon—the ones starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz—I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the memorable lines from the first two films. I’ll do THE MUMMY RETURNS next week.
Throwback Thursday: Do All Authors Experience Writer’s Block?
Writer’s block has been around since primitive men and women had difficulty deciding what to scrawl on cave walls. This 2012 post would have been relevant even back then.
A Twisted Christmas Carol
In my latest opus, THE MAGIC OF THE BIKE PATH (A Jack Miller Senior Moment: Book Six), Jack has been tasked with being the “ghost guide” for Ebenezer Scrooge on the night that he’s visited by all those spirits. This is during my rather, ah, different take on the Dickens classic. Check out one of the outrageous scenes in this week’s post.
Throwback Thursday: Guilty Pleasures—“It’s A Spider, Man!”
That line comes from one of my favorite films, EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, which happens to be the first Guilty Pleasure that I presented on this blog, back in the Stone Age.
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