A horror “movie” based on The Wizard of Oz?
2022-12-17
Okay, I’m not even a horror fan but I’m still intrigued. I mean I’ve read the Oz books and I can see where one could find horror in the subject matter. Especially in the later books, there is a lot more downright horror elements than one would expect in fantasy supposedly created for children. So, yeah, I can see it. Now we’re not talking about a feature film here but a short crowd-sourced project. Honestly, I think we’re going to see a lot more crowd-sourcing of creative content in the future. People are just downright fed up with some of the insane decisions major studiosRead More →
Bergerac
2022-12-03
I recently discovered Bergerac, an older nine season detective TV series on BritBox, that I’ve completely fallen in love with. So much so that several times a week I’ve taken to watching an episode right before I go to sleep. I’m on the third season already so it’s definitely keeping my interest. Bergerac was apparently phenomenally popular during it’s original run time in Britain but this is the first I’ve heard of it. The shocker is that it stars a younger, and extremely good-looking, John Nettles of Midsomer Murders fame. I didn’t connect the main character as being played by Nettles initially because of justRead More →
a couple of me-time movies
2022-11-12
The other day I took an entire late afternoon and evening to myself to indulge in some movies just out on streaming. It was very enjoyable because they were completely different. Enola Holmes 2 To be honest, I thought this sequel on Netflix was a lot better than the first Enola Holmes movie. Not sure if this one was based on one of the books but I got the feeling they took a lot of liberties because it felt completely different from the first. For one thing, Sherlock was in this one a lot more and it balanced out the story they were telling. WhateverRead More →
They finished them all… well, mostly
2022-11-05
One of my favorite podcasts, All About Agatha, had the stated goal to read and rank all of the books by Agatha Christie. And the goal has been reached! With some sadness along the way because one of the co-hosts passed away suddenly late last year. I have to admit I’ve been putting off listening to the milestone discussion of Curtain, Poirot’s final book. The following fairly lengthy article shows I’m not alone in that.Read More →
Agatha Christie through another lens
2022-10-29
I ran across an article recently and couldn’t get over how on point it was about some of– well, let’s just say some of the choices that Agatha Christie made in her writing. And I’m not talking about them being bad choices either. But rather just how brilliant she was at making those odd choices work for her. For instance… Yeah, how did the Queen of Crime Christie manage to surprise everyone. Over and over again. Heh.Read More →
Goodreads widget is back & up-to-date
2022-10-22
The reorganization work I’m doing behind the scenes is going really well but it will be a long process. When I’m not working on that I have been reading a lot lately. Most of the books I’m enjoying right now, though, are either very short or really, really big. Wheel of Time I’m looking at you. Yes, I am. So, anyway, I decided it would be easier to track my reading activity immediately by actually using my Goodreads account. At least until I get caught up on the background work around here. I’ve updated and refreshed the Goodreads widget on the site so that itRead More →
fun non-fiction reading
2022-10-15
I currently have three fairly short non-fiction books at the top of my to-be-read list that I really want to read soon. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction… for “fun” I mean. I pick them up here and there. Reference them when needed. But rarely do I think of non-fiction as something to go on my to-be-read list and be read cover to cover. But the following are all books I’ve gotten recently just because I wanted to read them which is what’s so unusual. The Trouble With Tribbles This one I got on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a post onRead More →
digital clutter and some housecleaning
2022-10-13
I recently came to the conclusion that one of the main reasons I’m having problems writing posts for the website is Evernote and not simply life in general. To the point I was seriously considering looking for another note taking application. Then I had a light bulb moment and realized the biggest issue was that I simply hadn’t organized my notes in Evernote the same way I’m organizing the site. You know, to make it easier to find what I need when I need it. So I’ve been working on correcting that problem and making a lot of progress. Translated, though, that means I’ve beenRead More →
Queen Elizabeth II (1952-2022)
2022-09-19
The last few weeks have been difficult for me personally. My sister has been in the hospital with pneumonia and at times hasn’t been doing so well. On top of that, I’ve had a really bad cold the last week or so. Just feeling miserable. At one point, I honestly thought I might have strep throat it was so sore. I’m feeling much better now but still have good days and bad days. Even on the bad days, though, I’ve been more worried about my sister than myself because it really was just a cold. Then came the news that Queen Elizabeth II had passedRead More →
fantasy and reality update
2022-09-03
On the fantasy side, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately reading The Wheel of Time (WoT) series. I’ve honestly decided I’d like to finish the entire series by the end of this year. Well, it’ a goal anyway. Which means I’m trying to read a couple of chapters a day. At least! Since I’m already almost finished with the 8th book (The Path of Daggers), it’s . . . doable. Maybe. The problem is that I think I’m in the middle of what the fans not so fondly call The Slog – the point in the series where Robert Jordan got really, reallyRead More →
my comfort zones
2022-08-13
Yes, zones. Plural. When I’m in the mood to read, romance novels are my favorite pick. I have authors and series that I’ve read so many times I could probably recite some of them. Since this entire site is devoted to that activity, I won’t go into any particulars here. When I’m in the mood to play, my favorite games bounce somewhere between building and adventure quest games. Which is honestly a weird place to be. Put it this way, I love the stories and puzzles of quest type games but can easily spend hours on good building games. Put the two together and I’mRead More →
Thirteen Lives (2022)
2022-08-09
I don’t usually recommend a movie, or much of anything, after only watching it once. But let me just say simply that this one deserves the recommendation. It’s that good. Ron Howard (director) has outdone himself with this one. I mean the story itself of the 13 boys getting trapped in the cave in Thailand in 2018 made world news. That they were even able to rescue them was miraculous. But you don’t realize just how miraculous until you know “how” they did it. Wow. Watching Thirteen Lives on Prime the other day, I was equal parts thinking that it had to be wrong –Read More →
cliffhangers – good or bad?
2022-08-06
Must be something in the air because I ran across two posts related to cliffhangers on the same day recently. First there is this one about the Stargate SG1 writers and the uncertain future of the series in later seasons: Then later that same day I found this: I think overall I tend to avoid cliffhangers. Well, they don’t happen in romance novels very much to begin with. And with streaming nowadays, I usually wait until an entire TV series is complete. Or, at least I wait until another season is added. Problem solved. Of course the real problem is when another season (or book)Read More →
are readers a dying breed?
2022-07-16
And by “readers” I’m talking about people who read for pleasure. I’m asking because when I was in the hospital earlier this year there was this young nurses aide who came in while I had one of the Harry Potter movies on the TV. She said she’d never read the Harry Potter books or actually sat through any of the movies. Had only caught bits and pieces here and there. Kind of surprised me. I mean, she was young but not that young. I guess it could happen, though. On talking to her further, I realized she wasn’t that big on science fiction or fantasyRead More →