 During my workout sessions on the M5, I watched The Ice Pirates and Krull over the last week or so. Both of these movies contain many of the necessary ingredients for great movies, but each fails in its own way.The Ice Pirates (1984), direc...
In visions of the dark night I have dreamed of joy departed- But a waking dream of life and light Hath left me broken-hearted.--From "A Dream" by Edgar Allan PoeDreams were a frequent...
 The Howe brothers, Admiral Richard and General William, raised Britain's prospects in the Revolutionary War following the defeat at Lexington and Concord and the disastrous victory at Bunker Hill with a series of victories in 1776. The brot...
  Interview with John W. Wells IIIAuthor ofThe Kalib Andrews Chronicles Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. I am currently working on The Invisible City, the third book in The Kalib Andrews Chronic...
Success is counted sweetest By those who ne'er succeed. To comprehend a nectar Requires sorest need.--From "Success is Counted Sweetest - by Emily DickinsonTaste the sweet nectar of victory by getting your short fiction piece in right away. It was du...
This week I finished reading Louis L'Amour's The Haunted Mesa for the first time. It's a tale set in the Navajo Mountain area--San Juan County, Utah. I have some passing familiarity with the region and a bit of the history, particularly regarding Moa...
The splendour falls on castle wallsAnd snowy summits old in story:The long light shakes across the lakes,And the wild cataract leaps in glory.Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.--From Blow,...
  Who knew Mad Max made an appearance in Hamlet?It's Franco Zeffirelli's 1991 adaptation of Shakespeare's moody prince, starring Mad Mel as the perturbed prince, crazy Glenn as Queen Gertrude, Helen Bonham Carter as the tormented Op...
 Fun Fact:Frederick Lord North was 38 when he became prime minister in 1770. Corpulent with large features and a bulbous head, he was famous for his wit, literary anecdotes, and historical references. Prior to becoming PM, he had supported t...
Where among the desert sandsSome deserted city stands,All its children, sweep and prince,Grown to manhood ages since,Not a foot in street or house,Not a stir of child or mouse,And when kindly falls the night,In all the town no spark of light.There I’...
 The characters and items pictured above have been my writing companions for a few years now. On the left is what may be an Aztec death whistle. It makes a sound like rumbling wind or growling jaguar. There are two stone dice from Texas, som...
 Interview with Jeff ChapmanAuthor ofThe Great Contagion, The Sniggard's Revenge, Last Request: Victorian Gothic, and more Please tell me a little about your current work in progress. I’m working on a novel in my Merliss Tales fantasy seri...
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,The flying cloud, the frosty light:The year is dying in the night;Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.Ring out the old, ring in the new,Ring, happy bells, across the snow:The year is going, let him go;Ring out...
 Let's return to the Omnibus bill of 1850. Stephen Douglas succeeded where Daniel Webster had failed and brought the provisions through the Senate in small bites instead of at a single gulp. Getting the provisions through the House would be...
 See How They Run, 2022, directed by Tom George and written by Mark Chappell, stars Sam Rockwell as Detective Stoppard and Saoirse Ronan as Constable Stalker. This parody of the murder mystery genre is actually funny. We've recently watched...