It's interesting to remember there wasn't always a Dept. of Homeland Security. It was only established after 9/11, and maybe it's outlived any usefulness it might once have had.

If you want a thriller-type show with a plot based on current political issues in the US, the second season of CROSS on Prime has got you covered,

Got my Gen Con badge. Housing Portal war, here I come!

It turns out I can go to the gym, do my workout, come home, and write my daily quota of words too. For one day, anyway, We'll see how readily I repeat this feat as the week progresses, #writing

There's supposed to be an anti-Trump, anti-ICE protest around here tomorrow. It's also forecasted to be, by local standards, cold as hell. But if the people in Minneapolis could turn out to protest in weather as cold as they're having, I'd feel wimpy if I didn't do it in central Florida.

It'll be interesting to hear the Prez and his circle try to justify the new ICE killing in Minneapolis. Appalling and unconvincing, but interesting.

Is the audience supposed to already know what the Burn was? Because I don't. There are several Star Trek shows I didn't watch, and maybe this bit of lore was established in one of those.

The first episode of the new season of PRIMAL went somewhere I didn't expect. I liked it, though. Seems like the start of what will be a good story.

CBR keeps having headlines declaring that a streaming service has "sealed the fate" of a show. Then I click on the story and it turns out "sealed the fate" means they renewed it for another season. Doesn't "sealed the fate" imply something negative?

In the last few months, I had a submission ghosted. Today, I had one rejected in a matter of hours. Each is dispiriting, but the ghosting is worse.

Maybe if Machado had won one of those shiny new FIFA Peace Prizes instead of just a boring old Nobel, the Prez would take her more seriously.

I suspect that US military endeavors in Venezuela will be as brief and successful as US military endeavors in Afghanistan.

Recent events suggest that that "American soldiers will refuse to obey illegal orders" assumption isn't as strong a bulwark as some of us had hoped.

I've noticed that quite a few of the streaming services to which the house subscribes have put up new horror movies. It's like they're saying, "Holidays over? Good! Now we can disturb you!"

I enjoyed the finale of STRANGER THINGS but thought it had a touch of RETURN OF THE KING Too Many Endings Syndrome.

Started out 2026 with a bit of housekeeping. Made sure that each of my short stories that has yet to find a home is in submission, and that none of the submissions has gone unanswered for so long that it's likely the submission has been rejected and ghosted.

This week's episode of LANDMAN is exceptionally cheery and uplifting. I suspect the remainder of the season is going to be grim as hell.

If the Prez and his circle are serious about annexing Greenland, they should wear those horned mock-Viking helmets.

A local "Comic Con" going on this weekend has only voice actors for Guests. I realize the term "Comic Con" is used more loosely these days, but I still think that if an event is going to call itself that, there should be at least one or two comics pros on the Guest List.

Tampa's 98 Rock is a study in contrasts on Xmas Eve. You go right from a DJ discussing a cherished family tradition to Falling in Reverse singing "The Voices in my Head" (or sone other band singing a song that's equally cheery.)

Thanks to Ann Morris for solving the Case of the Missing Christmas Present (and for helping me deal with the subsequent broken-and-statically-charged Styrofoam packing material apocalypse.)

I know some of you gave up on SNL years ago or never watched in the first place, but I gotta say, last night, Cher, that guitar player, and those dancers rocking out to "Run, Run, Rudolph" was a blast of pure exhilarating fun.

Just accepted my invitation to be part of the Gen Con Writer's Symposium. Thanks, GCWS, it'll be great to be back in 2026!

In case you thought D&D fans didn't have the Christmas spirit. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMW_...

Dragon Con 2026 now has me listed as a Guest on the website. It was already official. I guess this makes it uber-official. www.dragoncon.org/people-to-se...

My new pet peeve is ads that make a definitive statement and then undermine or outright contradict it in the next sentence. A radio spot for Pollo Tropical provides an example: "Open until midnight. Hours vary."

I understand the desire to link the final Mission Impossible movie to all that came before, but, man, there's a lot of exposition and callbacks in this flick. To my disappointment, though, Ving Rhames never says, "We have the meats."

My current favorite bit of advertising comes courtesy of YouTube: "Christians, did you know there's a Biblical remedy for toe fungus?"

Thank you, Dragon Con 2026, for accepting my Guest application. I'll do my best to entertain, enlighten, and elevate.

I'd never heard of MATCH until it was on a list on a YouTube video I watched, but it turns out to be a good horror flick. It's worth seeing even if you have to do it on Tubi and put up with those damn commercials.

I like what we've had so far of LAST SAMURAI STANDING on Netflix. (The six episodes currently available are only Part One of the story.)

Submitted my Guest Application for Dragon Con 2026. Now, I wait.

I watched a pretty good cosmic horror movie called PROJECT MKHEXE. I thought it worth mentioning because I'd never heard of the film until Prime recommended it as one of those "Movies We Think You'll Like." I figured other cosmic horror fans might not have heard of it either.

Today in science: theonion.com/existential-...

I saw Del Toro's FRANKENSTEIN. It's very good. My one caveat would be that, while there are some tweaks, it's pretty much the story you know. So don't go expecting any big surprises.

One more music video to put us in the mood for Halloween. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc5_...

Halloween being nearly upon us, here's a little something to get you in the mood. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDrS...

Whatever you think of the Prez, he's good at symbolism. The destruction of the White House is the perfect image to represent his time in office. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

In spite of the shutdown and all that bail-out money going to Argentina, it's good to know the Federal government still pays for programs that truly matter. theonion.com/secretary-of...

I reserved a hotel room for Dragon Con 2026. I don't know if the con will accept my Guest application, but if they do, then by God, I've got a convenient place to stay at the convention rate.

So the Prez just got the new Covid vaccine? Where does this leave RFK Jr.? Why did the Prez appoint him in the first place if they disagree on fundamental matters of health? It's confusing. I take comfort in the fact that I'm not as confused as the Prez and RFK Jr. seem to be.

It's sad how quickly you lose muscle tone when you're old. I skipped the gym for a week and a half and returned today. My workout was challenging, and I didn't enjoy the session.

Good to know! theonion.com/trump-anothe...

Thanks to all the volunteers, attendees, hotel staff, and my fellow guests for another great Necronomicon in Tampa.

I watched BALLERINA on Starz. I think a number of the characters should have shopped where John Wick does and bought one of those impenetrable armor suits.

I'll be a Guest at the Necronomicon SF convention in Tampa 9/26-9/28. I hope some of you will check out the event. necrofl.org

The US needs to move on from the Kirk murder. We need a woke event so outrageous, so profound and heinous, that MAGA will forget all about Kirk. I wonder if Cracker Barrel would consider changing their logo again.

There a movie on STARZ called (I think) BATTLE OF THE UNDEAD, and the description includes a phrase I've never run across before: "A ragtag band of robots." I may have to watch just to see the ragtag band in action.

I see reports that Tyler Robinson is "refusing to cooperate" with the authorities. Come on, authorities! The guy turned himself in, right? You should expect to do a LITTLE work.

Periodically I get Junk email for a lovely young woman (probably really a bot, but let's pretend) offering wild, passionate sex that goes on and on all night. Ladies, I'm still functional, but I'm old. You should keep that in mind when setting your expectations.