It's coming! #BewareTheIdes

Your Oscar 2026 Summary Video I'm in the midst of some other writing, so to feed the Internet algorithm, I give you Screen Junkies' now-annual tradition of explaining all the best picture nominees in their irreverent manner. You can check out all the nominees on the academy's web page and if…

Winnie-the-Pooh (and others) offer excellent voice acting advice Some folks may first think of Jim Cummings as the "new" voice of Winnie-the-Pooh (Hal Smith had a couple outings in the 80s, but most people probably remember the distinctive voice of Sterling Holloway as the silly old bear).…

Still true.

Sure it’s World War II, but can we still use the classics? One of the kids is currently studying World War II, so I reminded them that dads (not just Baby Boomers) are required to know all sorts of military history. It's like a Dad Merit Badge. In fact, I think World War II is only the first one.…

Hitchcock on Happiness Anecdotally, I'm given to understand many purveyors of horror and spine-tingling thrillers are some of the nicest, chillest folks around... so I though of that when I came across this excerpt from a 1964 CBC interview with celebrated filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock: Interviewer:…

So, We’re Going to Take This to Eleven It's time once again for a self-referential post as 11 years ago today, I relaunched my personal website. Neither I nor Nigel Tufnel thought we'd get here, but Nigel at least had a plan. (Incidentally, in searching for the appropriate graphic, I learned that…

Exploration and Science in (Mock) Spaaace! Going through some of my old research on space exploration --because why shouldn't one write science fiction of space explorers knowing some related science fact?-- I came across this article by Denise Chow for Space.com back from 2011. It's all about how…

Apparently I’ve been using mind-altering substances all my life. Hopefully, you have too. A definite plus of last year was reading the number of books I did: far more than I had the previous few years. Not only did it help with my writing, but it also helped provide some solace amid all the happy…

For folks who want a horribly good #ValentinesDay.

For those that want alternatives. #ValentinesDay

Oh, Puritans... #ValentinesDay

For the beltalowda! #TheExpanse #ValentinesDay

Share these with the scientists in your life. #ValentinesDay

For every time, there is a season...

“Art is the means by which we become what we want to be.” I've been musing about a longer post about AI, because my thoughts about the current large language models (LLMs) and the like have evolved over the past year as we've looked into more and more use cases at the dayjob. However, if you…

The groundhog's fears are well founded... #GroundhogDay

An annual classic. #GroundhogDay

2025 Additions to the National Film Registry I'm old enough to remember when they started the National Film Registry and it's always nice to see which 25 films are added each year. It's always a combination of films crossing genres, decades, and current awareness. Some films you know well, some…

One Person After Another Weighs in on the Best Films of 2025 The Golden Globes have come and gone, and the Oscar nominations have been announced (as well as the Actor née SAG Awards). If you suddenly feel the urge to catch up on what are deemed the "best films" from 2025, you're not alone. I am…

Writing Rules to Know and Vigorously Ignore as Needed I'm guessing I'm not the only one who has various goals related to writing for the new year, so this article by author Elizabeth McCracken, an article recommended in turn by Mary Doria Russell, author of one of my all-time favorite books, as…

In some way, this must happen, it is the honorable thing to do. #StarTrek

Salutant te omnes ioculatores! Some days, you discover something and must share it with the world. You know that piece of rousing music you probably most associate with the circus? It often heralds the entrance of the clowns. I'll let Marty the Zebra refresh your memory: Well, as it turns out,…

Hmm...

A Viewing Guide for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Bottoms up! After all the viewing guides to date, we finally arrive at Deep Space Nine (DS9). While I love several other Star Trek series a whole lot (as you probably picked up on), this one remains my favorite for a multitude of reasons, not just for…

Believe it or not.

A Very Short Viewing Guide for Star Trek, The Animated Series (TAS) Okay. Perhaps you read the viewing guides for TOS yesterday. Maybe you've been watching Lower Decks, which references the O.G. animated series enough that you feel like you need to see this oft forgotten Trek series for yourself.…

Well played. #Shakespeare

Viewing Guides for Star Trek The Original Series (TOS) My post ranking every episode of the original Star Trek series remains one of the most popular on the site which means we're well overdue to have a viewing guide. This year will mark the 60th anniversary of adventures of the starship…

Sighs...

To thine own self...

Robert Waldinger and the Happy Life Reviewing works about motivation and fulfillment around the new year and it was easy to come across videos featuring Robert Waldinger, the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has been going on for 87 years now. As you might imagine, just…

Kickstarting Your 2026 It's the new year and if you haven't already locked in your resolutions and resolution-related plans, have I got a post for you: a 26-minute breakdown of 20 tactics to make for a better 2026 from Daniel Pink. I first read Pink's work with Free Agent Nation and then later…

Public Domain Day 2026 Since the return of thousands of works entering the public domain again in 2019, I've been posting about it -- and given site traffic and feedback, y'all want me to, so here goes this year's edition (previous entries should all be tagged). Note that I'm specifically talking…

Contemplating the Tail End It's the end of the year, so it's a good time to be contemplative. And you know those novels or TV shows, usually fantasy, where some character opines that they have "fewer winters ahead than behind?" It's in that contemplative mood that I looked through my stack o'…

You, yes You, Should Be Making Art It's definitely time people start thinking about making New Year's resolutions or otherwise mapping out things they want to get done for the year ahead. And I'm suggesting that, whatever those plans are, it should include some art. This should not come as a…

Your Online Bullsh*t Detector Look, apparently the theme for this week is dealing with online crap (well, that and working through cinematic loss by adding to our "films to watch/rewatch" list). However, if you want to help figuring out things, you could do worse than physicist and science…

TCM Remembers 2025 Turner Classic Movies (TCM) continues its tradition of an elegant montage of the film industry folks we lost this year, both in front of and behind the camera. It's a good reminder to check out a film or six... and don't be surprised if you don't get wistful with many movie…

#WelcomeYule!

Margarete Steiff and the Rise of Stuffed Animals I did a post the other day about Girl Scout cookies because the holidays count as overall cookie season and perhaps some people might cry foul. True, those people might not be much fun at holiday parties, but they have a point. Stuffed animals,…

A reminder that, back in 2020, some people found some truly inventive ways to occupy their time... and we all benefited. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss-P...

Girl Scout Cookies’ Origin Story Look, I know it's not "Girl Scout Cookie season" yet, but a) I always forget when exactly it starts, b) I know it's sooner than later, and c) we're in the midst of cookie baking season for sure with the holidays, so... maybe you'll try and bake a recreation?…

Y2RAY: A Partial Veil Holiday Special So remember that post last month about the Partial Veil crowdfunding? Well, I’m happy to say that it succeeded — and, in fact, we’ll find out this Sunday who falls victim to the Cruel Hand of Fate (scroll down to the "Cruel Hand of Fate" part of the…

Whomever created this image deserves a major award from INS. #IYKYK

Okay, NOW it’s time for Christmas music My kids independently confirmed they did not want Christmas music to play nor Christmas decorations to go up until after Thanksgiving. Indeed, they voiced their displeasure at local radio stations switching to Christmas music and lights going up on…

A Thought for your Pennies After decades of debating whether or not to stop minting the penny, the United States has finally stopping minting them. Just last month, in fact. Maryclaire Dale has a good overview article for the Associated Press that came out right around the time the last pennies…

The song of my people.

I'll take you there.

Have you seen this chicken?

That little-known Judy Blume book set in the Hyborian Age. #WhatIsBestInLife?