In a Forest Dark and Gloomy
I sit and look out my back window into the yard behind my house. It is large and full of trees; a combination of fir and pine and aspen. On this day, early in the
I Remember Magic
I am driving home from work in the rain. The traffic is heavy and I am upset. Not at anything in particular, just a strange combination of angry-sad, non-focused malaise. I have a feeling of
All That Road Going: Kerouac & A Driving Beat
On my 16th birthday my brother gave me a copy of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and it changed my life forever. Not really. It would be nice if it did, if it worked that
Christmas in Patagonia
Christmas Day, 1999. Twenty years ago. Was I at home in New York, a gentle snow falling outside, while inside blazed a warm fire in the fireplace, with presents under the Christmas tree that
An Immaculate Fix: A Junky’s Christmas
It was Christmas Day and Danny the Car Wiper hit the street junksick and broke after seventy-two hours in the precinct cell. It was a clear bright day, but there was warmth in the
Fun Facts About Reindeer (with Pictures)
Reindeer are commonly associated with Christmas because of a certain individual that shows up at everyone's house for a little light breaking and entering and cookie theft. But these animals are more than just
Happy Life Day: The Star Wars Holiday Special
Author's note: This was written nearly seven years ago and I must admit my opinion of the Star Wars Holiday Special has softened a bit. Oh, I still think it's awful don't get me
Thou Doth Protest Too Much: The Silent Night, Deadly Night Controversy
Picture this: the year is 1984 and you are an impressionable youth watching an episode of Three’s Company or Little House on the Prairie when during a commercial break this comes on the TV:
A Merry Little Alternative Xmas
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Sure, that’s a given. People seem to enjoy the colored lights, the slowly dying tree in the living room, and the glitter. Oh, and the gifts.
In the Swirling Sands I Jump
I stand atop the Sand Dunes at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo, the blood of Christ, my back to the wind. The sand swirls around me, my pockets fill with it, my feet
My Favorite Things to Eat: A Former New Yorker Talks About Food
What are my favorite things to eat? Good question. Thanks for asking. Bagels. Mozzarella. And what are the two foods I loved most in New York that I can’t find now that I live
A 1999 Interview with Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
Way back before the turn of the century (which is an extremely fun phrase to write) I and aspiring author, Justin Rickard, decided to start an independent, self-published magazine. It was called The Pythagorean. It
Fruit Flavored Terror: Monster Memories
As a kid I loved monsters. Not the ones that hid under the bed or lived in the closet obviously - those were terrifying and nightmare inducing if one actually managed to get to
A Brief Discussion About Cults in the 1970s
In the 1970s satanic cults were everywhere. Or at least that’s what popular culture would have you believe. In apartment complexes, suburban planned communities, quiet rural towns – somewhere lurking beneath the all-too-normal exterior was
Cobbled Together: The Monster of Frankenstein
In 1954, at the height of McCarthyism, the comic book industry was under scrutiny for being a corrupter of youth and an inciter of crime. And according to the book Seduction of the Innocent by
The Blood Elevator: Its Meaning & Symbol
The blood elevator scene, sometimes called the ‘river of blood’, from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a horrifying and disturbing image in a film full of horrifying and disturbing images. Upon watching it the scene
Godzilla Heisei Era: I Think I love These Movies (Part I)
As a kid, I was a big fan of Godzilla movies. They were a mainstay on weekend afternoon television while I was growing up and they were always a treat. Sure, they were cheap, often
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has for a long time been my favorite “ghost story,” not solely because of how well it is told, but also because it is, for me, a “local” tale, in
Blood Rush (A Short Story by Guest Author Tessa Lee Carr)
We shared our first kiss under the cherry blossom tree. It was perfect, like a scene from the movies. I stared into her eyes and brushed her soft hair from her delicate face. I saw
Even the Moon is Frightened of Me: The Invisible Man (Monster Memories)
An invisible man must be one of the more bizarre choices for a monster. First of all it’s not really a monster, not in the classical sense anyway. He is, after all, just a
I Dislike Being Touched: The Mummy (Monster Memories)
The Mummy from 1932 is a classic. A flawed classic for sure, but a classic nonetheless. There are parts of this film that are truly brilliant and there are parts that are…well…not. To be honest
Even a Man Who is Pure in Heart: The Wolf-Man (Monster Memories)
By 1941 Universal had been making monster movies for over a decade. It had now become a well-oiled machine and while not quite formulaic just yet was well on its way to becoming so.
Reckoning Upon God: Frankenstein (Monster Memories)
Frankenstein is one of the few classic monster movies that I did not see on a Saturday afternoon on a UHF channel. No, this film was played in prime time. It was a special
I Mistrust My Own Judgement: Dracula (Monster Memories)
Tod Browning’s 1931 adaptation of Dracula is the granddaddy of them all, the film the launched the Classic Monster films of Universal. The Universal cinematic universe if you will. I try not to judge