Earlier in the year I was using the remote, desperate to find something interesting to watch, when I stumbled onto Reel Faith on the National Evangelical Television network. The show reviews films from a Christian viewpoint in a style similar to what Siskel and Ebert did on Sneak Previews. This particular episode focused on the best films of 2011.

Last night I watched another of the music videotapes I made long ago, this one circa 1994. It began with the unusual protest song Zombie, by the Cranberries, done on SNL. Despite its chintzy main guitar riff and bizarre vocalizations ("Eh, eh. Oh, Oh."), it somehow works. It is a stirring plea for people to wake up and demand an end to the "trouble

There is interesting news on the financial side of pro sports. According to sources, the Stanley Cup finalists, the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings, are both up for sale, although ownership and the league deny that is the case with the latter. On his PBS talk show, Charlie Rose once remarked that the most common regret of successful busines

Yesterday Antenna TV's schedule consisted of war films. There was an unusual pairing from eight to midnight: Sahara (1943) and Castle Keep (1969). The former was made during WWII and is rife with propaganda. Humphrey Bogart is the leader of a band of heroes stranded in the desert, desperate for water. There are several notable elements beyond its e

Abraham Lincoln was not only a great president - he was a great writer. Here is the Gettysburg address: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation,

I add films to my Netflix list months in advance. By the time they arrive, some are a complete mystery as to why I rented them. Such was the case with French thriller Point Blank (2010), which has slam bang action from start to finish and comes in at a tidy 84 minutes. Of course, there are instances that strain credulity, but that is the case with

My thanks to Lev, who overpaid for two Russian translations of Stephen King novels, and to the young lady who purchased a novel based on the TV series Alias. Here's an excerpt from a short story, His Destiny, that has received more than 15,000 hits at buzzle.com. It is part of the A Hitch in Twilight collection. Reluctant, short of breath, he opene

This morning on his radio show on WOR-AM, John Gambling spoke of a rumor that the Steinbrenners are quietly putting out feelers gauging interest in buyers for the Yankees. Word is Hal hates a lot of the players, which is understandable, as all are overpaid and many are juvenile ingrates or jerks. Apparently, the Boss’s heirs do not need the same go

Since I really enjoyed the film adaption of Chuck Palahniuk's first novel, The Fight Club (1999), I looked forward to reading his second, Survivor. I was disappointed. His work is described as minimalist, transgressive(?), satirical humor. I did not relate to the characters, who are on the fringes of society. Their indifference to life made me larg

"...faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." These words are familiar to all, spoken by Paul in First Letter to the Corinthians. Almost every day I receive mail from one charitable organization or another. When I had a real job, I'd cut a check, usually a small amount, to more than five different organizations. As a

Every year at this time the community runs an event called Bayfest, where artists display and sell their works along the Sheepshead Bay promenade, and local businesses set up tables to promote themselves. There is music and entertainment for children. If the weather is right, I usually try to horn in on the activity, setting up the floating booksho

The results are in - I paid $42 for 100 shares of Facebook, $300 less than I was willing to lay out. So if it craps out I stand to lose $4208 in my retirement account, which won't make a difference in my life. It's acceptable risk. I am expecting the stock to lose at least half its value, as I believe the overall market is headed for a big dip, fin

This morning I put in an order to buy 100 shares of Facebook at a limit of 45, never expecting to get it, certain the stock would be trading 90 by the time the orders of the privileged were filled. Last I looked it was 35 and change, so I've saved about a thousand bucks, pending confirmation. I'm sure I got it, as it is listed among the stocks in m

Here's the latest review of Killing at Amazon, posted by a friend: "Lead character Dante's lot in life during the course of this novel leads him (and the reader) to experience a gamut of emotions: anguish, uncertainty, suspicion, despair, indifference - and rage, to cite a few. These are triggered by family dynamics, which include a son off to figh

I finalized the All Hallows screenplay and it's now available as a Kindle book. I'm not completely happy with the way it came out, but I'll live with it. I worked hard to clean it up and get the format right. I laughed when I noticed a particular error in the preview copy. My scanner back in the '90's mistook a lot of the small l's as ones, so a ce

I've spent too much time at the computer today. The floating book shop was rained out, so I had a lot of hours to kill. A few days ago I mentioned that I was working on publishing a screenplay, All Hallows, to Kindle. The original manuscript was uploaded to my first PC with a scanner. The file required a huge clean up. The typical screenplay format

Last night I watched yet another adaptation of an enduring literary classic, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Basketballs, episode two of the current BBC series Sherlock, which brings Holmes and Watson into the present age. Thankfully, it put fresh, high tech spin on the story. It would have been pointless to do it the same way. There are

I'm experimenting with Kindle again. Some time in the early '90's I wrote a screenplay, All Hallows, wherein five inmates escape from an asylum and terrorize the small fictional town of Bela. What I intended was a revenge of the townies story, pure fun. Throughout I make references (i.e. The Bate-Myers Institute) to film and TV fare baby boomers an

Jon has purchased both Close to the Edge and Killing from me, so when he published a novel through Book Locker I gladly ordered it when it became available at Amazon. I just finished The Man with the Silver Skull Ring, part one of Paradise Lost. I enjoyed it, although it could stand some tweaking. It is more well-written than most self-published bo

I caught up to The Ides of March (2011), courtesy of Netflix. It is well worthwhile. George Clooney wore many hats during its production: Producer, Director, Co-Writer and Co-star. He does his usual smooth work, perfectly cast as an ultra-liberal Democrat vying for presidential nomination. The character expresses the views Clooney has so often in i