Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. May you all have a peaceful day, and for those still working, an easy one.
December 25, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. May you all have a peaceful day, and for those still working, an easy one.
I think Back to the Future is one of the best films to show how to set up story problems and then solve them in an entertaining and emotionally involving way. Still packs a wallop today. They don't make 'em like they used to.
November 16, 2025 at 11:47 PM
I think Back to the Future is one of the best films to show how to set up story problems and then solve them in an entertaining and emotionally involving way. Still packs a wallop today. They don't make 'em like they used to.
Waiting for the sequel to Stephen King's The Long Walk and the prequel to The Running Man: The Jogging!
October 25, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Waiting for the sequel to Stephen King's The Long Walk and the prequel to The Running Man: The Jogging!
This halloween I shall be rewatching classic horror-themed Dr. Who episodes, In no particular order. Seen Daemons (never seen before) and Image, to be followed by Talons, Morbius, Seeds, Stones, Horror, and of course, Pyramids of Mars.
October 15, 2025 at 2:38 PM
This halloween I shall be rewatching classic horror-themed Dr. Who episodes, In no particular order. Seen Daemons (never seen before) and Image, to be followed by Talons, Morbius, Seeds, Stones, Horror, and of course, Pyramids of Mars.
Finished my reread of Stephen King's Pet Semetary, his grimmest most scary book, mainly because the Creeds are so likeable. Onto, Zelazny's Lonesome October, a fun, gruesome tale narrated by Jack the Ripper's dog.
October 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Finished my reread of Stephen King's Pet Semetary, his grimmest most scary book, mainly because the Creeds are so likeable. Onto, Zelazny's Lonesome October, a fun, gruesome tale narrated by Jack the Ripper's dog.
Sometimes writing can feel like putting a 1000 piece puzzle together where the picture keeps on changing, and the connections between the pieces too.
July 27, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Sometimes writing can feel like putting a 1000 piece puzzle together where the picture keeps on changing, and the connections between the pieces too.
I wonder how many plots for books were thought up while sitting on the toilet? 🤔Plot, it's a little suggestive.
July 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I wonder how many plots for books were thought up while sitting on the toilet? 🤔Plot, it's a little suggestive.
Every writing project I do always - and I mean always - completes at precisely two times in the year: The start of the Christmas holidays and the start of the summer holidays.
July 13, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Every writing project I do always - and I mean always - completes at precisely two times in the year: The start of the Christmas holidays and the start of the summer holidays.
Heads of State was fun with some good action, it was also, like many streaming action movies, lazy and in need of sharpening up. It also featured probably the last screen appearance of the saddest shopping precinct in the world: St. George's Walk in Croydon, a stone's throw from Gotham General.😉
July 6, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Heads of State was fun with some good action, it was also, like many streaming action movies, lazy and in need of sharpening up. It also featured probably the last screen appearance of the saddest shopping precinct in the world: St. George's Walk in Croydon, a stone's throw from Gotham General.😉
Between mind and page something is lost. What resonated in the brain becomes flat on the page. What seems inspiration becomes bland. What felt original becomes trite. That's where to work comes in.
June 30, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Between mind and page something is lost. What resonated in the brain becomes flat on the page. What seems inspiration becomes bland. What felt original becomes trite. That's where to work comes in.
The problem with Havoc, starring Tom Hardy, is that it wants to be a gritty Hollywood thriller and a crazy 80s Hong Kong thriller directed by John Woo and starring Chow Yun Fat at the same time. I found it entertaining, if uneven.
June 16, 2025 at 11:15 AM
The problem with Havoc, starring Tom Hardy, is that it wants to be a gritty Hollywood thriller and a crazy 80s Hong Kong thriller directed by John Woo and starring Chow Yun Fat at the same time. I found it entertaining, if uneven.
Watched finales of both The Prisoner and The Matrix, which both look at the problem of freedom vs control in different ways. The Prisoner through madness, The Matrix through resistance, but both have the same message: never give up.
June 5, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Watched finales of both The Prisoner and The Matrix, which both look at the problem of freedom vs control in different ways. The Prisoner through madness, The Matrix through resistance, but both have the same message: never give up.
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrrell is excellent. Takes time to work it's wonder but then it sticks its claws into you. Tears were shed and it ends the only way it could. Recommended. Maybe some fantasy next.
June 4, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrrell is excellent. Takes time to work it's wonder but then it sticks its claws into you. Tears were shed and it ends the only way it could. Recommended. Maybe some fantasy next.
For me the whole regeneration thing in DrWho has become a big grind. Just two, maybe three years and, yawn, another new doctor. Maybe the Dr should regenerate at the end of each show. This week's its Cumberbatch, next week's its Danny DeVito. Just a thought.
June 1, 2025 at 10:00 PM
For me the whole regeneration thing in DrWho has become a big grind. Just two, maybe three years and, yawn, another new doctor. Maybe the Dr should regenerate at the end of each show. This week's its Cumberbatch, next week's its Danny DeVito. Just a thought.
Why is it that when you see Tom Cruise in London, he's always running like the clappers? 🤔😉
May 13, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Why is it that when you see Tom Cruise in London, he's always running like the clappers? 🤔😉
VE day. On the 80th anniversary remembering the millions who perished and the soldiers, from many countries, that fought to destroy tyranny. Its important that we don't forget.
May 8, 2025 at 10:58 AM
VE day. On the 80th anniversary remembering the millions who perished and the soldiers, from many countries, that fought to destroy tyranny. Its important that we don't forget.
Saw a shiny-eyed double bill of Thunderbolts and Sinners. Bolts best Marvel movie in years but a little slow to start. Fab end. Sin great but wish it hadn't been (spoiler) vamps again. Loved the jigs. Go watch both.
May 4, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Saw a shiny-eyed double bill of Thunderbolts and Sinners. Bolts best Marvel movie in years but a little slow to start. Fab end. Sin great but wish it hadn't been (spoiler) vamps again. Loved the jigs. Go watch both.
Is there a word for the confusion you feel when an actor you're sure you read an obit for several years ago turns out to be very much alive?
April 6, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Is there a word for the confusion you feel when an actor you're sure you read an obit for several years ago turns out to be very much alive?
Why is it always a stick and no carrot? It seems that carrots have been in short supply for a number of years now and with none showing up in the future.🤔
March 28, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Why is it always a stick and no carrot? It seems that carrots have been in short supply for a number of years now and with none showing up in the future.🤔
New life skill: finding the bar-code scanning sweet spot while buying groceries on a machine that's out of whack.
March 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM
New life skill: finding the bar-code scanning sweet spot while buying groceries on a machine that's out of whack.
Maybe it's time us authors released novels that are full of meaningless junk, not for people to actually read but to mess with the AI scraping everything. Probably already too late for that.
March 21, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Maybe it's time us authors released novels that are full of meaningless junk, not for people to actually read but to mess with the AI scraping everything. Probably already too late for that.
I love both Star Wars and Raiders because they both "pure" adventure stories with clear goals and natural progression from one action scene to the next (slight hiccup with the sub in Raiders). That's very hard to pull off, so hats off to Lucas, and in Raiders, Spielberg.
March 20, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I love both Star Wars and Raiders because they both "pure" adventure stories with clear goals and natural progression from one action scene to the next (slight hiccup with the sub in Raiders). That's very hard to pull off, so hats off to Lucas, and in Raiders, Spielberg.
Started Peter Benchley's Jaws, which I've been meaning to read for some time. I like his writing, simple yet vivid. Body's more human and a bit of a dick. I'm also returning to Silent Hill. A fine holiday destination. Sure I'll enjoy my stay.
March 16, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Started Peter Benchley's Jaws, which I've been meaning to read for some time. I like his writing, simple yet vivid. Body's more human and a bit of a dick. I'm also returning to Silent Hill. A fine holiday destination. Sure I'll enjoy my stay.
The Electric State was fun while being dumb and about human/robot relations while fluffing the human relations (were Brown & Pratt even in the same room?) While being about accepting difference while being a metaphor about the overuse of mobile phones. Too much stuff and too little focus.
March 16, 2025 at 9:57 AM
The Electric State was fun while being dumb and about human/robot relations while fluffing the human relations (were Brown & Pratt even in the same room?) While being about accepting difference while being a metaphor about the overuse of mobile phones. Too much stuff and too little focus.