Category Archives: Books

To the Moon!

Posted on July 20, 2019 by

I was stationed in Thailand with the U.S. Air Force when the first manned moon landing happened on July 20, 1969. (That’s me defending the free world at right.) We received news there via armed forces newspapers and radio, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Documentaries, Feature films, Fiction, Film, Home Video, Non-Fiction, TV & Cable | 4 Comments

“Nice Guys Finish Dead” – Part 2

Posted on July 15, 2019 by

I had so many great covers left over from the last post that I decided to put them in a follow-up. As with the first batch, these depict lives largely lived in dirty back alleys with broken bottles on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Fiction, Film | 2 Comments

“Nice Guys Finish Dead” – and Other Hard-Boiled Visions

Posted on July 12, 2019 by

I’ll get back to film-related subjects shortly, but in the meantime, there’s this. Started by Fawcett Publications in 1950, Gold Medal Books was notable for introducting paperback originals. Other paperback publishers dealt in reprints. No one had done this before, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Fiction, Film | 11 Comments

Bookish – Favorite Books, Then & Now

Posted on May 13, 2019 by

As far back as I can remember, I was always reading. I grew up on an Iowa farm in the 1950s. As an only child, I created my own world and spent as much time there as possible. All the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fiction, Film | 5 Comments

Best TV 2018 – Supplemental

Posted on April 2, 2019 by

For those who want to go a little deeper, here is additional material on some of the titles in my Best TV of 2018 post. ______________________________________________________ The Americans ___________________________________________________ Babylon Berlin ____________________________________________________ Barry ____________________________________________________ Homecoming ____________________________________________________ Jane Fonda in Five … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Documentaries, Fiction, Home Video, Non-Fiction, Streaming, TV & Cable | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What I Watched Last Year: Best TV, Cable & Streaming 2018

Posted on March 31, 2019 by

Looking over my list of best shows for 2018, I see that none of them are on network television. All of them, without exception, were seen via HBO, Showtime, Amazon, Netflix, FX, and BBC America. I don’t think network shows, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Documentaries, Fiction, Home Video, Music, Non-Fiction, Streaming, TV & Cable | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What I Saw Last Year: Best Feature Films 2018

Posted on January 31, 2019 by

It was a year of many exceptional films. The following three are my top picks, the best of the 373 features (including documentaries) I saw in 2018. (Yeah, I know, get a life.) __________________________________________________________ Capernaum (Nadine Labaki, director & co-writer)  … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Feature films, Film posters, Streaming, TV & Cable | 1 Comment