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So the question asked on Quora is a simple one. "What makes Stephen King a good writer?" Numerous answers. A few snotty answers that were not helpful to the person who posted the question. I tried to be more helpful. Stephen King is a very capable pulp fiction writer. Now that isn’t a bad...

So did anyone see the opera last year in Minnesota? Just curious. I'm not an opera fan but this one I would like to see. Very curious.

One of my favorite Cold War techno-thrillers. Love all those square jawed WASPS spouting slightly clunky speeches while looking great in tailored suits. Directed by John Sturges whose work I've always enjoyed (Bad Day at Black Rock, The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, The Eagle Has Landed...

The last couple of weeks have been one storm after another (La Nina has been in full force this year) and I'm tired (snow removal at my house and at the department, getting folks out of the snow, walking through the snow, driving through the snow, standing outside in the snow for long periods of...

People have said that they like my stories about being a police officer. Amanda Rose said I should post this one again so here it is....again. I like the funny ones. I remember checking out the basement under one of our local businesses several years ago. There are tunnels that run underneath...

So "Bullitt" is easily one of McQueen's most well known movies. I own it and I've watched it many times. The plot could have been a bit tighter and there is a lot of wasted time, but somehow this movie has become the epitome of late 1960's West Coast Cool. Even in 2016. S.F.P.D. Lieutenant...

For six years millions have invested themselves in Justin Cronin's very readable post-apocalyptic saga. They have followed the characters and thrown tantrums when the last installment took four years to come out. Here on Goodreads they have heaped praise and criticism on his books as well as...

UPDATE: 11/20/16 I wrote this review several months ago. I just completed "The Passage so now I'm changing my rating to 3.5 Stars. I just finished "The Passage" and now I see how this installment fits in. It's my own fault for having read this one first, but sometimes these things happen. Onto...

I like Epics. As far back as I can remember the Epic has always been a favorite of mine. I remember watching "Ben-Hur", "Spartacus","Cimmaron" "How The West Was Won", "Exodus" and "EL-Cid" (to name but a few) as a kid and being swept up in the tales. The longer and more sweeping the story the...

During our recent road trip vacation (we drove to Cape May, N.J. and then back to Idaho) to see our son graduate from Coast Guard Boot Camp we saw many great sights, visited family in Nebraska and Michigan and stopped at many thrift stores from New Jersey to Idaho. I found several great books...

You know where this is going don't you. One of those morons is going to get him or herself shot. We've been getting inundated with Creepy Clown calls and we've concluded that most of them (if not all) are fake 911 calls. But I can see some fool actually getting dressed up to go all Pennywise on...

An effective horror movie. Beyond the obvious themes of evil, good, religious fanaticism and sexual repression the movie shows just how difficult life was for those early families who ventured out ,beyond the Pale if you like, into the wilderness. Isolation, fear (fear of starvation as well as...

My father passed away on August 16th, 2016. At 8:00 A.M. He was getting dressed, collapsed and he was gone. He was seventy-two. No warning. He was scared of a long drawn out illness so this is what he wanted. He was a Vietnam veteran and served as a police officer for approximately twenty-four...

Personally I like the show. Very faithful to the novels ,which I would expect, since it's produced by Guillermo del Toro who wrote the trilogy. I like that the vampires aren't pretty and romantic. Akin to 'Salem's Lot in that respect.

I found this posting regarding "The Stand" not that long ago (on another forum and not here). I have a feeling that the poster was young based on other posts as well. The Stand is absurd for the following reasons: 1. The US government would never develop a virus that could wipe-out...

Well it's official. Our son Marcus was sworn into the U.S. Coast Guard this morning. He ships out for recruit training at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey on the 29th of August. His mother and I are very proud of him. This is something that he wanted and he's done it on...

An immensely entertaining and thought provoking account of one man's experience in WWII. Despite Guy Crouchback's (thinly veiled fictional version of Evelyn Waugh) best efforts to "do his part" to he is destined to always be on the periphery of the war. Contributing, but not very heroically...

On December 29, 1905 the former governor of Idaho was killed by a bomb that exploded when he opened the gate to his yard of his Caldwell home. The man who did it was quickly identifed and arrested, but that was just the beginning. What ensued was a "trial of the century" that shows how divided...

The second installment of Edmund Morris's biographical trilogy of Theodore Roosevelt. Densely written, well researched and with excellent research notes Theodore Rex is a serious piece of political biography. I'm not a slow reader, but I took my time going through this one. Political biographies...