Undying Dread: A 400-Year-Old Corpse, Locked to Its Grave (NY Times, 9/25/2023) In 17th-century Europe, the dead were a constant threat to rise again and bedevil the living. Now archaeologists have found the remains of a suspected child revenant. The candles have burned down to sputtering stumps, oozing the memory of their younger selves into…
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In my review of the first book in the series, Peter and the Starcatchers, I explained that I’m a huge Peter Pan fan, and my expectations for new works are always high. I’ve been disappointed many times – Hugh Jackman in Pan, Disney’s emo-Pan adaptation in Peter Pan and Wendy, and dear, sweet Christopher Walken…
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It’s hard to believe that anyone wouldn’t have encountered an Alan Moore work at this point. He’s essentially the crazy wizard grandpa to the comics industry, and his most popular graphic novels, Watchmen and V Vendetta, have become successful movies and tv shows. Personally, he’ll always have a place in my heart as one of…
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I have to start by trying to describe the 1960s British television show, ‘The Prisoner,’ and that in itself is a challenge. The show began when actor Patrick McGoohan decided to leave his successful spy thriller tv show in the 1960s. As an alternative, he pitched a show to the network in which he would…
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On the title alone, How Now to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of a Suicidal Mind is a daunting prospect. Add in the page count (nearly 500) and that even trying to Google he book will fill your screen with suicide support numbers, and it’s fair to say that this book isn’t for everyone. The author…
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Hold onto your hat for some pretty serious philosophy with this one. Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence by South African philosopher David Benatar is not for the faint of heart. His essential premise is this: It is always harmful to bring a conscious being into existence. Not just to…
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Maybe, dear reader, you are one for only the most respectable of books, but for myself, I couldn’t help but pick up Butts: A Backstory for the author’s sheer audacity to write a butt book to begin with. Let’s start with a spoiler – no pictures. Now, moving on… The book is effectively a collection…
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I have to start by admitting that I’m a huge Peter Pan fan. I have a collection of J.M. Barrie’s works from 1913. I have a tattoo of the Nevertree. When I studied abroad in London, I dragged a group of people I’d just met all over Kensington Gardens, so I could find the Peter…
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Why the US ‘does not get to assume that it lasts forever’ (CNN, 7/4/2023) “As the United States marks its 247th birthday Tuesday, questions about how many more the nation will celebrate in its current form have become ominously relevant.” The President sits alone in the Oval Office, the soundproofed room eerily quiet. Once, you…
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“Mysterious spiral” that looks like hazy, glowing galaxy seen hovering in Alaska’s northern lights (CBS News, 4/19/2023) Memo To: All Reali-Bridge employees From: Linda Sparring, CEO Subject: Successful Reality Bridge Test Congratulations Reali-Bridge team – we did it! Last week, we successfully deployed our latest six-dimensional reality bridge protocol and made contact with a parallel…
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