Author Archives: Allyn Gibson

The Christmas Truce of 1914

It has taken me the better part of six years to find the audio for this program, and last night I finally did. On Christmas Eve 2014, BBC Radio 2 broadcast All Is Calm, a program on the Christmas Truce of 1914, narrated by Sir John Hurt. Hurt, while in treatment for pancreatic cancer, participatedContinue reading “The Christmas Truce of 1914”

Christmas on Mars

This version of “Silent Night” performed on the theremin is magnificent. It also puts 1950s sci-fi B-movies in mind — not unlike Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, a long-time holiday favorite of mine — and so I wrote a new verse for “Silent Night”… Silent night, holy night.Mars attacks with laser light.Saucers flying through theContinue reading “Christmas on Mars”

And Then There Were Peanuts

Ten childhood friends, now estranged in adulthood, are invited to a weekend retreat on a secluded island.  A cryptic poem and a message hint that each of these friends harbor personal and professional secrets and that soon they will each die in an elaborate revenge plot.  These friends — these peanuts — may not makeContinue reading “And Then There Were Peanuts”

Scenes of Recent Life

Some photos and commentary from the last two weeks. Last Friday, November 29th, marked the 50th-anniversary of the release of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. It’s also the day that Jem Roberts’ book, Fab Fools, was in my mailbox. This isn’t a book about the Beatles as musicians. It doesn’t concern itself with whenContinue reading “Scenes of Recent Life”

A Mid-19th-Century View of Harrisburg

While poking around on the Internet this afternoon, I found something that would excite me — a bird’s eye view painting of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, done by an artist for Edward Sachse’s company in 1855. Sasche is an artist I’ve mentioned before in conjunction with my family genealogy — he did bird’s eye view maps ofContinue reading “A Mid-19th-Century View of Harrisburg”

Cards in the Mail

In today’s mail, I received a package of Christmas cards from the National Cathedral. They’re asking for money. I get packages like this every year from charities like the Alzheimer’s Association and Colonial Williamsburg. This is the first year I’ve been on the National Cathedral’s list. It’s a little strange, yet also cool, that thisContinue reading “Cards in the Mail”

Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown

Think back to the Scholastic Book Fair. Eight years old. A ten dollar bill your mom gave you before you left for school that morning. A gymnasium full of folding tables covered with stacks of books. The smell of paper and ink from the just unboxed books. A feeling of excitement stirring in the breast.Continue reading “Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown”