I began writing this as a comment to a blog post by David McIntee about a program on BBC3, Kellie: The Girl Who Played With Fire, but I decided to post it here on my blog, instead. One of my enduring memories of childhood centers on a burn victim. When I was about six orContinue reading “On an Enduring Childhood Memory”
Author Archives: Allyn
On a Parking Lot Encounter
On my lunch break, I walked to Borders. As most people know, Borders is in dire financial straits, and while the Borders near the office is one of the stores that survived the closing axe a few months ago, the company is still on the brink of oblivion and stores may shutter within a weekContinue reading “On a Parking Lot Encounter”
On the new Winnie-the-Pooh Movie
This afternoon I went to see Disney’s new Winnie-the-Pooh. This was the first theatrical Pooh movie since 2005’s Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, and it’s Disney’s first traditional cel animation movie in a few years, since The Princess and the Frog. Pooh and I go back a long ways. I don’t know if The Many Adventures ofContinue reading “On the new Winnie-the-Pooh Movie”
On the Next Lord of the Rings Game
Today I went to GameStop. I’d gone out to Barnes & Noble, in search of the new issues of MOJO and Uncut, but all I could find were last month’s issues, and while I found a Sherlock Holmes book I wanted, I eventually put it back on the shelf. (I also noticed that my BarnesContinue reading “On the Next Lord of the Rings Game”
On Pooh Anticipations
A really big movie is opening this week. No, not Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. I mean, yes, that’s the movie everyone’s talking about, but that’s not the one that I really really really want to see this weekend. That would be Disney’s new Winnie-the-Pooh. Six years ago I went to seeContinue reading “On Pooh Anticipations”
On Kicking Out of Books
I have a rule. Some may think it a silly rule, but it’s my rule. If I’m not hooked by a book by page fifty, I abandon the book. I move on. Maybe, if it’s a really long book, I may stretch it out to page 100. Maybe, if it’s a book that comes highlyContinue reading “On Kicking Out of Books”
On Favorite Beatles Songs
This weekend at Shore Leave, on Saturday evening at 5 o’clock, I’ll be moderating a panel on the Beatles. It’s an odd topic for a panel for science-fiction convention, and I admit I put it down on my list of suggested topics as a kind of a lark, and I still have no idea whatContinue reading “On Favorite Beatles Songs”
On My Independence Day Plans
July 4th. Two epochal, world-changing events have fallen on July 4th. The first comes on July 4, 1776. In Kent that day, Horatio Hornblower was born, and he would become one of the Royal Navy’s greatest heroes, distinguishing himself at an early age and playing a significant role in the defeat of Napoleon. The secondContinue reading “On My Independence Day Plans”
On Striking High School Students
On Monday, I’m going to Washington DC for the first time since the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or March to Keep Fear Alive. The reason? The Chicago Cubs (my team) are in DC playing the Washington Nationals (my local team), and then I’m going to stick around in town for A Capitol Fourth, the concert/fireworksContinue reading “On Striking High School Students”
On My 2011 Shore Leave Schedule
We come to it at last, the great battle of our times. No, wait. That’s not right. Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup. No, that’s not it, either. Oh! I’ve got it! Next weekend, July 8th through 10th, in Hunt Valley, Maryland, is Shore Leave, a science-fiction and fantasy convention.Continue reading “On My 2011 Shore Leave Schedule”