Musings of a Wandering Writer

Dear America, He watched it happen from the back of his convertible on a warm and clear evening. He wore a light-colored shirt and linen shorts, and the gal next to him sat with a blue dress and an expression of easy-going contentment. They each had ice cream cones in their hands as the sun set on their summer and the crispness of an orange autumn took center-stage. It had been a season of adventure the likes of which had not been seen for some time. It had all started with a top-down drive to a sleepless land, but so much more had happened since then. There had been a magic city built upon the waves, surrounded by palm trees and neon lights followed by a boardwalk and drifting songs. These were only the highlights though. There had been more, oh so very much more. "What happens, now?" The gal asked as she finished her cone. The man noted that the sun had nearly set. He had yet to take his sunglasses off and, to be honest, he didn't want to. He worried about what would ha...

*Note from the author: I feel especially strong about topics of depression and suicide. As the included subject material below specifically pertains to both, I want to encourage those that struggle with mental health to reach out to those that can help them the most. There are all sorts of resources available that are free and will respect your privacy. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can help and you can reach them anytime ( 800-273-8255). Who you are and what you do matters. I've been curious about this series since it first initially released, but always had some concerns going in. The first major issue was that this show is well-known for being pretty depressing, which requires a viewer to get in the right headspace for such a journey. Another element was a lot of the criticism that came for the show's later seasons. After a good deal of thought, I felt I was finally ready to give this one a shot. It was well worth the effort. 1 W here to Find It:   This is avail...

Since the early 2000s, I've become thoroughly sick and tired of ghost stories when it comes to horror. This may be slightly hypocritical as I'm currently in the process of writing my own, however I hold this contention more-so out of creativity concerns than an actual lack of interest in spirits. Since the concept of ghosts is so ambiguous, it grants the writer a lot of freedom to work with, however this freedom can be unwieldy at times as it requires the writer to establish rules to make things work. Without these rules, ghosts can quickly become all-knowing, omnipotent beings that operate at the needs of the plot like in Unfriended or The Dark and the Wicked . When these established rules are used well, we get fantastic stories like The Exorcist (although that particular story featured a demon, but the concept remains). Unfortunately, this season is more like the former than the latter. 1 W here to Find It:   This is available for streaming on Hulu, however it is also avail...

It was sizing up to be the perfect kind of afternoon. I’d gotten all my emails out, I’d punched my timecard, and I had a new episode of my latest television series waiting for me in my living room. Flecks of water sprinkled onto the street while I waited for my Chinese food to be delivered, and I gracefully stepped out of the way of some woman who was hurrying down the sidewalk. When the delivery girl arrived, she wasted no time in handing the food over and practically ignored me when I wished her safe travels. “Time is money, I suppose.” I muttered to myself as I walked back to my apartment. It was a modest place on a modest floor, with a loft and an office to type away my thoughts and the occasional film review. Of course, I had no patience for writing at the moment. I had Kung Pao Chicken to munch on and a spooky drama to engross myself in. With my blinds already closed, I sat in for an enjoyable viewing. The show was somewhat scary, set in a cold part of the American West. It...

I'm ashamed to say that I have consistently underestimated AMC as I've always been a little apprehensive about cable TV restrictions on mature themes. One would think this would be doubly so when it comes to horror. My doubts have been entirely without merit time and time again as Walking Dead (the first season, at least) and Mad Men both demonstrated that there is good television to be had on this particular channel. Despite their quality, this may be the new reigning champ of defining quality TV on cable. 1 W here to Find It:   This is available for streaming on Hulu, however it is also available for rent/purchase each for season/episode on Amazon Video. General Information  The Terror is a horror drama series that was originally released on AMC on 25 March 2018. Its first season is primarily based off of the novel of the same name by Dan Simmons, which was in-turn based off of the very real disappearance of the characters the book/show is based on. The first season was d...