Pop Culture
HISTORY OF TOWEL DAY May 25 celebrates Towel Day as a day to honor Douglas Adams, the author of the five (or six) book trilogy Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Originally created in May of 2001 to mark the passing of English science fiction humor author Douglas Adams, the day is set aside for fans of…
Read MoreHISTORY OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN: A 100 YEAR LOVE AFFAIR I’m reading J.R.R. Tolkien‘s latest book published in June, Beren and Luthien which he began writing 100 years ago. How is that possible, when he died in 1973? His youngest son and literary executor — Christopher Tolkien who is now 93 — has been publishing his…
Read MoreMOVIE REVIEW: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI For over 40 years, Lucasfilm has brought us popcorn movies extraordinaire. The Last Jedi is no exception. I realize many readers will not read this review until they’ve seen the movie, even with the promise of no plot spoilers. Let me just say this: “Yule love it!” The…
Read MoreHISTORY OF STAR TREK Star Trek premiered on NBC TV September 8, 1966, 52 years ago. It is my favorite show; I was glued to the TV for the first episode and every one after that. It had a major influence on my life in my career in technology. It represented an optimistic vision of…
Read MoreStar Wars vs. Star Trek: How do they Compare? Each is a huge media franchise, what are the differences?
Read MoreMOVIE REVIEW: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY In many respects, this was a more exciting and thrilling movie than the previous Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens” It was more heroic, noble, and self-sacrificing. Unencumbered by previous storylines, it was able to introduce new characters into an existing historical narrative. Often, the new…
Read MoreMOVIE REVIEW: STAR TREK BEYOND It has been now almost 50 years since Star Trek first premiered on NBC TV in September of 1966. See my history of Star Trek here. After several television series and movies we are now treated to the 13th feature film Star Trek Beyond. While this is not the best…
Read MoreMOVIE REVIEW: THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Peter Jackson’s second helping — The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug — written and directed by Peter Jackson with flavoring from J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel is more confident than the first helping of An Unexpected Journey. It is the #1 movie of the opening weekend, scoring 74%…
Read MoreConcert review of the “History of the Eagles” tour at the Denver Pepsi Center.
Read MoreMOVIE REVIEW: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS [No plot spoilers] I’ll start with the bottom line: I loved it. If possible it’s better, if not as inventive as the previous movie in the reboot released in May 2009 and reviewed by me here. I’d call it the most enjoyable movie so far this year, though I may be biased…
Read MoreMOVIE REVIEW: THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Even if I had been told The Hobbit was the worst movie ever made, I still would have gone to see it. It wasn’t. But even after seeing it twice my feelings remain mixed. In talking to friends who have been to it, reactions to the movie seem…
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