Posts filed under ‘WALT’S OPINIONS’
THE BLOB: A CLASSIC WITH FLAWS
THE BLOB: A CLASSIC WITH FLAWS
I just finished watching, perhaps, the worst science fiction/horror movie I ever saw. And I have seen quite a few science fiction movies because they are my favorite genres. Yet this movie is one of the most famous movies of this type made during the 1950’s.
The movie was The Blob made in 1958. I must have seen it as a kid. Now I wanted to see the movie again because I live in the middle of Blob country., West Chester, PA. Mentioned in the movie is the town of Downingtown, which is just down the road. But the hub of Blob country is the nearby town of Phoenixville home of the Colonial Theater. The town holds a Blob fest every summer. And if you want to be part of the main event during the fest and redo the most famous scene from the movie you can be part of the crowd running out of the Colonial Theater.
The inspiration for this post was the ending seem in many monster movies of this era, The End ?.
In the movie Steve McQueen is the only name which survived the test of time. I can’t really say he acted in the movie; no one really acted in the movie, they just talked. And I would say the plot was weak at best. The blob comes down as a meteor and forms a crater. In the crater is a small sphere which opens when an old man discovers the crater and when the sphere opens, there is the blob which attaches to the man and the ‘action’ begins. Later in the movie Steve McQueen’s character, along with some of his friends, discovers the crater and a hot rock which they theorize as the origin of the blob. This is never corrected so the origin of the blob goes from being a sphere to a rock.
McQueen’s character and his friends spend the majority of their time trying to convince the town sheriff that there is a monster rolling around town eating people. Soon the sheriff goes from disbelief to accepting the fact that people are being eaten and puts the number at 50 for no apparent reason while trying to disperse the growing crowd. Little to nothing is explained in the movie as to the origin of the Blob. Things just happen. What inspired this piece is how the Blob is defeated.
It turns out that the Blob cannot stand cold. After cooling it down using fire extinguishers they somehow load it onto a transport, I assume the plane is refrigerated, there is a lot that needs to be assumed in this movie. The blob is transported on a pallet which is attached to a parachute and dropped into the arctic.
The end of this movie should, especially if you are a science fiction writer, start your mind churning. Visit my blog on January 21 and your imagination will receive some direction.
VENEZUELA VS THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
VENEZUELA VS THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Could someone explain to me why there is not enough money to help millions of Americans to keep their medical benefits through The Affordable Care Act yet there is enough money to send 105 aircraft, carrying highly sophisticated weapons, to attack Venezuela and at the same time maintain a massive naval force off the country’s coast?
And now there is another list of countries who may deserve America’s attention.
I don’t understand anything anymore.
Where are the Adults?
BOWL GAMES: GREED DILUTES SIGNIFICANE
BOWL GAMES: GREED DILUTES SIGNIFICANE
I first noticed a trend in Bowl Games beginning a few years ago. The number of Bowl Games had increasedcontinues to do so.
I can remember, and I’m talking about maybe 60 years ago, the number of college Bowl Games were few and for a school making it to a Bowl Game was quite an honor. The Bowl Games in existence back then, were to the best of my memory, the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl and along with three or other Bowl Games, most of which were planned on or near New Year’s Day.
How things have changed.
Here are the Bowl Games listed recently in my local newspaper.
Reported on 12/27/2025
Go Bowling Military Bowl
Bad Boy Mower’s Pinstripe Bowl
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl
Isleta New Mexico Bowl
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Kinder’s Texas Bowl
Reported on 12/29/2025
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl
Valero Alamo Bowl
I’m sure there are more to come because the ones mentioned don’t include the ones I remember.
Do you see the existence of the trend I mentioned. To me having made it into a Bowl Game has much less significance these days. I could be wrong but the increase in the number of Bowl Games has more to do with profit and recognition of the sponsor then the significance of the game and the honor of playing.
What do you think?
A TWO-YEAR-OLD DIED TODAY
A TWO-YEAR-OLD DIED
12/22/2025
I heard on the news this morning that a two-year-old just died. To make the news the circumstances must be suspect. This news grabbed me and would not let go. I suspect the reason is the season and I associate children with happiness, especially now.
What follows are thoughts trying to be a poem.
A TWO-YEAR-OLD DIED
A two-year-old died today,
Does anyone ask, “Why”?
Or break down and cry.
A two-year-old died today,
Will it happen again?
Just a matter of when.
UKRAINE’S POSSIBLE FUTURE
UKRAINE’S POSSIBLE FUTURE
There is a window into what Ukraine’s future might become and it is not pleasant. Trump’s ‘peace deal’ is, to say the least, very suspicious. Some time ago I accidentally discovered a book which offers a glimpse of what the future might look like for Ukraine. A window into what Ukraine may experience if Russia succeeds in having its way with determining Ukraine’s future.
I am a fan of James A Mitchner’s books. If you are familiar with his books you know they are real doorstoppers, long works with infinite detail. But some of his early works were not so lengthy. One of his books which I read and enjoyed was The Bridges At Toko-Ri. I somehow obtained another of his books, The Bridge At Andau, and thought this was also a work of fiction which I would enjoy. The book is, in fact, a work of nonfiction recording the uprising in Hungary against the occupation of the country by the Soviet Union. What is described is a heart-wrenching story of Hungary’s bid to win back its freedom. Written in 1957, the book contains interviews with some of the freedom fighters and descriptions of what took place.
The bridge at Andau is actually a bridge between Hungary and Austria over which approximately 200,000 escaped the onslaught of the Soviet Union. I feel the book offers an idea of the future awaiting Ukraine if Russia has its way in the peace negotiations.
The Hungarian revolt began on October 23, 1956. The Soviet Union returned in force on November 4 to stop the revolt. Described are the reasons for the uprising. Before the occupation the Soviet Union described to the Hungarians the benefits of their occupation. They were all lies. Life in Hungary become dismal with every aspect under the control of the Soviet Union. Another source of the persecution endured by the Hungarians was the police force made up of their own people. So, you had Hungarian pitted against Hungarian. Hungarians were responsible for making their own people to live in a life of fear.
As with the occupation of Ukraine by the Russians, the then Soviet Union gave unfounded excuses for their occupation of Hungary. The Russians claiming that their actions were the result of Nazi influence in Ukraine which was unfounded. More lies spread by Russia the justify their starting the war.
Hungary thought the U.N. would come to their aid. It did not. And no help was provided by the United States.
I feel all that are against of providing aid to Ukraine, especially Congress, have on obligation of understanding what may be Ukraine’s future if assistance is not provided. And if possible, to read this book to understand what the impact of their decision to not help Ukraine means.
HOW DOES A WRITERS PRODUCE THEIR MAGIC?
WRITERS, WHERE DO THE IDEAS COME FROM?
Where do the ideas writers use to develop their stories they write come from?
I see major differences between producing fiction and nonfiction. For nonfiction the writer begins with a subject which I’m sure involves an interest and creative thoughts. Then comes the research. Sometimes a massive amount of research, but the writer has a concrete goal. This writing demands skill to create a work of value. And to complete a valued work requires writing skill but little imagination. However, the genre of creative nonfiction does require a creative approach to a nonfiction story..
Now for fiction.
In fiction the writer begins with an idea and then creates something from nothing and hopefully an intriguing story. But where does that initial idea come from along with the details that follow? What triggers the mind of the writer to begin down the road to producing a work of fiction.
I feel the answer lies in experiences and observations, which the writer has undergone on the way to developing their work. Some remembered consciously, but most stored deeply in the writer’s subconscious. We all have exposure to various situations, challenges – some won, some lost. But I feel the writer records these, to a much greater extent, than the nonwriter.
Another difference may be that most people are talkers where the future writer is more of a listener. And what they hear accumulates somewhere in the reaches of their brains. Eventually, this accumulated data on a subject of interest, an idea for a story comes into being with details filled in by the writer’s life. Then there is the skill the writer needs to form an effective story. Can that skill be taught or does it come naturally? I feel the answer is both. So many successful writers have gone through the process of an MFA. But look at all the famous writers who possessed great skill without the benefit of an education in writing. There are so many questions which spring to life when considering what prompts a work of fiction. Could we ever answer that mystical mystery of what process goes into creating a work of fiction? The answer is imagination, but is that an answer, or just fodder for more speculation?
What happens to a writer sitting alone with a pencil and paper or a computer and just begins thinking, I think, is a minor or sometimes major miracle.
WHAT DA VINCI SAID
WHAT DA VINCI SAID
In my last post I mentioned that I worked to leave a record. I feel most creative people (I feel it takes some nerve to call myself creative) somewhere in the corridors of their mind consider that purpose while they are producing their work.
Where my thoughts on this subject began was after I read Walter Isaacson’s excellent biography of Leonardo da Vinci. If you were at all interested in da Vinci’s life and work I highly recommend this book.
It is thought that if da Vinci had been alive today he would probably been on medication. He had difficulty completing a project. His most famous work, the Mona Lisa, was commissioned by a husband as a portrait of his wife. The husband never received the portrait, and da Vinci carried it with him wherever he went for the rest of his life occasionally adding a few brush strokes.
He was known to be a hard worker and when someone asked him why he worked so hard he said, “I want people to know I was here.”
WHO ARE ‘THEY’?
WHO ARE ‘THEY’?
I keep my blog with a purpose in mind. Leaving a record of my existence, my thoughts and the work I produced. That someday someone might stumble upon my blog and say, “Jesus Christ, this guy’s stories are pretty good.” One can only hope. But the internet has provided, for me, some competitors.
My record, I believe, will be drowned out for today everyone with a cell phone is also leaving behind a record whether they want to or not. The question is, how long will that record exist? For some, too long.
While using your cell phone ‘they’ know where you are and where you have been. ‘They’ have recorded your phone calls. For proof, listen to the news and see how many criminals have been caught through their phone calls. I don’t think they record only the phone calls of criminals.
‘They’ also record your past texts. Ask Fox News about that. Also, it seems that past texts, thought to be erased, still exist somewhere out there. Proof of this is how past texts, thought to be erased, bite people, especially politicians, some who change their opinions as much as they change their underwear depending which direction the wind is blowing. They change their opinions to save their careers, but their past opinions still exist.
This installment poses the question, who are ‘they’? And further, how long do ‘they’ keep the information ‘they’ obtain. And to whom do ‘they’ give this information to other than law enforcement? Are there nefarious actors involved in this distribution? So many important questions which could play a part in your future.
THOUGHTS ON SELF-PUBLISHING
Self-publishing is very popular these days. A way to stroke your ego, and in most cases, involves little effort in producing a work which deserves publication.
One definition of an author is of a writer whose work has been published. With that meaning in mind, is a writer who pays someone to publish their work an author?
THOUGHTS ON SELF-PUBLISHING
In the past presses involved in self-publishing were known as vanity presses. For that is what they were. Getting a book published was a way to stroke your ego even if the only people who would see it were your mother, siblings, kids and close friends. The fact that there is no standard of quality centered on publication or gatekeepers makes it possible of getting a book connected to your name rather easy, if you have the money.
Not long ago I was looking for a publisher for my science fiction/horror novel. In the past Tor was one of the few, or perhaps only, major publisher where you could submit a manuscript without an agent with the qualifier that it needed to be at least 80,000 words long. Being a well-known publisher of science fiction and fantasy I began an internet search, something for which I do not have a great deal of skill. I was unable to obtain the information I wanted but somehow stumbled upon the publisher Dorrance.
Dorrance was the primary vanity press publisher in the past. Now they are a self-publishing press. From that stumble, and apparently for the next six months, every time I began to use the internet I was treated to an ad by Dorance saying that they wanted to read my book. What did they know about the book such as genre or length or whether it was fiction or nonfiction – nothing. What did they know about me as a writer – nothing. But they wanted to read my book.
I wonder how many books they ask to read they actually read; my guess is none. I wonder how many manuscripts they are sent and decide not to publish, my guess is none. With the advent of self-publishing this company does not stand alone. A later article will discuss why I think self-publishing has greatly expanded.
There are now a host of publishers who will publish your book. One ad which I have seen has a man lying on the floor in front of his laptop. There is a toddler sitting on his back and another sitting on the floor on his left. In this condition he is writing ‘for a higher purpose’. The ad is for a Christian publisher. If this works I need to hire a couple of toddlers and with a higher purpose in mind get my novel published. My purpose in the past must not have been high enough. My purpose was not high enough to get the job done.
Now, it is possible to have a book self-published and be extremely successful. Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, a bestseller and later made into a movie, is a prime example. Since publishing that book he has published two more. His latest book, Project Hail Mary, made it to the combined hardcover and paperback bestseller list in The New York Times.
To reach this level there are a few requirements. First, you must be one hell of a writer. Sad to say, there are a good number, maybe most, of self-published books where the author is not a very good writer. You must also be willing to be able to work your ass off peddling your book by any means possible. That means making a major investment by buying large amounts of books and keeping them around, in the trunk of your car, and try to sell them whenever an opportunity presents itself. Being a capable salesman probably also doesn’t hurt.
I have heard of another method in the past where writers have had publishers show interest in their books. But that was sometime ago and carries with it a certain amount of risk.
A blog is a great way to tell the world who you are and what you do, such as writing books. However, a blog has the same amount of gatekeeping as self-publishing has. In the past writers have posted chapters of their books on their blogs. These chapters stimulated interest in their readers and that interest gained the attention of a publisher. For this to be successful it does not hurt to have a large readership for your blog.
But here is the danger. Many publishers consider something having been published if you have posted on your blog. They will not touch something that has already been published, and they would consider those chapters as having been published. So, you are taking major chance going down that road.
Another thing you must consider is that your self-published book is going to have a hell of a lot of competition. Because self-published books have no gatekeepers, I feel that any book submitted to a publisher publishing those books will publish it. And the competition could be in the hundreds of thousands of books published every year. So, your book must really be able to stand out in a crowd. But it is possible for a self-published book to be a success. Look what Andy Weir was able to accomplish with a self-published book.
THE PROLIFERATION OF SELF-PUBLISHING
THE PROLIFERATION OF SELF-PUBLISHING
I have been writing prose for 25 years now, and before that poetry beginning when I was in high school. So, my time spent writing has been approximately 60 years. And having begun writing long before the computer and internet come on the scene I have seen massive changes in that pursuit.
Back when I began I used a typewriter, along with carbon paper to make copies and white-out to correct mistakes. To approach publishers my work went by mail along with the required SASE, self-addressed stamped envelope.
Then came along the computer and later the internet and radical change occurred in the writing experience. Another recent ‘advancement’ AI is reading my mind and supplying suggestions of words and phrased and it is usually right.
In conjunction with the above advances writing programs were developed making the writing experience much easier than it was in the past. I use Microsoft Word which provides a relatively worry-free writing experience when it comes to spelling and punctuation. There are other writing programs out there which may be better or worse than what I am used to but I advantages I discuss will be the results of using Microsoft Word.
I feel that replacing the typewriter with the computer has opened the floodgates increasing the number of writers now in existence for better or, in my opinion, worse.
No more white-out needed to correct mistakes. The mistakes are easily corrected with a couple of keystrokes. The ability to cut and paste or delete entire sections of unwanted work is a great benefit making the process of editing so much easier than in the past.
With the printer you can produce as many copies of your work as you need relegating the SASE a thing of the past and something many current writers have never needed to use or even know of its existence. You now also bypass the expense of postage. Another advantage of the ability to make multiple copies with ease is that many publishers allow simultaneous submissions – submissions, at the same time, to more than one publisher. But I don’t know if this advantage exists in the self-publishing industry. But the above advances have been a boom to the self-publishing industry in the volume of work which can easily be produced. Of course, the one thing all these technical advances can not provide is skill which comes in handy when you want to get your work published.
In my personal writing major benefits of the word process program is spellcheck and the automatic correction suggested in my punctuation. My knowledge of the correct use of punctuation is nearly nonexistent so the vast amount of the correct punctuation the use is in the hands of the writing program. When it comes to spelling my ability has rapidly gone downhill, not that it was ever great. To give you an idea of how deficient my spelling ability is there have been times when I have been trying to spell a word and the program has no idea what the word I am trying to spell is.
So, there you have the advances in writing which have made the ability to produce a work so much easier than it was in the past. And these advances have resulted in a huge increase in work being produced and submitted to self-publishing presses which results in an incredible number of books being published every year. Books, if feel, would never see the light of day if the typewriter was the only means available to produce the work.
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