A Memoir: Hollywood in Our Backyard
The coming of movies had a great effect upon us kids. Our main interest at first was the cowboys and Indians. Now began the Big Epic of Backyard Productions. Cecil B. DeMille never heard of…
Tag: Memoir
Coming of Age: Growing Up with Harry Potter
It has been twenty years since the first Harry Potter book was published, and though I only got into it three years later, the extraordinary Harry Potter books and films have been a significant…
The Magic and the Memories: A Nostalgic Fan’s Harry Potter Timeline
…A girl saw an ad in a Lego catalogue that came in the mail. She loved Lego but knew nothing about this new Lego set line. When she showed it to her mother she…
The Road to Always: A Harry Potter Fan Meets an Anti-Harry Potter Fan-Fiction Writer
Ever since 2000, I have been a fan of the Harry Potter book and film series, which have become much appreciated throughout the world for their literary and cinematic value. Like many people of…
An Uncomfortable Comparison: Seeing Myself in Tom Riddle
Every time I read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I am struck, rather uncomfortably, by certain similarities between myself and boy-Voldemort. When Dumbledore shows Harry his memory of first meeting ten-year-old Tom Riddle, we…
A Hair of Him for Memory: The Story of John Hampden’s Auburn Locks on the Antique Market
Great antiques are not necessarily defined by great expense or rarity. Nor need they come from afar, or boast a provenance from some prestigious auction house or country manor. Rather, great antiques are simply the…
Mutants and Magic: A Look At America’s Hogwarts
Having been born in the first days of that glorious period in American history when Gerald Ford strode the earth like a colossus, I was a little too old for Harry Potter when he burst…
Why I Avoid Sorcery in My Fantasy Novels
Magic. Sorcery. Wizards. They seem to be pretty essential components to any fantasy or whimsical story. And as a reader—and author—of fantasy novels, I’ve definitely discovered my fair share of magicians and sorcerers. However, in…
When in Rome: A Pilgrim's Experiences in the City of St. Peter
I had the pleasure and the joy of traveling to Rome in May and the beginning of June 2013. It is not at all easy to describe the power that such an experience contains for…
Jesus of Nazareth: Easter Classic Is Still Better Than Creepy Robots
First released in time for Easter back in 1977, Franco Zeffirelli’s epic miniseries Jesus of Nazareth was a staple of American television for years. As soon as Cadbury Creme Eggs hit the store, Jesus of…