Revisiting Ray Harryhausen’s 1958 classic, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Revisiting Ray Harryhausen’s 1958 classic, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Posted inFilms, Geek Stuff
Ray Harryhausen was a mainstay of my childhood. His movies were regular features on the Saturday matinees -- on television, not in theaters; I'm not THAT old! -- and they sucked me in every time. How could they not? No sane young boy would be anything but engrossed by giant creatures slugging it out with heroes in sandals, and Harryhausen's creatures were AWESOME. So not too long ago, I decided to revisit a handful of his movies, among them The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. As a kid I had no real affection for the Arabian myths, so Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad…
New homebrewing article: How to Make Your Prepackaged Kits Unique!

New homebrewing article: How to Make Your Prepackaged Kits Unique!

Posted inCraft Beer, Works by Eric
Kits are a staple of the homebrewing scene. Put together by your local homebrew shop or the big online retailers, they are all-in-one boxes that give you everything you need to create beers that are time-tested and brewer-approved. Sometimes they are clones of popular craft brews, other times they are retailer exclusives that recreate classic styles, but either way they take the guesswork out of making a great beer. For both newbie homebrewers and veterans alike, that can be a very welcome thing indeed. But sometimes you want to throw a little twist into an old favorite. Sometimes you want…
The clock is ticking. I’m going to die. Dammit.

The clock is ticking. I’m going to die. Dammit.

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants
Not too long ago, I was hanging with a good friend a mine. It was the usual hanging out thing, which in my world means sitting on your hemorrhoids, drinking beer, and talking bad about puppies. He's 82. Christ! 82! I can't even imagine what that is like (but I'm starting to be able to). Anyway, we're having a beer and watching other friends do manual labor. As we relax, he tells me a story about a phone call his wife got. Their house got destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. It has since been rebuilt, but some dudes called or something…
Just how historically accurate was Mad Men?

Just how historically accurate was Mad Men?

Posted inTelevision
The following piece is an excerpt from Celebrating Mad Men, available in paperback and for Kindle. "I talk to them about relationships, how people might interact with a certain company at a client meeting. I also ask really simple questions, like 'Where did you eat lunch?'" –Mad Men researcher Kathryn Allison Mann on interviewing industry veterans (source) When Mad Men first hit the air, few things garnered as much attention as the show's slavish devotion to capturing period-accurate detail. The show developed such a reputation for being correct in its period details that sticklers for historical accuracy have kept a…