The Atari 2600, Axis & Allies, classic board games, and other Youtube shenanigans

The Atari 2600, Axis & Allies, classic board games, and other Youtube shenanigans

Posted inGeek Stuff, Videos, Works by Eric
I've been lax in posting recent Hours in the Attic videos because Reasons, so I figured the best way to alleviate my guilt would be to post several at once. Two are board game-related, which is always fun because board games rock, and the third is a bit of Atari 2600 nostalgia. So that's swell. Check them out while I get back to pretending I'm a writer (and don't forget to subscribe):   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKmOnTYEC5M This next one, I don't know how Tig managed to salvage it, because I was just rambling without direction or focus. That's what years worth of loving this…
Saving Private Ryan on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day

Saving Private Ryan on the 70th Anniversary of D-Day

Posted inFilms, Random Musings
Watched Saving Private Ryan in honor of the 70th anniversary of D-Day yesterday. I still remember when I first saw this in the theater. I live in a retirement area with a huge senior population.When we went to see this the theater was full, and it was a sea of white heads in every aisle. My wife and I were some of the only young people there. It was harrowing. That opening sequence, no one had ever done anything like it before. For 20 minutes you're assaulted with graphic violence and noise and fury that relentlessly pounded your senses. By the end of the sequence, you were out…
Why would you write about your lousy little town?

Why would you write about your lousy little town?

Posted inRandom Musings, Works by Eric, Writing
I never saw my hometown 'till I stayed away too long. --"San Diego Serenade," Tom Waits This sort of sums up Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons, a book I wrote and self-published about the tiny Pine Barrens town I spent years trying to leave. That's right. For most of my teen years, I wanted to get the hell out of that place. So if I spent years trying to leave the town -- and I jumped ship as soon as I could, fleeing at the age of 19 -- why would I spend the time to write and publish a…
TODAY IN HISTORY: Graf Zeppelin completes first Transatlantic flight, lands in Lakehurst

TODAY IN HISTORY: Graf Zeppelin completes first Transatlantic flight, lands in Lakehurst

Posted inRandom Musings, Uncategorized
Yep, the little town that could made history in more ways than you realize. On this day in 1928, the legendary Graf Zeppelin completed its first ever Transatlantic flight, flying from Friedrichshafen, Germany to Lakehurst, New Jersey in about 111 hours. Capt. Ernst Lehmann was in command of this historic flight. Eight years later he'd be on an even more famous flight: the crash of Hindenburg. Sadly, he would not live to tell his story; Lehmann was one of the causalities of the disaster. The famed Graf Zeppelin landed in Lakehurst at around 5:28 p.m., making Lakehurst the destination for…
75 years ago today

75 years ago today

Posted inWorks by Eric, Writing
The following is excerpted from my book Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps and Barons. Seventy-five years ago today, fire rained down from the sky when the great airship Hindenburg exploded into a ball of flame over Lakehurst on May 6, 1937, in the process leaving an unforgettable mark on history. To this day, it remains the largest vessel ever to take to the skies. It was over 800 feet long; as long as two football fields and the majority of a third. Despite its stunning bulk, it routinely made the flight from Germany to Lakehurst, NJ in a mere two days while carrying scores of passengers.…