Book Review: The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator

Book Review: The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigatorby Tarquin Hall Disclosure: I received this book as a Firstreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is the first of a series about Vish Puri, owner and operator of the Most Private Investigations office of… Continue reading Book Review: The Case of the Missing Servant: From the Files of Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator

TV Review: The Court of Last Resort

TV Review: The Court of Last Resort In 1948, seven lawyers, including Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason series, formed a group called “The Court of Last Resort.”  They investigated convictions that seemed to have irregularities, to see if the accused had actually committed the crime, much like the modern “Project Innocence.” Mr.… Continue reading TV Review: The Court of Last Resort

TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3

TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3 The Cases of Eddie Drake was a private eye series broadcast on the DuMont network in 1952.  The framing device was that psychiatrist Dr. Karen Gayle (Patricia Morison) was writing a book on criminal psychology, and paid Eddie Drake (Don Haggerty) to tell her about his cases.… Continue reading TV Review: The Cases of Eddie Drake/Code 3

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency This 2012 anime series was based on the first two story arcs of the manga by Hirohiko Araki.  The series as a whole deals with the bizarre adventures of the extensive Joestar family, with protagonists having repeated “Jo” sounds in their names, thus “Jojo.” Phantom Blood takes… Continue reading Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7

Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7 (Winter 2010) Back in the day, the low-cost entertainment option of choice was the pulp magazine.  It contained fast, exciting stories on cruddy paper–a lowbrow art form that is still fondly remembered by some.  “Out of the Gutter” tries to be somewhat in that tradition. This is the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7

Book Review: The Why of Things

Book Review: The Why of Things: Causality in Science, Medicine, and Life by Peter Rabins Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. The author of this book is a professor of Geriatric Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, and it started as a clinical teaching presentation.… Continue reading Book Review: The Why of Things

Movie Review: Spider Forest (2004)

A misleading scene from "Spider Forest"

Movie Review: Spider Forest (2004) Kang Min (Kam Woo-Sung), a line producer for a schlocky “true paranormal” television show, finds himself in a dark forest, headed for an isolated house.  Inside, he finds blood and destruction.  He sees the repeatedly stabbed body of his boss, and then finds his lover Hwang Su-yeong (Kang Kyeong-hyeon) dying… Continue reading Movie Review: Spider Forest (2004)

Open Thread: Minicon 49

This past weekend, I went to Minicon 49 at the RadiShTree Hotel in Bloomington.   It’s a book-oriented science fiction convention with an older-skewing crowd, running around 500 people.  So it’s not overcrowded and a good place to talk to your once a year friends. This year’s theme was “Pirates and Airships” largely because the… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 49

Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans

Wolf Children

This last weekend at Minicon 49, I moderated a panel on “Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans.”   As is common at this sort of thing, a lot of series and films were mentioned very briefly, and not everyone had the opportunity to write them all down.  Therefore, I promised to put up a list.  I… Continue reading Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans

Open Post: Top Ten as of Right Now

I’ll be away from my computer for the next little while, so let’s have a Top Ten list post! These are the top ten content posts for the last year. Anime Review: Labyrinth of Magic Manga Review: Vagabond Volume 1 Book Review: Good Advice from Bad People (really rocketed up the charts!) Manga Review: Ayako… Continue reading Open Post: Top Ten as of Right Now