F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Fun

Twilight Zone Marathon—2012/2013!

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Well, here it is, the day we all wait for, for many reasons!

1959 Series Logo
1959 Series Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’re like me, besides the day off so close to other days off, you’re checking out the DVR, test running it, giving it practice runs by recording other shows more and more, and of longer and longer duration you’re not gonna watch, only to delete them, polishing the box (make sure you lift the box and also get the top and bottoms), running diagnostics, and generally sweet talking the heck out of it, telling it how wonderfully it’s been performing for you the past year. “Flight testing” all the remotes, and hiding them (and the instruction manuals for non-remote control of the DVR) from all other family members. You might even <choking back a tear, here…> buy it a present. Like a wireless router <excuse me…I need a moment…>.

Why?

Three words:  Twilight Zone marathon, baby!

Okay, four.

Some of the best television ever. And right now, recording away are many, many DVRs. And the winners in this marathon…are the viewers (okay, and I’m sure the Serling estate and the SyFy channel).

We are all winners in this marathon. Yes, you can actually say “we’re all winners,” and not get body slammed into the nearest wall by the competitive of us. So, go ahead, there’s still time, it’s just started! Set your DVRs, Edward, you know you want to—and enjoy the run!

Just make sure to hydrate-hydrate-hydrate!

Related articles

Also pimpin: Twilight Zone-related blogs, Shadow & Substance, and  Seeker of Truth, for Twilight Zone posts and great insight!

A Christmas Story

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Merry Christmas to one and all!

And to those who celebrate any other holiday within this timeframe, I wish you all the very best and all the same well wishes!

But…what does Christmas mean to me?

A Red Ryder-carbine-action-two-hundred-shot-range-model-air-rifle-with-a-compass-in-its-stock-and-a-thing-which-tells-time.

I have no issue with the religious celebrating Christmas as they do…I just do not share your religion.

But.

I still enjoy the season just the same!

I’m not of the traditional religion. Nor non-traditional. I’m just not…”religious.” To me Christmas means peace. And joy. Among other things, it also means being with family. Enjoying their company, and their company enjoying your company. It’s the spirit (yes, “spirit“) of giving—and receiving. It’s reliving Christmases of old…experiencing Christmases of new. It’s enjoying many people enjoying (or trying to!) the season, and therefore life itself. Its people enjoying their own versions of Christmas, both religious and not. It’s one huge time of year where most people try to make a concerted effort to be a little…nicer.

Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.

Okay, tackling you to get at the last Xbox 360 with Kinect or Kindle, or cutting you off for that parking spot as they spill their piping hot Starbucks into their laps, notwithstanding.

And I’ll take one day a year over zero any time (but I know the number’s quite higher)…with the optimistic hope that such behavior will carry over a bit more into their daily lives. I enjoy the spirit of everyone trying to be a better Human and hope that people will stop killing each other and politicians will start acting like the adults they’re rumored to be.

But, that’s not all.

It means watching my favorite Christmas movies! Eating my favorite Christmas food! Writing Christmas cards and letters! Christmas trees and all the trimmings! Colorful lights! Festive music! Admittedly, I look forward to seeing what others give to me (and, heck, yeah, it’s fun)—and look forward to how they feel about what I give them (this is just as much fun)! It’s the metaphysical “feel” of the season I try to experience in my own, personal, metaphysical way. I love the snow and hope for the proverbial “White Christmas” (as a kid, that’s what we had every year, no exceptions—upstate New York).

So, maybe I did a good enough job explaining what Christmas is to me, maybe I didn’t. But it’s my version, and allows for other versions to coexist. Christmas may have started for one reason (religious) or another (secular), but as is the case with other things in life, it has taken on more in its journey through the ages. It means many things to many people, but it all seems to join at various versions of family, peace, love, and understanding. Let’s all try to be so accommodating.

And a Red Ryder-carbine-action-two-hundred-shot-range-model-air-rifle-with-a-compass-in-its-stock-and-a-thing-which-tells-time.

Perhaps not.  But I love that movie–A Christmas Story. It’s one of my favorites, as well as It’s a Wonderful Life. So, go on, rent them. Watch them.

Just don’t shoot your eye out in the process.

Tis the Season—Gift Ideas

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A Christmas Story

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, but now comes “the Home Stretch,” for what I term “the Holiday Season,” which starts with Hallowe’en.

Now, I know everyone has their own view on Christmas and the other holidays celebrated this next month, and I certainly have zero issues with any of it.  I think it’s great we can all celebrate any holiday, in our own individual ways, and have a great time doing it. We need to celebrate and enjoy every so often. There’s a lot going on in the world, both good and bad, but, IMHO, Humanity needs to celebrate and consider the good and fortunate we have in our lives. I understand not everyone can, nor can at the same time most can. Some cannot at all, and to them, my heart genuinely goes out to them. If we lose the ability to see the good in life, and only focus on the bad, then we all lose. For those who cannot see the good, sometimes, I think, just knowing it exists out there can be of some benefit, consciously or unconsciously. I think, deep down, inside all of us, even when we go through rough times, we know “this, too, shall pass,” and that when it does, we’ll be back into the good life has to offer.

So, however and whenever we celebrate, I cannot think of one person I know who does not buy a gift or two for those they love or care about. It’s what Humans do—we like to give. We like to make those we care about happy. Giving gifts is just one way of doing this, but sometimes it’s hard to come up with something well-thought-out. So, since I’m in this with the rest of you, I’ve decided to list some items to hopefully help out, get some of the creative thoughts flowing. If you have some great ideas, please, stop by and list them! It’s fun!

Here are my suggestions, in no particular order and whether or not I actually own them.  Enjoy!

  1. Twilight Zone DVDs/Blu-Rays
  2. The Night Gallery DVDs/Blu-Rays
  3. X-Files DVDs/Blu-Rays
  4. The Lone Gunmen DVDs/Blu-Rays
  5. Kolchak: The Night Stalker DVDs/Blu-Rays
  6. The Grievers (novel—see my review and demand of it; loved it!)
  7. Dracula (classic novel—I’m rereading it for the 4th time!)
  8. Help make a movie—Class Clown Pictures donation
  9. Volbeat’s Beyond Heaven Above Hell (love the poignant “Fallen” track)
  10. iPad mini (I call it the “miPad”)
  11. A stand-up writing desk (can’t find the one I wanted to link to, but you get the idea)
  12. Create a Creative Memories book, calendar, photo album, etc.
  13. An iced tea maker (though I use an older version, use this tons…)
  14. Gift certificate for a cool, atmosphere/romantic restaurant
  15. A Leatherman mulit-tool (these are so danged useful!)
  16. Real NYS or Vermont maple syrup. There is no other kind.
  17. A theracane (oooh, these are incredible!)
  18. Foreign Language DVDs (I loved learning foreign languages, hope to do so again, soon)
  19. An Adirondack Paddle tie-tack
  20. A Christmas Story DVD (if you’ve never seen this, you gotta watch it!)