Today I’m guest blogging at Chiseled in Rock.
Philosophical
Twilight Zone—My 25 Favorite Episodes!
Well, I’ve been putting this off for years, but after visiting some recent Twilight Zone-related blogs (here and here) and being asked the question–and seeing an actual list from one of the sites—I decided, okay, I really should put down a list of my favorite episodes. So, here they are—in no particular order (except the top 4 really are my top four):
- And When the Sky was Opened
- Judgment Day
- The Arrival
- The After Hours
- Mirror Image
- King 9 Will Not Return
- The 7th is Made Up Of Phantoms
- Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
- The Thirty-Fathom Grave
- Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up
- A Game Of Pool
- Long Live Walter Jameson
- Death Ship
- The Passage of the Lady Anne
- Nothing In The Dark
- A Passage For Trumpet
- Ring-A-Ding Girl
- Perchance To Dream
- The Last Flight
- The Changing of the Guard
- A Stop at Willoughby
- A World Of His Own
- Trouble With Templeton
- The Passersby
- The Hunt
I’m a fan of ATMOSPHERE, which can clearly be seen in some of my selections, like Judgment Day, Lady Anne, Martian, etc., and there are some others missing, like I Am The Night, Color Me Black. And in my review of episodes, I think I actually found one I have never seen: An Occurrence At Owl Creek. How did I miss this? Must also be another rare episode. I mean, thanks to Shadow & Substance, but I even caught the rare George Takei episode, The Encounter, a powerful and polarizing episode rarely aired. But you can also see the ex-military side of me, and my love of ships, subs, and aircraft. But I also love the reincarnational and paranormally weird. But, hey, I’m a Twilight Zone fan, right?
Will this list change? Just like the Twilight Zone is a state of mind, so this list is a result of my state of mind at any one moment in time….
But, oh, how these bring back such wonderful images, emotion, and atmosphere!
Related Article: John-Boy Wrote For The Twilight Zone
Midnight in Paris
Over the weekend, my wife and I watched a romantic comedy I hadn’t heard anything about (I’d had two back-to-back biz trips when it came out, my wife said): Midnight in Paris, by Woody Allen.
I’m a sucker for alternate reality stories!
Much of what I write about messes around with reality in one way or the other. And if this mechanic is well-handled and brought into a mainstream medium, all the better! I wish I could remember another one I really liked, but it was years ago and about something as similar, like people passing by in a supermarket, wondering “what-ifs,” or something. Dang it! Anyway, this is about an engaged couple who are tagging along some wealthy-cum-snobby parents on a business trip to Paris. Owen Wilson’s character, Gil, is in love with Paris and doesn’t want to leave…his fiancée, Rachel McAdams’s, Inez, not so much.
Oooh, conflict–the great must-have in all good storytelling!
If you’re at all perceptive, you can see it all coming a mile away, but that’s not the important part for me–what I loved was the whole back-in-time travel, the period and location ambiance, meeting all the Greats du History…Hemingway (“Who wants to fight!“), Gertrude Stein, Dali, the Fitzgeralds. The carrying on of two, parallel lives, and how they interacted with each other, even across time (the diary of Marion Cotillard’s character, Adriana…). I loved the mechanism of travel to the past. There’s so much I want to say about this movie, but I don’t want to give away anything else about it, including the realization Gil has at the end of the movie, obvious or not. It is such an enjoyable film, and always fun to watch Owen Wilson. But I love the “peeking behind the curtain” aspects, here, the personal epiphanies…and Woody Allen did an excellent job with its creation!
Welcome!
This site is under construction!
It is a new endeavor of mine I’ve been considering for some time, splitting off my more esoteric ramblings from my other site, and instigated not only by my own considerations, but also through deep, in-depth conversations with one of my brothers.
What do I want to do and say?
What is my purpose in writing?
What would someone like me being looking for out of the likes of me?
All great questions. On my other site (Runnin Off at the Mouth) I usually deal with things-writing. There have been paranormal/esoteric considerations, but I largely deal with the writing world over there. On this site, the reverse will be in order. Here, I will discuss and deal with those things-metaphysical, dream related, and paranormal that interest me. I don’t intend to be “preachy,” but, really, all who communicate in any way present their own personal world views. I am no different…and my world view is an optimistic Weltanschauung. I’ve put a lot of consideration into life, the universe, and everything and believe in each and all of us creating our own lives, interpreting our own dreams, and resolving our own problems. I’m not a licensed anything, so if you have serious, life-threatening issues, please seek profesisonal help. Here, I’m just going to share thoughts on life, and what I think goes on in the background of our lives. On whatever philosophically interests me. Feel free to stop by, and enjoy!