Day: January 5, 2023

  • Secret Pleasures: Writing and Pens

    Secret Pleasures: Writing and Pens

    Little known fact that when I was in college, each year, I took great pleasure each semester going to the local stationer’s shop and buying supplies. Mechanical pencils, high quality fine point pens (all the better to write and rewrite equation sheets) and other beautiful things. Often from German companies, high quality pads of paper.

    It wasn’t necessary for my success, but there is something very pleasing about high quality paper, and writing instruments.

    (more…)
  • Movie Review: Night of the Living Dead

    Movie Review: Night of the Living Dead

    I grew up in the SF Bay Area, and one of the things that helped make me who I am was a Saturday night slot of horror films broadcast on the local channel, KTVU called “Creature Features” (not to be confused with the series of the same name). This was a weekly show of horror films hosted by Bob Wilkins, a glasses wearing, cigar smoking aficionado of the genre of horror that was growing.

    The one movie that I remember from this time was the original “Night of the Living Dead”, one of the first “zombie” movies, it remains an exemplar of the style.

    Shot on 16mm B&W, it is a low budget, yet entertaining film. The premise of the near dead coming back to life, chasing the protagonists into a house, where they regroup with others who are in the same situation.

    It is rather crude, but an effective movie, well executed, and a timeless classic.

    What made me think of this? I heard that a high quality 4K print was made into a Blu-ray disc, and that combined with nostalgia made it an easy impulse purchase.

    Sure, I could have streamed it, but I like having the physical media, so it is now in my library