My House is Haunted. No, Really.

I live in a haunted house. It’s not nearly as scary as it sounds. It’s annoying. I think by now we’ve all seen this tweet: Truthfully, that’s not far off the mark. My house is more than a century old; it was built around 1900. My grandfather lived here from February of 1949 until his……

Candyman…

Thanks to Netflix’s belief thst I am interested in the films of the 1990s–mostly because I am–I watched Candyman tonight. This was the first time I’ve watched it in full since the first time I watched it. It was my junior year of high school. 1994. Saturday night, around 1 a.m. All the lights in……

Standing Witness

I don’t think I’ve ever cried at a burial. Funeral masses, not so much, either — my mom being the notable exception. I do cry at viewings occasionally — mom, my paternal grandparents (I was a mess at Mohawk’s, especially when I saw my nephews cry), and my second mother-in-law — but even then, by……

Mohawk Farms, 1922-2019: A Retrospective

The farm has sold. I’ve been staring at the screen, trying to come up with some flowery, grandiose introduction, some better way of saying it, but there it is. The farm has sold. After 97 years in the family, and five generations of Berenato men and women working there, the farm has sold. We knew……

All Hail the Men of the Mess! Pt. 1

I love this time of year. The crisp air, the turning leaves, the excuse to wear an overcoat… and the legions of scary movies. Chief among these, for me, are the Universal Monster movies of the ’30s and ’40s. Once upon a yesterday – nine years now, actually – I wrote a five-part series about……

New Blog Post! New Book!

Good heavens… has it really been fourteen months since my last update? Unacceptable. Simply unacceptable, Joe. At any rate, today — yes, today! — marks the release of the latest collaboration between me and the inimitable Rich Handley: Bright Eyes, Ape City: Exploring the Planet of the Apes Mythos, put out by the goodly folks at……

Remember…

Leonard Nimoy died today. I see the words on my screen, but I can’t comprehend them. They seem like a fiction, and a terrible one at that. I feel like a two-bit hack for writing such unbelievable dreck. But it’s not fiction. It’s fact. Leonard Nimoy died today. When he was rushed to the hospital last……

In Memoriam: I Write Because of Harold Ramis

Harold Ramis died one year ago today. In remembrance, I present a piece I wrote celebrating his influence on me. It originally appeared at Atomic Wanderers on February 26, 2014. Harold Ramis died the other day. I never knew the man personally, never had the privilege of meeting him, and knew nothing about his private……

For Your Hugo Consideration…

New Life and New Civilizations: Exploring Star Trek Comics, released in 2014, is an anthology of critical essays which examine various aspects of the 48-year history of Star Trek in the four-color realm. It features essays from notable Trek scribes like Robert Greenberger, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore, Scott Tipton, David A. McIntee, and Hugo- and Nebula……

Encounter (Me) at Farpoint (Convention)!

This weekend, the 22nd Annual Farpoint Convention will be held at the North Baltimore Plaza Hotel in Lutherville-Timonium, MD. The good folks at Farpoint have been gracious enough to invite yours truly as a guest to this soiree! I’ll be available during the following events: Friday, February 13, 2015 10:00 p.m. – Midnight: Farpoint Book……