Movies & Music Considered

A Brief Commentary on Recent Media
By Alex Ness
September 30, 2025

INTRO

I have been had by constant health issues, loss of memory, and more appointments at Drs and Dentists. My ability to write is deeply slowed and unproductive. I am not asking for forgiveness, my issues aren't from sloth or lack of imagination. Also, my son's cat Isabella climb on one of my book shelves and meowed loudly for me to see her brave act. Well, it requires a full time job to watch over her, I am not saying she is evil or bad. She is simply so curious and desirous of recognition she can't help it. It is honestly a better problem to have than those people I've encountered in my travels. People with almost no layers of clothing, people using a single crutch to assist them in their path. And far worse.

FILM

The movies I am about to write about involve a number of points to consider. Those reasons are not solely about quality or lacking of. It is due to how it had an impact upon me then, or how it works now, as a much older human. The first film shown, The Missiles of October, was a television movie, but that had not been a demerit. The acting, the scenes, and the fast pace of the story all worked well together. And gave me a global social-political narrative that felt without bias. It showed what could happen with lesser leaders and if we weren't careful.  There was very little cheese, which I think elevated it to a level that adults long past the event my be refreshed in memory, and the younger audience could have a level entertainment to go with the frightening aspect, that this isn't a horror film, it actually came close to happening. 

The next film, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea took aim at a theme done so well with On The Beach but with a lighter tone, it felt less serious. The ship, the Seaview was a world treasure, allowing its crew to be used  in rescue, repair, repeal enemies as the representative to the world (UN) community. It was fun with just ok effects. The world is facing a natural event, and only a ship that can hide well, rise to the surface and launch missiles can hope to stop the storm ahead. There is some cheese in this film, and the adversary is occasionally a bit like a hippie with a hair cut who has some beliefs that make it less and adventure and feel more like comedic fiction or sarcastic.

The Defector was a remarkable movie in that it was made with a very low budget, and that it was made with a quiet nature about it, managed to be intriguing despite having such a slow pace, and quiet ongoing background. The project was the work of many creative talents, but two died in less than or just after the release. Raoul Lévy, director, who committed suicide near the opening date, and Montgomery Clift, actor, who became drug addicted after a life shattering car crash. The movie about blackmail, information theft, and ultimately the control of intellectual properties is an engaging work. Clift said it couldn't have been made, on his part of the bargain without the help of Roddy McDowall. Compared to other works about similar subjects, it doesn't really hold up, but I enjoyed it, as both Clift and McDowall had first rate acting skills.

ICE STATION ZEBRA A disturbing message is sent to a submarine captain, who is visiting different bars but it is apparent that he isn't hitting the booze, as he has been given special information and he is not showing the effects of inebriants. And the captain, played by Rock Hudson has a fine performance, as a leader who leads by rapport rather than force, discipline, or rules. The cast is rather wonderful, and even Ernest Borgnine, who does fit on my top 10 actors list, who plays a Russian defector who behaves oddly for a non spy, plays their roles perfectly.  I noticed, as would most people of the present, almost the entirety of male gender within the crews. Now, to change it for the modern audience would be foolish, so I am not condemning the situation, just noticing it. During the entirety of the film while the pace is rather slow, it works to make the crank up the tension and pace when it is time. And by then, you can feel the unease in all the crew. It was truly a fun and high quality film. 

GORKY PARK

The film and book aren't exactly alike, but both are worth viewing and or viewing. Arkady Renko is a detective in the Soviet Union, and author Martin Cruz Smith is a highly talented writer. His feel for the various tiers of society, from those with power, to those with none, peels back the skin for the viewers/readers to see. Power means wealth, wealth means luxury items, and if you can sell forbidden products due to your knowledge secrets about the powerful, you might think there are more things to do, than steal, or buy, such as relics, weapons forbidden from the people, and more. Perhaps a wealthy Russian likes to have young women or young men, perhaps he uses them for other things too. When his underlings find three dead bodies of women, with removed faces, cut off hands, to hide the identities, and perhaps, rather than a random killer or snuff film fan, you have serial killer. In fact, when the path reveals a connection to Mink sales and trafficking, Arkady isn't certain he'll survive, because the changing traits from pervert to international serial killer, that is going from a deputy of a sheriff in a small county, to the FBI arresting and indicting an ambassador to a country.  A great film I thought.

Sussan Deyhim  With all the music in the Western world, there is a format, lyrics, rhythm. With Sussan Deyhim she performs all that in song. She evokes a culture, and mindset, a cultural force, that will never be lost.

Diana Damrau From the first note of her operatic performance, whichever you happen to view, you hear a voice with control and power, never being trapped by the lyrics written many hundreds of years passed, nor made without purpose by the antiquity of the sound.

Edith Piaf Called the voice of France, Edith Piaf has a solid place in that challenge. While others have been suggested as being the "voice of France" they all have legitimacy.  She was neither powerful looking, nor was she blessed with great physical presence. She was beneath 5 feet tall, and her life had worn upon her. But find out the story behind each of her songs, be prepared to shout Vive la France

Kazha is a fantastic band from Japan. From the outside it appears to be a hard or heavy rock, but the lead singer is not that. Therefore this work is a delicate mix, of soft and evocative voice and a much harder musical accompaniment.

Kohachiro Miyata - Shakuhachi The Japanese flute is ancient, taking form in the era of the 7th-8th century C.E.  The collection by Kohachiro Miyata is reminiscent of a Zen garden or a soft and quiet place of reflection. 

Demon Kogure is a funny character, witty and often over the top, and has been lead singer of the band Seikima-II. He also performed solo. Like the band Kiss, his make up is never off in public, and few have seen his face. His voice is powerful, and he sings covers well. His work is well known in Japan, and appreciated for knowledge in many areas. Destinyland is by far his most recognized song. The band Seikima-II used the theme of mythic or religious power and all the members were called a demon or holder of power. Not Western, they use the concept as conflict between beings of power.

MUSIC

LASTLY

If you like how I write and what I write about, contact me at alexanderness63 At Gmail.com. I'll give you my prices, and they will all be cheaper than Amazon.

I know it is less certain ordering through me, than Amazon, but I make nothing through Amazon, I can sign the copies, and I usually find a price and make it postage paid. I take paypal and checks.

LINKS

MY POETRY AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
HERE: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com 
MY PUBLISHED WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

Reading Makes you Smart... or if you already know that, smarter

JOIN THE BOOK CLUB
By Alex Ness
September 24, 2025

I am not herein suggesting I know what you need to read. But reading builds better memory, higher literacy, and many more positive things.  There are a great many books to choose from, with millions of books in print and out of print every year. Some small number of books sell greatly and succeeded, some books made a small inroad to sales and financial reward and of course, many fail. In 2025, physical books sold twice that number of books and a return financial of less than the amount of 2002, means that more product is happening, but far less will sell, all in a market with far less shelf space, where digital sales are not filling in the blanks for less physical copies sold. This is a disaster, even catastrophic. As such, I plan to offer at least a portion of each new article about books or events in the book world. I hate Ebooks, more for the lack of enjoyment using them, than for the impact upon the industry. I hate them for that too, but...

BOOKs

First a notice about the eventual arrival of a new Cthulhu themed book by Ken St. Andre, writer of Tunnels and Trolls, Monsters! Monsters!, Stormbringer through Chaosium, and Call of Cthulhu. Then a section of books, in different forms, fiction, Ancient Greece, Japan, Russia, non fiction, war, secret agents, defections and nuclear war.  Reading is fundamental. So is eating and drinking, so complete your life, buying a book, and eating a sandwich and having a lovely beverage.

Cthulhu on Zimrala by Ken St Andre

Ken St. Andre has a book, and Cthulhu is the hero, or so we are led to think. I don't know much about the book, but it comes out in time for Halloween, and will be found on https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/9559/trollgodfather-press  The book features Great Cthulhu versus the Troll God in the setting of the pantheon on the world of Zimrala. There are no observable hero archtypes, but in a world with fear, mania, evil, you go with the lesser evil. 

It should go live by end of October.  Give it a read and support Ken's work.

A RECENT READING OF MANY BOOKS: 3 sets of 4 books

1, secret plans, traitor? Defectors and Whistleblowers.

Icebreaker by 'Viktor Suvorov' 

Using a pen name Suvorov, a defector from the Soviet Union, writes that with previous access to Soviet era files reveal that Josef Stalin had created many events that drove the USSR to attempting to cause Hitler to invade Russia. And he asserts this by demonstrating that nearly all of the war machinery was founded upon the aspect of defending rather than attacking, in nature. Suvorov also believes that the Winter War with Finland was fought and led to the officer purge which forced the Red Army to modernize their military. He wasn't well received in his assertions, but saying none can be proved because there was no evidence found in the opened files of the USSR. But one can easily make a defense by saying we can't find it in the files... unless of course, they were destroyed by authorities who feared post Soviet house cleaning.

The Forgotten Soldier by 'Guy Sajer'

Author Guy Sajer was born in the Alsace Lorraine of the French/German border. He identified far more with his German lineage than French, and the region he came from was mixed thoroughly in culture, being a region passed back and forth in peace treaty agreements. Sajer fought as a patriotic German, not as much a Nazi but he did oppose Marxism. He fought the Russians and also faced Western Allies and surrendered to the British. Who then released him to fight alongside the French.

A MIG to Freedom by No Kum Sok

Happening in the Korean War, Operation Moolah was an American attempt to bribe any North Korean, Chinese or Russian fighter pilots using MiG 15 fighter jets to defect, and turn their jet over for study by the UN. The pilot who defected had no idea what Operation Moolah was. But it helped No Kum Sok become an American and move to the US. His life changed, and the air war over Korea changed as well.

Heroes Muses and the saga of Mordechai Vanunu 

Mordechai Vanunu was a nuclear technician and a concerned peace advocate who tried to share the secret information related to the military information at the Nuclear plant at Dimona in Israel. However, Mossad and others caught wind of Vanunu's efforts, and tried to capture him in the act of espionage and spying for various countries. He paid for being caught by being imprisoned for years and years, and then relegated to life in a region covered in police and military personnel, making his freedom, free but only in name. He became a Christian, married a woman from Norway, and has since attempted to immigrate to her homeland, in Norway.

2, great books about ancient events, and the recording of them.

Anabasis by Xenophon  

The Greeks excelled in combat. They also had an unusual understanding of being Greek, overall, but aligning with the city-states they came from. But when a betrayal of the leadership during a treaty attempt, isolated and sent them on a retreat of many miles, many foes, and displayed the excellence of Greece, for they acted as one, took votes on decisions and made it to the northern coast of Turkey, where they took ships home to Greece. They lost many, but never lost their forward outlook. 

The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer

The former way of remembering history was through poetry that often including art. The Greeks weren't perhaps the very first recorders of history, but they were definitely focused upon the meaning of, and function of poetry. The Iliad and Odyssey does speak of the war between the Greek states and the Kingdom of Troy. The greatness of the book is not solely for the quality and real sounding facts, but for seemingly accurate capturing a historic event and speaking towards the squabbling Greeks, the Trojans and the difficult return home. It is a great work, for the distance from the presence especially so.

The Western Way of War by Victor Davis Hanson

Victor Davis Hanson came from a family of farmers and was a part of his generational understanding of the seasons of growing and the harvest. This is important because it is an observational talent, that allows a growing perspective from the lives led and times that mark high points or collapse. He chose to study how the Greeks changed war, and by doing so led to Democracy. By each man extended a great spear or pike, the fellow next to him had to use his shield to cover the unprotected area of the warrior next to him. And so on. Eventually the Greeks recognized collective defense as being the lesson to learn. The book was an excellent one, and the four books Hanson wrote were similarly good. 

Greek Lyrical Poems a collection of 3 poems

Poetry again? Well yes. Greece and many ancient people celebrated poetry for its powerful ability to share information, in a form that can be followed and remembered. My particular interest was the discussion of Archilocus, a warrior poet, who wrote stinging and bitter, humorous and even reflective poems that illustrated the life as a warrior.

3, Japan's legend Miyamoto Musashi, Haruki Murakami's Japanese version of 1984, Sei Shonagon rival to the world's first novelist Lady Murasaki Shikibu, and Sun and Steel by Yukio Mishima.

The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

The greatest of Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi, spent his life in battles, duels and thinking upon his expertise and the way of swordplay. His writings as well as his actual life with over fifty victories in duels, taught other Samurai and non experts, methods of the path of a great warrior.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Although this suggests 1984 would be an anchor to the story found in this. However much it evokes it, the story is about two people who cross realities. These alternative worlds and lives meet, and lose track of each other and their own realities and their own family. The questions of reality make this a social dystopia, and deftly told tale about human insanity, and how realities change for reasons of our own flaw, and occasionally via systems created to avoid disaster actually causing the disaster.  This a fantastic work.

The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon

In the imperial court of Japan, there were different roles people played, and roles that were quite unlike the roles they aped in real life. For under the Shogun, he had power. The Emperor had little power, and people in the court played roles wherein the Empire's seat of power did not. The Emperor was served by various women playing roles of etiquette and noble protocols. He was guarded by few, but they looked the role. Sei Shonagon was a woman in waiting, and wrote about life in that Japan, the highest level of woman in the court was Lady Murasaki Shikibu, and she wrote about their petty rivalry, or petulant outlook. The work is insanely powerful as a way to find insight how a beautiful creature held in a jeweled golden cage endures. Her talent is in writing, and it is in focusing upon life in ways that are anything but ordinary.  

Sun and Steel by Yukio Mishima

The fact that the author Yukio Mishima wrote numerous near autobiographical essays and collections of essays, should have left no reader of his in the doubt that so many were. Here he speaks of a work that presents the life of an author or poet, who trains his body, lifting weights, exercising as a warrior would. He speaks of treating love and attachment as dainty and without power. He thought that anyone seeking to know the truth lives to know reality from a stoic perspective. Stoicism in his mind disallows loving another, and yet, Mishima clearly is writing as clever warrior's voice. That is, even if he hasn't directly said it, Mishima has implied that a warrior or poet, or artist, are all creating, working living, in many relationships, many of them are held together by the love of those who share the journey. Warriors, artist collectives, poet or craft group communities are where one who writes or trains their body, are going through the same process by fire. I never see it as my business to know one's orientation, unless they say things that aim in opposing directions. In that case I want to know why they are able to do that. But Mishima isn't a liar, even if clever, he isn't an artist of a lie, since he confesses who he is. So, perhaps the answer to what a person who distrusts love and attachments, has chosen to let his art exist in the abstract of thought, and he has told you throughout his work, he loves men. He has attractions to women too, but I think he is intellectually dissembling his mind's attractions to men, but his body building refers to his attractions to women, making himself attractive in the perfect form of man. If one reads this, I recommend also reading Confessions of a mask.  

LASTLY

If you like how I write and what I write about, contact me at alexanderness63 At Gmail.com. I'll give you my prices, and they will all be cheaper than Amazon.

I know it is less certain ordering through me, than Amazon, but I make nothing through Amazon, I can sign the copies, and I usually find a price and make it postage paid. I take paypal and checks.

 

LINKS

MY POETRY AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
HERE: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com 
MY PUBLISHED WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

Scolded for truth? Sort of but meh...

ABOUT THE POST OF SEPTEMBER 10, 2025
By Alex Ness
September 11, 2025

No, I didn't receive any "hate mail", but I did receive unlove letters. From my perspective I have received hate mail. When recognizing pride month, people of my own faith said I was a charlatan. In the past when responding to conflicts around the world, by not saying one side or the other was wrong, I was called a "moral relativist". And someone said, with so many people in religion being nominal at best, if I am looking upon the world conflict, killing people, and not taking a side about moral good or evil, how vibrant and real is my faith. 

The worst note was to question my world viewing me, oddly, as a country club fascist or as a left wing effete scholar who loves luxury, and smiles as civilization burns. But I am guy sitting writing a article or reading one, as the crowd tears down the walls of Rome. Meanwhile the powerful and dangerous Barbarians simply wait to take power. I am not left wing, I am someone who reads a lot of books, but I don't make a living from my scholarly efforts. So it isn't accurate. But it is true, I sent condolences to people who appreciate and love Charlie Kirk. He is human and spoke about his ideas and most of the people didn't come equally equipped to debate, as he was. That is fine, but I would draw the line at condolences for a world dictator. 

In a course in graduate school I got removed from the class of professional education ethics for saying, popularity doesn't equate moral or good. The graduate student who had just said, 'hey we have George Bush and he went to war against Saddam Hussein and he was voted into office, so he is just as rightful to rule his country.' I said, "10 million flies like shit, it doesn't mean that the shit is good." I then had to meet the course leader and then the dean of humanities. The course leader didn't want me to go to the leadership of the school of Humanities. But I did. He asked me what I said. I told him, and he said, in the current age of academic conformity, and group think about moral issues, you did the right thing.

It wasn't a great big moral moment. I wasn't worried about being kicked out, but if I had been ... What would I have chosen instead?

And for what it is worth, I thought George HW Bush was a company man from the CIA. I believe he knew things, did things and on some level had been involved in some seriously bad things. I wasn't comparing him to a dictator however, because it was a false moral relativism argument, and it was even false in facts. Any elections in Iraq that gave power to S.Hussein in no way allowed honest choices. As bad as GHWB was, his route to being elected was on the surface, legitimate. In History, in Political Science, you have information to consider big questions. The way to never be wrong is never take a stand. You won't be good either. But no one will say, that's the guy who was wrong... 

I don't share everything I think, and at worse I am an unknown because I choose my spots, to only the most important commentary, or to defend myself against unfair commentaries. In person any debate is different, because a lot of people think I am large, angry and scary. But just as my voice is deep, it is also soft. I might be large, but I am neither muscular, able or really angry. So, you are all safe.

GAMES

Something to occupy your time, if you want a softer deep take on interesting scenarios than video games.

From numerous companies, some have to be entirely speculative, while others rely upon facts, maps, stats and an engine for how the turns work.

Raid on St Nazaire : This Avalon Hill Game focuses upon a raid in WWII that the British commandos and Royal Navy carried out to keep German ships based in Occupied France from having access to repair docks that could allow damaged ships to get back into action quickly. It was a highly daring, greatly likely to leave behind mass casualties, and possible defeat. But as it was, history's version of this battle left the dry docks destroyed. Nazi Germany changed their protocols for Commandos taken prisoner. And many people clung to the hope that the action allowed to flourish. The game is/was great. 

Rome at War: Queen of the Celts: I received the PR documents about this game and I definitely wanted to buy it and still do, but that is a different story. Avalanche Press created a great game, featuring the Iceni Celts going on a righteous rampage, burning Roman Britain towns and cities, defeating numerous smaller armies of the Romans. The game itself does capture the flavor of a game. (I watched a pod cast with it and it was every bit as interesting and fun looking as I had imagined.)

Day of the Chariot is a game that I have not played, but I have looked into it with friends who discussed it's potential. From Against the Odds LPS Inc, it is a work about one of the earliest recorded war in history is based upon a highly contested account of what happened. Led by Ramses II, four Egyptian infantry units march to the furthest boundaries of the Egyptian Empire, into Kadesh, where a ruler of the region was just one rebellious territory that sought to resist being reentered into the Egyptian Empire. As the Egyptian units slowing reached their link up point, an ambush burst out of the heights and rough, as hundreds of chariot crews drove through and shattered 2 of the 4 units. They reached the camp of Ramses who quickly gathered a unit of chariots and took up a defense. There is no real commentary that Ramses was anything but brave, inspiring, and a war machine. The ambush chariots had now exhausted their horses, and crews, and almost 25% of the attackers were lost. Who won, how honest the reports were, is debated. But the story is brilliant. Whether Ramses was a victor, a hero, and unshaken in the face of disaster, or things went a great deal differently, and ended with two deadlocked armies, and no great exchange of power or victory.  The game looks F'ing brilliant.

Sinai is a SPI game that covers the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973. I think this game has a great quality in that, it is a relatively rare trait to cover a specific campaign from different periods but done in such a way that the events on a smaller scale still present the importance of events and how both sides changed over the time period to find advantage over the other. I have indeed played this, and I did, indeed find it to be unbiased, easy to understand, and reflect the decisions made and the events resulting from those actions. It is rather important, I believe in the present, to figure out how we've arrived where we have, and this is a means to do so.

Designed by famed game designer Frank Chadwick for Compass Games, Third World War is highly thorough and traditional but prescient consideration of a war that has a beginning point in 1989, so the Soviet Union still exists, but considering most of the west of the Warsaw Pact is currently in NATO, this is a detailed view of what the status was, prior to the reality collapse of the Soviet machine. The units are small enough to not be too clumsy or over reaching, and the rules are well done and allow for quick learning. 

Thanks for reading...

Lastly 

If you like how I write and what I write about, contact me at alexanderness63 At Gmail.com. I'll give you my prices, and they will all be cheaper than Amazon.

I know it is less certain ordering through me, than Amazon, but I make nothing through Amazon, I can sign the copies, and I usually find a price and make it postage paid. I take paypal and checks.

 

LINKS

My Poetry AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
This place Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
My published WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

A Post about this world and what I am Doing...

Loss of Reality
By Alex Ness
September 10, 2025

EVER WONDER

Note: This was written and finished by 2pm on September 10th. I was considering how we elevate our entertainments and pleasures versus the importance of the world's state of being. But also as to my difficulties attending to my writing, while dealing with a world in panic, a division of people in almost every activity, and how our values seem bizarre considering all that is at stake. Charlie Kirk wasn't the impetus for this, but it fit exactly my point of being, discussing things that don't really matter, while real world disaster happen upon our watch.  As a fellow human, I send his family and fans condolences. --------

There is no blame intended in what I am about to discuss here, I'm in the middle of the crowd like any reader.  In fact, perhaps I am more to blame, as I am reviewing or suggesting people consume the media I offer. But my point is that we all enjoy sports, entertainment, film, comics, books, music or outdoor hobbies. And there are certainly many more categories and entries.

I was asked by numerous people my opinions on various world events, elections, disasters. While I try to connect the media I share with serious matters, offering my interpretations of the lyrics, story, ideas behind the work, it is about things I generally like. I rarely take on products I hate or find troubling, my reviews have always been about trying to explain why you might like it or why I liked it. That is, rather than swat the reader across the nose with a rolled up newspaper and poop on the product. Or worse, focus on the awful of something, and end up diminishing the work of a creative team or creator.

What I am trying to get at here, is that there are many people at this time who are trying to fish and find my political or religious or outlook on the creative people and industries and product I address. That is when they miss out upon the views, ideas and simply look at some wonderful works. If you want my views, you probably will have to go fish and you aren't going to find what you are looking for. But why is that so freaking important? Just like or dislike or read or listen to what you will, and decide for yourself if it qualifies as good, or fits your political requisite needs.

There are other reasons my heart may be feeling faint. Beyond making almost no money for writing for others or myself, or my books in print for most of the last 10 years. My horrible health has prevented me for long periods of time from doing a lot more. I was dealing with a dental series of small disasters over the summer. But I still tried to work, write, share the work of others. And over the last 3.5 years, I had a return to cancer, a problem for 4 months with my tailpipe, and far more. Without insurance I'd be a dead man.

I am not going to worry about timely articles, and won't offer immediate reply to emails with regularity, except for immediate deletion for spam or hackers, or people demanding I use their services for options and needs that I do not. Find me on Facebook, for easier contact, or email me if this is an important email. I still approve of contact and regular discussions, I just don't need to answer things regularly asked, and historically discussed on my blogs. Do not, please, take this as telling readers not to contact me, or not to think I mean whatever I write about as being serious. But there are only so many ways to retell your favorite movie or book.

I will still review the media I choose to, but I may not do so as regularly as I have. I enjoy writing, but I might require those who request reviews, to send me product. Hoping I'll support your work, in whatever medium, without your own information or product doesn't normally get far in the real world. And especially so without reward or even being thanked.  And I might be a little more stingy with interviews, since half of those who ask for my time and interest never return the answers to the questions I spent time writing, and never thereafter say thanks, sorry bout that, or what happened?  No one in the midst of an interview should assume I mean them. I've done interviews since 2001. Over time I've offered my services and was not a wealthy man as a result. But I did have fun, did meet great people, and don't regret my labors. I am just old, tired, and in pain.

My next piece might appear on Monday September 15, 2025. It will be post dental procedure, and might be the end of 4 months of misadventures of teeth and being old.

9-11-2001

24 years ago, September 11th marked a moment in culture that made us all have to respond. My biggest pain was realizing that post 2001 my son didn't live in a world without peace, until approximately 2021. That is something we should never ignore.

 

LINKS

My Poetry AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
This place Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
My published WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

Today is brought to You by the Letter M

MONDAY in Minnesota 

By Alex Ness
September 8, 2025

RUNNING BEHIND

I've recently been sick and it began to effect my sleep. It is almost certainly my fault, or due to my habits. But it has slowed me down, and on one or more occasions I was dizzy enough to have to nap to deal with it. So this is a very small entry here, but I will hope to catch up soon. Perhaps it is a hiatus, but I'll post whatever arrives in my review pile and numerous interviews that are in orbit. One interview is with a person I am not allowed to name until it is authorized to be released. Cannot explain or say more, it is exciting if it happens.

MOVIES I RECENTLY WATCHED

Dark Star

Dark Star isn't what I'd call serious science fiction. But was it intended to be? Those who judge it as bad sci fi, confuse it by the genre, and then label it as bad sci fi. As a movie from John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon, you'd not be wrong in the present to assume it has a theme of horror or a straight forward tone. Wrong. But it was an early work, so imagine two young bucks right out of film school and free to imagine and create. They told a humorous story, that required absolute suspension of belief and disbelief, and told about an alien that looked like a beach ball, an astronaut entering the atmosphere of a planet, riding a piece of metal like a surfer, and it was generally a fun ride, if not altogether meaningful. Hyper critical reviews are cast as shooting fish in a barrel. The work wasn't intended to be a doctoral thesis.

Capricorn One

This film in the present plays entirely different than it did in the era of its release. In the 70s it was a fun and dark look at a fake space mission, filmed on earth, and meant to deceive the world.  The three astronauts find out they are now targets for assassination, so the number of people aware of what is going on is fewer, and fewer. I have heard baloney false Moon landing conspiracies.  I have heard anti NASA rumors meant to deny the truth of the space program, in the present era of every theory being lies, this movie would play well. For me, this film works better now than it did upon release, even with OJ Simpson as an actor.

Apollo 18

This is a more recent work, so comparing it to the earlier era of space flight isn't an apt angle of review. It has a theme of horror, but it also fits many current outlooks about conspiracy, about cover ups, and suggestion of reasons for why the later space shots never happened. Or in fact, did they? The special effects, are ok, the story might be better as a prose short story, but you consider the work placed before you. The overall film suggests a different world power went to the moon prior to NASA's return... and they didn't come back to earth in glory and fame. It was a fun idea, somewhat clumsily created. I'd watch it again, but not for great enlightenment. 

2001 A Space Odyssey

2001 A Space Odyssey is Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece of humanity's intellectual evolution. Some call this science fiction, but it is much more. A complex surface human story showing moments in the higher thought of humans, and where that will take humanity. And within, is a story about what humans experiencing in Alien thought, and Artificial thought. It is a story more about the events happening than the lives of humans involved in the events. It is a metaphor of evolving human intelligence is connected to outside actors offering clues to a leap in technology of even greater power. Alien intelligence and artificial technology have a role in the rise of overall human intellectual. Some will rightfully consider the movie beautiful. But aspects of the story are still debated, 50 years since. 

Silent Running

Some viewers of Silent Running see/saw it as a hippie kind of space movie. It has a huge environmental aim. Humans have polluted and destroyed areas of their planet. The humans are piloting and working upon large cargo ships, far from Earth. They are carrying acres of land from various climate based domes of endangered environments of earth. All of the human crews, but one single member, see their time in space as foolish waste of cost and time. The one mentioned, grows his own food, and the rest of the crew think his natural food smells and is awful. They eat fake processed foods, everything from boxes. Eventually Earth command ends the mission, and will pick up the crew and then destroy the domes. Much more would lead to spoilers, but there is a conflict brewing. Background music through out the film utilized the work of Joan Baez, and sounds odd to the present viewers mind. I see this work as having an outlook to teach or share and was one that was taken in the fear of, and experience of extreme loss of nature and the wild, as a cost of technology and human development.

Arrival

This last work moved me deeply, and has a very important but important message to share. Humans have been challenged to solve the mystery of the impact of alien craft entering Earth's atmosphere. Powerful rivals attempt in their particular way to interface with the visitors, but only shared efforts can solve the codes, symbols and attempts at contact. The character interplay as well as memories of the main character deepen the mystery, as well as attempt to demonstrate the need to solve personal mysteries and the mystery at hand

MY BIG EVENT: The Spoken word Poetry accompanied by original music

As I discussed in articles prior, I had a big moment in my own creative life. I gave a reading of my work, as accompanied by Aaron Kerr, a highly talented cellist and composer, as well as Laura Harada, an excellent violinist. I had reasons to worry regarding my work being read by me out loud, as my Summer had a number of issues. I was to have all my teeth out, and my ability to speak without lisping or getting stymied by difficult pronunciation. But various dental set backs led me to me to still be awaiting a procedure that was scheduled to be done by end of June.

My experience however, was by far one of the best in all my life. Those who attended to support my work, and that of Aaron and Laura, I cannot be thankful enough.

 

LINKS

My Poetry AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
This place Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
My published WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

Support a Living artist Brian J. Haberlin with his book, Oil & Water

SUPPORT A WONDERFUL ARTIST

OIL & WATER  The paintings of Brian J. Haberlin

I've a great appreciation for the painted works of Brian J. Haberlin. His writing is quite good as well.  When Haberlin collaborated with David Hine magic was created on the page. So, this book is likely going to be a must have for me. On works alone, Haberlin is a favorite artist, but his writing has worth, and as people go, he is a person of considerable talent and skills. He shares his knowledge and shows he is generous by teaching in college level courses.

Images below are works that I thought were brilliant and worth the cost and time investment.

A Guide to how to begin playing Role Playing Games, And what essentials do you need for the most Fun!

RPGs & tools to enhance your play
By Alex Ness 
September 1, 2025

This is a small contribution to my desire to cover more aspects of RPGs and tangents of its play. The image directly below shows games I played from 1978 to about 1989, I liked most of those shown, but most of the time, games that were outside the typical play rarely lasted long. So, first edition D&D and Gamma World were most played. Tunnels & Trolls saw a lot more solitaire play. The four games that never worked with my various gaming groups... but I still liked them were Ars Magica, Bushido, Gang Busters and Chivalry and Sorcery. There was nothing horrible about them but for the fact that little things didn't work for most of the players. If everyone wants to play a less perfect game and not play an untested game, ultimately the numbers count. So I can say, I had a level of interest in all shown, and I suspect that not playing a game didn't mean not a good game.

SOME BOOKS THAT FUEL THE INTEREST AND FUN

For me, perhaps others, books are personally appreciable. You might prefer journeys or treks, quests or the warriors path. My point is that Drizzt, Conan, Fafhrd and Gray Mouser, and their wonderful authors work in ways that your RPG needs. Elizabeth Moon, Dennis L. McKiernan, RA Salvatore, Fritz Leiber, Karl Edward Wagner, Michael Moorcock, and Ursula K Le Guin provided me with numerous moments of, holy crap I know I can't get enough sleep, but I want to know who this chapter ends...

These, like all other suggestions, are subject to taste, availability, interest and every other variable. I like High Fantasy, and mostly sword action and lower power sorcery stories. I usually like heroes, but honestly, Elric is a dark son of a B, and Kane is not only just as nasty, he is physically powerful, mentally powerful, and skilled in all aspects of adventure. It is entertaining because it is well done, but it only goes so far.

GAMING IDEAS CONSIDERED IN JOURNALS

Unlike other of my reviews, my goal in presenting these works isn't to support or help focus upon what these magazines do. D8 is a gaming magazine for people who read Vertigo comics from DC. White Dwarf began as a UK based game mag, with TSR and Indy properties originally being the brands focused on. I particularly enjoyed when WD was talking about D&D but more than that. The ideas shared, built, explored, were ones I'd never heard US gamers chat about the ideas found in White Dwarf. Dragon was the magazine for TSR brand games, and some discussion that wasn't game/brand specific. Shadis was a great independent game mag. It had tools for the GM, humor, and discussion of concepts that help a game feel more, and be played smarter. Adventurer was a UK game mag, but focused on indy topics. I really enjoyed it. It was less direct information for official rules or full games, I found they were worth the expense of the magazine. Sadly it went kaput somewhat sooner than I'd like. White Wolf magazine was interesting, well written too. It had a flavor of being something basic now, but just wait, it is going grow and mature soon. I liked the editorial POV, it told readers, hey, stick around or you'll miss out. 

THE BOOKS TO LEARN FROM THE GAME DESIGNERS

Wolfgang Bauer wrote a work to help the Game Master conceive and develop new concepts. There is a reasonable aim at the GM rather than players, because while a player can muddle through and pick up the important points, a GM who isn't well polished, will rarely succeed. D&D's co creator, Gary Gygax wrote a work call Role-Playing Mastery. It was rather filled with baloney, but it looked good. Ian Livingstone actually wrote a work that was reverse of the previous work. The concepts were well presented, but went nowhere near deep enough.  Heroic Worlds by Lawrence Schick, was a work that did not feel like a work to take new gamers by the hand and teach them how it all works. No it didn't but it did describe and explain how games flow, create new ways of having fun, and theories behind RPG gaming are explored with essays from guest designers and talents. The complete guide to Role-playing Games is in fact usable for new players, but helps focus the concept of play in this appreciation of all of the games out at the time. For me, I was happy to read each one, but Gygax's work didn't matter, Bauer, who is a talented designer didn't really surprise or inspire people with his work.  How much you appreciate these probably has more to do with what you are trying to find with these.

THE COMIC BOOKS TO READ AND SHARE TO LIGHT THE FIRE

I asked numerous contacts and friends who were RPGers and also comic book readers. What comics would you suggest that when you complete them, will make you want to go get your dice right now. I chose those to participate as much because they weren't alike as for their similar interests. The choices below are well picked, 6 came from me, 6 came from the friends. I say this because I asked many, and few responded. But thank you to William Ashley Vaughn, Rich Chapell, and Russ Stewart. 

ElfQuest is a saga of a people dropped into the middle of a world, and trying to find their way out. The Ring is an opera written by Richard Wagner, featuring Northern European cycles of myths. Artesia is a work that is beautiful, well written, beautiful in every frame, and has such detail, you can enjoy it, a story of a woman queen, great master of diplomacy, battle and spells. 

The Portent is a mythic tale, a prelude to a great warrior's rise, and his early periods before he fully mastered his skills. Empire Lanes is an early work for Peter Gross of a group of adventurers are catapulted through a dimension, found in a Bowling alley. A number of single frames are showing Duluth MN in the background. Castle Waiting captures the spirit of fun and worth exploring medieval tales. They also show how the modern eye can show a focus and outlook that offers more depth by such offerings.

Knights of the Dinner Table is a work/series that appeared in the 1990s, by Jolly Blackburn, in Shadis Magazine, in Dragon Magazine, and eventually landing in Kenzer and Company. The glory of it shows the common player types that can be easily viewed and actions that remind most readers of the way they play. The humor of KODT is hard born in, and we often see ourselves in such a work. The humor is over the top, well aware of the limits of each player's depths and shallows. 

Elric's a character who is powerful, if troubled, emotional with failings, dark moods, and an awareness of his call to be the last emperor of his people. In general Elric comics are a powerful work for artists find Elric to be a character that stirs. Red Nails is the story of Conan that is my favorite, and in particular, Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith didn't miss one chance to utilize the power of the look and words by Robert E. Howard. 

Slaine the Horned God is an excellent comic, it might not work for others who like more straight forward heroes and tales, but it is excellent in that the Celtic cycles of tales, the hero CuChulain bore a spear that if it was used in combat, might drive the hero to kill all who move upon the battlefield. It wasn't a straight forward tale, no, instead it was true to its ancient roots.

Mice Templar is a high fantasy cycle of mythic heroes. Upon a backdrop of heroic orders testing the challenge of who would be future of the leadership. It involves prophecy, and truly, anything but tropes or worn out ideas. The work is truly stunning.

Girl Genius  Steampunk tells a swift moving tale, with deep veins of science, geography, archeologist, basement physics research, and much more. Told with many aims, the work has a playful nature, but doesn't fail to tell a serious story, with action, brains, and various powers.

 
For all your printing needs, Matt at Speed Print Inc. is amazing.

LINKS

My Poetry AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
This place Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
My published WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

The Secret Work of Lou Feck, Cover Artist Supreme

WHAT DO THESE HAVE IN COMMON?
By Alex Ness
August 25, 2025

When it comes to reading for pleasure, and not reading for an article, perhaps such as this, that I usually have subject matter, author and artist, or I want to engage something new. Over a recent span of buying ebay bargains, from favorite sellers, I've picked up 4-5 books, with different authors, and nothing you could argue as anything, except perhaps, speculative fiction in genre.

Each book worked differently for me, but what became clear, is that I learned that what I really seem to have liked, was that I REALLY like the cover art of Artist Lou Feck. And when he does some interior art, it is an enormous treat.  As such, I have done similar things in the comic world. 

You might think I am a nut. 5 dollars a book, can be a good price, as that total included shipping. In the modern era, postage is higher, but delivery rate is lower. I've dealt with so many sellers, I try to now choose wisely who I will give my money to for their product. Three of the last four orders took more than 2 weeks to arrive, even from a town 45 minutes from my home. As USPS offers insurance but makes it almost impossible to get them to pay for their disaster, I've grown to limit my purchases for books, as Half Price books and Barnes & Noble and local smaller stores are pretty good. At least you have a solid price and no need to trust blindly that the ebay seller was worthy of trust. I am not attacking sellers on Ebay. Just the double whammy of things you haven't seen or held, and know what you are getting for your money, and then tracking down the USPS to acknowledge their F'Up.

Aquarius Mission was very much a work that both allowed you to suspend disbelief as well as revel in the quality of the author's imagination. It was not made into a movie, but I was satisfied by it.

The New Atlantis was also a fine work. But rather than a solid story and thought, it is an anthology from great authors, about a missing land, or a metaphor for the same. If it was made into film I missed that.

FireFox I watched as a movie after reading the book. It was a fine book, exciting even despite just having prose words to propel your imagination. It had a lovely cast, and I thought it tried to be loyal to the source material. But the movie's effects could not reproduce the prose words. For a technical break through futuristic tech work, it looked dated, quickly. 

ICE was a great book, a dystopian Ice age disaster book. Some comments from the seller's description  suggested that it was the source for the movie Day After Tomorrow. I suggest it was the germ of an idea that similar temps during the 1930s and late 60s and 70s were nearly cold enough to start the next ice age. It wasn't a conspiracy theory.

Readers here know I love the writing of REHoward, so that I liked this book should be no surprise. Even if Kull isn't close to Conan in popularity, the quality of writing by REH is such that such a dynamic cover only enhances the great value of the book. It reads awesomely and looks fantastic.

This will piss Star Trek fans off, but I found the original series to be entertaining, but books from the same episode to be boring and uninteresting.  I like the the original series especially with Klingons, Romulans, and anything with lovely aliens. However great the quality of writing James Blish has, I don't like his writing style. That is my personal taste but compared to the cover art, I was hosed with this book.

An article featuring Fantasy and RPGs will appear by Friday of this coming week. Thanks for reading my work.

For all your printing needs, Matt at Speed Print Inc. is amazing.

 

LINKS

My Poetry AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
This place Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
My published WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

INTERVIEW WITH A CREATIVE TALENT: Questions for Masks by Anbry

MASKS BY ANBRY ANSWERS MY QUESTIONS
Interview by Alex Ness
August 24, 2025

In 2024 I visited the Crypticon convention as a sponsored guest of a retail vendor.  As usual I got there before opening, and had my books arranged and ready. I went out on the parking and drop off entry place for fresh air and relaxation. In doing so, I met and chatted a muscular fellow who had said hey when I was finishing up my set up. He was very charismatic, and he was the sales expert for a vendor called Masks by Anbry and the artist who created the masks. The con is a horror con, but outside of their grisly, gloriously dark masks, here were two unique people, far from being horror.

These two fellows were quirky and funny, smart and themselves an attraction to their products. The one I met first, was not the creative voice, he was the spokesperson of sorts. That was Dan Washburn. The artist, the person I interview in this piece, Bryan Nelson was a bit more quiet, but also highly involved in the whirlwind of humanity gathering around their table and display. After the con I friended both Dan and Bryan, and have found in the year since that convention to be entertaining, funny, kind, and generous with compassion. Bryan is the sort, perhaps similar to myself early in my Facebook and Myspace... a shit stirrer, if you will.

I often like the vendor involved with creator interviews. But this is a chance for me to give PR and an introduction to others to this artist. With this therefore, I offer my interview with Bryan Nelson, aka Anbry...

Alex: Who are you, what are the life experiences, choices, and interests that led you to making the masks that you craft. Do you end up growing or developing an audience and consumers for the work?

Bryan: I'm a mental problem and I was labeled as having OCD...and I was diagnosed at a young age.(BTW look up the symptoms of OCD, they are much scarier that what you've been led to believe).

I used to try to kill myself nightly and my mom would take all my knives away, so I was a failure at that. I had one focus, which was to be a vocalist in a band to help others through my words, did that and was locally successful. I used to sign autographs as ANBRY.

Alex: Is it difficult or more about finding the perfect image in your head first?  When making the masks do you consider the people who bought prior masks, or is it about a self or personal expression and a work of art?

Bryan: It's really about how I'm feeling at the time, I need to get back to being "sicker" with the masks, but I feel like I evolved from that....Leatherface was pretty basic, and I've made different versions of him.....and also gave the latest Leatherface a free skin masks two years ago, lol!

Alex: What are the movies and media that influence your designs/creatures? Do you worry about getting legal notices of copyright or trademark violations (rightly or wrongly) if you create a product that resembles a movie character too closely?

Bryan: Influences? Such a great question.... Jason was my first as a young kid...C.H.U.D. Was another, lol. I used to have recurring dreams of Jason killing me for years, once I started painting Jason masks they stopped, now I got shitty dreams, lol

Alex: In addition to creating your masks, do you work in other media, expressing your art in different formats? Are you doing them for self or public view?

Bryan: Doing them for "self"....I'm a hermit, so I needed something, and thankfully, my cuz, Porknutz, (Dan Washburn) found skin for me!

Alex: With no limits of expense, products and ingredients used, What would your perfect mask be and why? Where would you display your wares in public, or is all your work through the internet or postal system?

Bryan: The perfect mask for me would be something that makes me go "whoa"...  It has only happened a few times, but yeah, I'm always trying to impress myself...or ANBRY. lol, I'm not about making money or promoting, that's why I have Porknutz, who is best seller a quiet weirdo could ask for!

FIND BRYAN's PAGES DEVOTED TO HIS CREATIVE WORKS:
Anbry on Facebook
Anbry
Anbry on Instagram

All images shown are ©Masks by Anbry, no copyright assertion other than of the creator, is intended.