E. C. (Gene) Ayres Blogspot

Cop shows abound , as we all know, because most of us watch them, on television (or in my case Netflix, as previously discussed). I've mentioned a few such series previously. Shows about private eyes have come and gone, going back to Peter Gunn and Mr. Lucky in the '50's, a host of shows thereafter (one of my favorites was  Stacy Keach in Mickey Spillane's classic  Mike Hammer  in the '80's. Spillane wrote that in the '40's, btw). Private investigators, in some form or another--from solving a friend or family's crisis or issue, to solving murders or other capital or major fiscal crimes--go back to Biblical times. Always with deadlines and death involved. And most often these P.I.'s are brought in to correct an injustice the authorities ignore or refuse to address--familiar themes that still resound today, and which I myself have used extensively in my E.C. Ayres mystery/thrillers. The first mention of espionage is in the Old Testament (Nu

I have extensively covered Science Fiction in two other genres including (but not limited to): Romance (aka 'chick lit', which can also cross arbitrary boundaries). I will not attempt to discuss this genre mostly because I don't know anything about it. Partly because my personal experience in that regard did not lead to the required happy endings. Mostly due to my own ignorance in terms of this subject: reading Playboy  under the covers was not much in the way of sex education, growing up. My Quaker mother was opposed to all matters sexual, alas (this cannot be generalized about Quakers, however). So I had to learn about it in the back seats of cars (or front seats, for that matter) as a rebellious teenager--a real life Rebel Without a Cause . But without Natalie Wood. I managed (barely) to graduate from high school, went to a liberal arts college in the Midwest, pined for my h.s. girlfriend, transferred to a big university back East to be closer, got ditched by my h.

We've covered television Sci Fi and the literary genre and it's numerous great authors. Now it's Hollywood's turn. And London's, Paris, Lodz, Rome (actual name Roma) and/or wherever feature films are made. Feature film sci-fi has had a grand ancestry. Le Voyage dans la Lune was created by  Georges Méliès  in 1902, and is considered to be the first science fiction film. Drawing upon the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne (see my previous blog), it depicted a spacecraft being launched to the moon by a large cannon. It's ground-breaking special effects (in fact  Méliès  may well have invented special effects) pioneered the way for future science fiction films. Thomas Edison's Edison Studios in New Jersey adapted Mary Shelley's  Frankenstein into a film in 1910, and Herbert Brenon directed Carl Laemmle's  1913 adaptation  of Robert Louis Stevenson's  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde   in 1913. Jules Verne's  20,000 Leagues Under the Sea   was

As a writer, I enjoy many fictional genres, but perhaps none more than science fiction, which is represented by a host of authors of the highest originality and substance. I will list them and their achievements in their order of birth. As to ranking to each his or her own. Mary Shelley (1797-1851): Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein . Jules Verne (1828-1905): The French author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (made into a terrific movie starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason), Journey to the Center of the Earth (another movie), and also the entertaining Around the World in 80 Days (also a successful movie). Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930): The Lost World (see note below). H.G. Wells (1866-1946): The Time Machine (another classic book and movie).  Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1930): Tarzan (no comment needed). J. R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973): The Hobbit , and The Fellowship of the Ring series. Aldous Huxley (1894-1963): Brave New World (also prophetic).

Let us begin with television , primarily streaming prescription series such as Netflix and ilk (in my case almost exclusively apart from the occasional PBS series). Netflix is enough for moi for now. By 'ilk' I mean other people 's sources, such as HBO, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. The latter of which offered one of my all-time faves, Ally McBeal . May she rest in peace, since she got none during her series. Netflix , in the meantime, is keeping me as busy as I care to be, television-wise. Not to be a wise guy. I've been particularly fond of some Irish and UK-originating series such as Jack Taylor , out of Ireland; the brilliant Broadchurch ; and nearly as good Hinterland , all three involving disenchanted Dublin and London police detectives (called DI's, for Deputy Inspector) who've moved to a small distant city: Galway, in the case of Jack Taylor. Broadchurch is a coastal town in Devonshire , and in Hinterland , the cop is stationed in a coastal city called  A

Conspiracy theories in these not-so-United States of America abound. They go hand in hand with bigotry, hatred, and terrorism. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't come up with a conspiracy theory about Rush Limbaugh .  Somebody deliberately infected him with the lung cancer virus!  Or tried to force him to smoke cannabis! A Federal crime !  And that's what caused his cancer, when they forced him to inhale an entire deep toke! Shameful! Criminal! Here are some actual quotes that might provide motivation to a gang of cancer terrorists, lurking out there somewhere on the Dark Web: "The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it ." On Hurricane Irma : "You can accomplish a lot just by creating fear and panic. You don't need a hurricane to hit anywhere. All you need is to create the fear and panic accompanied by talk that climate change is causing hurricanes to bec

An Oscar Outsider? As Oscars time approaches, there is much ado about lack of women nominees, and how no foreign language film (now called 'International Film', an excellent improvement) has ever won Best Picture. Again, the nominees are impressive: The strongest candidate, according to the N.Y. Times, might be the Korean (South) thriller Parasite may become the first to break that barrier, a digital ceiling. Directed by Bong Jun Ho, this film has already won the coveted Palm d'Or, or Golden Palm, at Cannes this past year. Now it has been nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best International Feature, and Best Director. It is also the first foreign language film to win the Screen Actors Guild's award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture. Here's the Elevator Pitch, per a previous blog: An impoverished family schemes it's way into jobs working for a wealthy family, with both humorous and sinister intentions and consequences. It has