Posts
Portsmouth, NH07.26.2010
So that 50-year-old square-rigger is one of the most famous ships in the history of Hollywood. Well, non-star at least. I doubt it can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs or light up Devils Tower like a 1970s discotheque. It can, however, voyage across oceans and hold the gigantic ego of Marlon Brando within its hull. It’s the H.M.S. Bounty. Or, more accurately, since it was never actually one of Her Majesty’s Ships and is just a movie replica of its historic counterpart, just the Bounty.
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The New England Grimpendium
Coming in
September 2010
Currently available for pre-order, my new book, The New England Grimpendium chronicles my journeys to some 200 macabre sites, attractions, and artifacts in the northeast U.S. Including some 100 pictures, the book features visitable locations and items in New England connected to legends and personalities of the macabre; infamous crime, killers, and tragedies; horror movie filming locales; notable cemeteries, tombstones, and other memento mori; and all kinds of classic monsters. Whether you live in New England, are going to visit it at some point, or just like to read about the spooky and macabre, you could very well really dig this book.
September 2010
Currently available for pre-order, my new book, The New England Grimpendium chronicles my journeys to some 200 macabre sites, attractions, and artifacts in the northeast U.S. Including some 100 pictures, the book features visitable locations and items in New England connected to legends and personalities of the macabre; infamous crime, killers, and tragedies; horror movie filming locales; notable cemeteries, tombstones, and other memento mori; and all kinds of classic monsters. Whether you live in New England, are going to visit it at some point, or just like to read about the spooky and macabre, you could very well really dig this book.
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Washington, DC07.06.2010
The Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, DC, has a preserved giant squid that is, tush to tentacle tip, 24 feet long. Go see it. Seriously. Go...
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Chittenango, NY07.04.2010
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Grave of a Jack the Ripper Suspect
Rochester, NY06.27.2010
Of the many Jack the Ripper suspects, a few had American roots. And in this case, when I say suspects, I don’t merely mean random name thrown out by a researcher to sell books a hundred years after the fact. I mean suspects, as in pulled by the scruff of their necks into Scotland Yard and questioned brusquely by someone with a British accent. One such suspect was Francis Tumblety, notorious children's show host. Just kidding. Comical name, though. Tumblety is buried in Rochester , NY
North Bend and Snoqualmie, WA
06.15.2010
06.15.2010
I’m not going to try to weigh in on the undeniable-even-though-everything’s-deniable influence Twin Peaks had on television. You can find dozens of online TV critiques that do it exquisitely, especially these days with the context that a 20-year anniversary brings as an anniversary gift. In fact, in reading the recent commentary, it’s evident that most of us who watched the show never quite left Twin Peaks. Maybe that’s why when I found myself in the state of Washington last year, I felt impelled to visit a couple of its filming locales...
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Worcester, MA06.01.2010
The only two things I know about Buddhism are 1) it's traditional to make Richard Gere and Kwai Chang Caine jokes when writing about it and 2) Buddhists love to make draw-jopping statues of Buddha. I actually don't have any of the former, but I did recently see a pretty cool specimen of the latter: the largest jade Buddha ever created...
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Ontario, Canada05.24.2010
Against the protected grandeur of Yellowstone and Yosemite, Niagara Falls seems a bit out of category. Sure, it's a little distracting to have flashy and towering hotels, casinos, restaurants, and stores craning over your shoulder while you try to commune with a natural wonder (and by commune, I mean photograph for posting on Facebook). But there's also something to be said for easily accessing a natural wonder while simultaneously not sacrificing amenity. A lot to be said, actually. I'm trying to say most of it, in fact...
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Photo Essay: Haystack Rock
Cannon Beach, OR05.12.2010
Despite its prosaic name, Haystack Rock is an imposing 235-foot-tall sea stack on the Oregon Coast that is worthy of worship if one goes by the vague criteria of many religions. Few deities are as accessible as this monolith, though. At low tide, you can walk right up to it from Cannon Beach, which is about 80 miles northwest of Portland...
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Worcester, MA05.08.2010
In 1930, John Woodman Higgins built a four-story building in his home town of Worcester, MA (pronounced “Wuster” if you believe New Englanders) to hold his collection of historic arms, armor and related metalcraft, and these days that building, under the name Higgins Armory Museum, is open to the public. Located at 100 Barber Ave., the -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haddonfield Hadrosaurus
Haddonfield, NJ05.02.2010
If you dig down through the strata of preconceived notions, exaggerated stereotypes, and easy punch lines that buffet the state of New Jersey, you’ll hit dinosaur bones. Very important dinosaur bones. Change the direction of paleontology important dinosaur bones. Make it possible for Jurassic Park to be awesome important dinosaur bones. Sorry about such an obvious movie reference dinosaur bones...
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Watertown, MA
04.24.2010
HBO is premiering their Jack Kevorkian movie tonight, so I figured I’d either take a stab at relevancy or just play remora, depending on how you look at it. Besides being an assisted suicide proponent, the man most of us know as Dr. Death has also been known to try his hand at art, often of the macabre variety. A couple of months ago, as research for my upcoming book, I was granted private access to his collection of original paintings. I’ll skip the commentary and just let his works scream for themselves...
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U.S.S. Albacore
Portsmouth, NH04.10.2010
The Albacore was an experimental Navy vessel in service from 1953 to 1972, the entire purpose of which was to test out various ways to make submarines faster and more maneuverable than their previous WWII counterparts. Although the Albacore was powered with a diesel-electric engine, it ushered in the modern era of sleek teardrop-hulled nuclear-powered monsters that these days we buy in brightly colored plastic form for our children to play with in the bathtub...
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Newgrange Tomb
Co. Meath, Ireland04.02.2010
One of the oldest still-standing man-made structures on this entire holiday-celebrating planet of ours is the Newgrange tomb in County Meath, located on the western coast of Ireland about 30 miles north of Dublin (or about 50 kilometers as their crows fly over there). At around 5,000 years old, Newgrange is older than Egypt’s pyramids, older than England’s Stonehenge, and slightly younger than this or that very old celebrity who I won’t name because if I do they will die as soon as I hit Blogger’s “Publish” button. That’s not a threat, just an indictment on my timing...
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Tear of Grief
Bayonne, NJ03.27.2010
So...9-11 was kind of just a television event for me. I mean, I didn’t know anybody who died in the attacks, nor did I know anybody who knew anybody who died in the attacks. Also, lack of empathy has always been my largest flaw. However, one 9-11 memorial overcame my callousness, made me brave New York traffic armed only with a GPS unit and a disregard for the bumpers on my car, and impelled me to take a detour on an already interminable 20-hour road trip...
