Category Archives: About Taylor

22 More Things About Me You Might Not Know

Posted on by
Reply

As a follow-up to my article 15 Things About Taylor (might or might not want to know) from 2015, I’ve decided to tell you 22 more things about myself that you may or may not want to know. So here we go:

(Disclaimer: you might not like what you find below, but it is all part of who I am.)

  1. My favorite movie of all time is Forbidden Planet (1956).
  2. I met the voice actor who plays Mr Torgue, Chris Rager, from the Borderlands Franchise at Anime Fusion.
  3. I love giant monster movies, specifically Godzilla and Gamera films. All of them, no matter how cheesy.
  4. My favorite video game is Borderlands 2 from the Borderlands Franchise. Honestly, I love the whole franchise, but number 2 really sticks out above the rest.
  5. I love to drink Diet Dr Pepper and occasionally Diet Mountain Dew.
  6. I am currently doing WW for weight loss. I have lost 30lbs as of the writing of this article.
  7. My favorite anime is Beautiful Dreamer.
  8. I watch Svengoolie almost every Saturday night.
  9. I always thank Alexa (my Echo Dot) after she does something for me. I, for one, welcome our future AI overlords.
  10. I spend way too much money on Patreon and Kickstarter.
  11. I own a lot of journals that I am not using. I’m trying to get better about journaling, but I find I just do it here on my blog.
  12. I don’t drink alcohol any more. I used to be a big fan of beer but it messed with my depression so I gave it up.
  13.  All of the Tremors movies are awesome. Even the third one that basically just set up the TV show. Burt Gummer is a personal hero of mine.
  14. Lego is the greatest toy of all time. I don’t have any, but I love them.
  15. I own way too many dice. I bet I’ve got at least 3 lbs of them.
  16. I am no longer on the staff of Anime Fusion. I decided to leave because life was getting in the way.
  17. As I get older, I find I am having more and more “get off my lawn” moments.
  18. I have won NaNoWriMo once. It was a lot of work and the novel I wrote was bad (and will never see the light of day), but I won!
  19. I have a very talkative pet cat named Sasha.
  20. I believe in Resistentialism. Hence the name of this blog.
  21. Taco Bravos from Taco John’s are the best. I like to get two of them and some Potato Ole’s. It makes for a great dinner or lunch. (Note: I can not have any Potato Ole’s now that I am on WW.)
  22. I’m married to my wonderful wife, Chris. We have been married for over 30 years.

Bonus Facts:

  • I love seeing movies in the theater. There is something special about the theater experience I can’t explain but I love. I grew up before and during the age of video tape. So for many years of my life your only option to see a movie was to go to a theater or watch it in an edited form on TV.
  • My back pain and depression are currently very well controlled. I have spent a lot of time working with my doctor and a therapist to make this happen.
  • I miss seeing my friends in person and going places. COVID has made me adapt to an online life. I am not sure how much I like it. (Don’t get me wrong. Working from home is nice a lot of the time, especially in winter, but I miss people.)

A Circus Every Saturday Night

Posted on by
Reply

“Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the circus at the end of the world! Tonight, for your pleasure, we will laugh, and cry, and dance, and sing, but don’t worry! None of it means a thing!”

The Circus At the End of the World – Abney Park

I sit in my living room in my comfy chair watching Revenge Of The Creature (1955) as I write this. Am I watching TCM or FXM? Nope. I’m watching Svengoolie.

So what is Svengoolie? Svengoolie is a horror host. More specifically, he is a character on a TV show that shows classic (and not so classic) horror and science fiction movies. The show, of the same name, is currently aired nationally on MeTV and locally in the Chicago area

What is a horror host? Well, a horror host is a TV personality that hosts horror movies. They usually introduce the film then break-in before or after the commercial breaks and give you info on the film or make fun of it or both. Other examples of horror hosts are Elvira and Joe Bob Briggs.

I’ve loved horror hosts and classic horror films since I was a child. I watched many classic horror and science fiction films on the Vegas Vampire’s show growing up. I still love horror hosts and the classics of horror and science fiction. Hence watching Svengoolie every week.

I could type all night about classic horror films and horror hosts, but instead, I’ll point you at good sources for information on the topic horror hosts:

And finally, I’ll leave you with the Trailer for American Scary:

Wars And Rumors Of Wars

Posted on by
Reply

“Get ready to draw the rockets of peace

There’s a showdown tonight on the bright milky way

Ambush the bad men, blow him right out of the east

We’ll be singin’, “yi yippy ky, whoopee ky yippy I aye”

Big Guns – Daniel Amos

I grew up in the shadow of the cold war. I was a hawk as a child. Fed on the glory and heroics of movies like Von Ryan’s Express, The Bridge at Remagen, and Where Eagles Dare. I believed that evil could be vanquished with the appropriate application of violence. Just like we used to eliminate Hitler and Nazi Germany.

I believed the propaganda of the day. The USSR was the enemy. The communists were evil. And evil must be defeated. If that involved the use of American blood and treasure then so be it.

I was a fool.

Since that time, I have grown up. I served in the Navy during the first Gulf War. (I didn’t join for the glory of it. I joined for the education. Honestly, if I had wanted glory I would have joined one of the ground forces such as the Army or the Marines.) I got closer to the reality of war. I realized that when you go to war it has a cost both human and financial. I began to see the effects. People killed. Soldiers destroyed. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.

Sure, I still believe that everyone who chooses to serve their country in the Military is a hero. Especially those that give their lives or limbs for their country’s cause. It’s the causes and the people who determine them that I no longer have faith in.

I no longer believe that a suitable application of violence can solve evil.

Part of this is the result of my Christian faith. Part of this is the result of seeing evil march on despite the wars waged against it.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not a fool. I understand the need to use violence in the form of self-defense and the defense of others. What I don’t believe in is the idea of a “just war”. 

There is no justice in war. 

People die. Both soldiers and sailors and the innocent.

Is evil defeated? No. At best it is displaced.

Defeat one evil and another will take its place. It is like a hydra. Cut off one head and two will take its place.

We defeated Hitler and the Nazis. A true evil. Unfortunately, we allowed the evil of Stalin to continue and even thrive for a time. Then we defeated the USSR through economic violence. Now they are superseded by communist China. Not to mention North Korea and all the terrorists out there. Where does it end?

It doesn’t. At least not until Jesus returns.

But that brings me to today. The drumbeat of war echoes through the halls of the American government. We are posed to use violence, both economic and physical, to defend Ukraine from Russia. But should we? 

Should we spend American treasure and spill American blood to defend this eastern European country? Is it true that Putin, the President of Russia, wants to recreate the USSR? Do we have diplomatic obligations to Ukraine? Or are we being sold a “bill of goods” by our leaders?

I don’t know the answers to those questions. But I am against war in general and until someone can make a case for me on how this is self-defense in some way, I can’t support direct action in support of Ukraine.