Tag: writing

Documentary Review: I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not

Those of my readers around in the eighties will probably remember Chevy Chase. I remembered him from comedic films from the time period, but it had been many years since I even thought of him.

So, I said I’d give this documentary film a try. Its name is “I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not.” From the start, it becomes clear that his bad reputation as a coworker will be a big focus, as well as his past drug abuse.

The film does an excellent job of reminding you just how seismic Chase’s impact on comedy really was. Saturday Night Live doesn’t just get a nod—it gets a victory lap. Watching early clips of Gerald Ford tumbling down stairs and Chase anchoring Weekend Update is like seeing comedy history being invented in real time, mostly held together with duct tape and confidence. The documentary smartly lets these moments breathe, trusting the material to remind you why Chase was, for a time, the funniest man in America.

Then come the movies, and oh, what a parade it is. Caddyshack, Fletch, National Lampoon’s Vacation—the documentary rolls through them like a greatest-hits album where every track is either iconic or inexplicably quotable. There’s a genuine joy in revisiting how Chase perfected the art of the smug, clueless, yet weirdly lovable leading man. His comic persona—equal parts charm and chaos—gets the credit it deserves as a blueprint for generations of comedians who followed.

But then there are the drugs. And he did a lot. And he could be mean. The drug abuse, his comedy, and this meanness all likely have one source – an abusive mother. He developed it as a coping mechanism. It is one he still uses as he makes jokes to deflect difficult or awkward moments, even in his eighties. Still, even his meanness comes off as him being a bit of a rascal.

When the stories get messy. You come away with the sense that Chase’s imperfections didn’t cancel out his contributions—they complicated them, humanized them, and, strangely, made his successes even more impressive.

By the end, the documentary feels less like a verdict and more like a well-earned, slightly crooked standing ovation. It celebrates a man who made millions of people laugh, sometimes by falling down, sometimes by being the joke, and sometimes by being in on it all along.

It gets four out of five stars from me.

If you’ve seen it, what did you think?

Exploring _The Salt Path Scandal_: A Review

Well, readers, I watched this gem on Sky earlier. The first few minutes revisit what had been a best-selling book, later turned into a starring Gillian Anderson.

The show lulls you into a tranquil daze. There are drone shots of cliffs that look like they’ve been photoshopped by the concept of serenity itself. Gentle strings hum. Someone says something earnest about “healing.” You exhale. It’s about a 650-mile walk you can do in the South West of England as told by Raynor Winn. She had just lost her house, and her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The walk was transformative.

And then—record scratch—a talking head appears to ask a question so sharp it could open tinned beans: “But did that actually happen?” From there, The Salt Path Scandal becomes less a journey and more a brisk hike through footnotes.

The documentary’s true star is its tone, which can best be described as polite British skepticism wearing a fleece. Nobody yells. Nobody lunges. Instead, the filmmakers deploy the deadliest weapon in the national arsenal: calm, persistent follow-ups. “Just to clarify,” a narrator says, with the menace of a librarian about to revoke privileges. Every “just to clarify” lands like a small pebble in your shoe—annoying, impossible to ignore, and increasingly painful over time.

You see, the book claimed to be a memoir. Like, it was supposed to be true. But once, a journalist, Hadjimatheou, probed a bit. Well, there were reasons to be skeptical.

Structurally, the series is a masterclass in pacing. Each episode introduces a claim, lets it bask in sunlight, then quietly rotates it to reveal a price tag, a date discrepancy, or a witness who remembers things… differently. It’s less gotcha journalism and more hmm, interesting journalism,

By the finale, you’re left amused, mildly scandalized, and deeply suspicious of any memoir. The truth is out there somewhere.

It gets four stars out of five from me.

Have you seen it? Let me know what you think.

Exploring Football’s Greatest Con: King of Lies Episode 1

Hello, my dear readers. Took an annual leave today and decided that it was important for it not to be wasted. So, I watched TV and the above documentary, in particular.

Episode 1 of King of Lies: Football’s Greatest Con launches the series with an enticing blend of mystery and tension, but it’s not without its stumbles. The premiere does a solid job establishing the central scandal, which revolves around the sale of Notts County Football Club (the oldest professional football club in the world), teasing just enough information to pique curiosity without revealing too much too soon. The opening sequences are atmospheric and stylish, setting a tone that’s equal parts investigative thriller and sports documentary.

The documentary’s greatest strength is its interviews. I was stunned to see Sven-Göran Eriksson pop into the story. The interview is from the depths of sickness shortly before he died. Unfortunately, he gets caught up in it all and quite bizarrely ends up in North Korea at one point!

However, the pacing is noticeably uneven. Some sections feel stretched out, lingering on details that don’t yet carry emotional or narrative weight. The editing sometimes jumps abruptly between timelines or perspectives, which can make the episode feel scattered,

Russell King is the conman leaving ruin wherever he goes. It’s quite a complex con, almost masterful. But it’s impossible to see his out. He needed the con or new cons to keep being successful, to not get caught.

An interesting documentary. I learned that you can’t get people to do what they don’t want to. The art of persuasion is giving them a reason to do what they want.

Yes, so, not sure if that’s a positive, but what the hell.

It gets three stars out of five from me.

Have you seen it? What do you think?

Episode 1 of King of Lies: Football’s Greatest Con is currently available on Sky Documentaries.

A Review of Netflix’s ‘Being Eddie’: Insights and Reflections

Anybody within seven or eight years of my age (I’m forty-six) would have fond memories of Eddie Murphy. I still remember seeing Beverly Hills Cop for the first time. A great film that would never have made it without him. It was the first time I saw on-screen a black character who was clearly more intelligent than the white people around him. All the curses stuck out as well.

But what happened to him recently? I haven’t heard his name in an age. I was also interested in what other aspects of his life were like.

That’s why I watched the documentary “Being Eddie” on Netflix a couple of nights ago.

If you are looking for something visceral, raw, then this is not it. Some critics think it’s more like a prelude to him returning to stand-up more than anything else. It retreats from anything awkward/contentious. He comes across as a family man and reminisces about voicing the donkey in Shrek. There is nothing about the paternity suit with Mel B, for example. He has ten children. Musk would be proud.

The best part is when it just lets him speak. I found his tendency towards OCD intriguing. Great minds appear to have a likelihood for such things, and I doubt it’s a coincidence.

He also brings up that he has never won an Oscar, despite his great performances and sometimes playing multiple characters in the same film. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were him; their value has greatly diminished over the years.

The interviews with other comedy legends, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, and more, show what a powerful influence he was on the industry. They all say nice things. What a pity!

I give it three stars out of five. It’ll make you feel warm. Just don’t expect anything beyond the bland, though.

Have you seen it? Let me know what you think.

Heaven’s River: A Review of the Latest Bobiverse Adventure

Hello, dear readers, I finished reading this novel by Dennis E. Taylor last night. It is the fourth book in the Bobiverse series. I have reviewed the others previously and given them strong reviews. But what of this one?

Well, dear readers, to fully appreciate each novel, I recommend reading them in order. It’s a big Universe after all, and so many stories to be told.

The Bobs are copies of the digitally stored personality of a dead human (“Bob”), carried in self-replicating Von Neumann probes. The original mission to explore new worlds was originally tied to saving humanity.

With each replication, there is a drift from the original personality. At this stage, some bobs are the thirtieth generation or more. This has led to factions forming within the Bobiverve, such as Star Trek and the Skippies.

Starfleet believes that the Bobiverse should cease its interaction with biologicals, especially those that don’t engage in space travel, calling it the Prime Directive.

The Skippies want to build a superintelligent AI from scratch.

Each new Bob replicant has an individual name. One of them, Bender, hasn’t been heard from in a very long time. More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate—whatever the cost.

Bob (more or less the original) goes on the same journey where he picks up an alien signal. He deduces that Bender would have followed it. It leads to the discovery of a giant megastructure – rivers that encircle a star. Inside, live a pre-steam civilization, the Quinlans.

The discovery creates a stir throughout the Bobiverse. Starfleet believes that the Quinlans should be left alone, citing the Prime Directive, but Bob would never stop his search for Bender.

It leads to war in the Bobiverse and an epic journey through a truly new world.

I give “Heaven’s River” five stars out of five. Although long, it engages from start to finish. You meet interesting new characters and catch up on old ones. It is very immersive, allowing you to fully engage with the new Quinlan civilization. It has the necessary reveals and plot twists to keep the reader going.

Have you read this novel?

Let me know what you thought in the comments.

A Deep Dive into Arthur C Clarke’s Childhood’s End

Well, readers, I have a treat for you today after I completed the above novel that was written in nineteen fifty-seven by what is considered to be one of the best science fiction writers of all time. This is considered by most to be his greatest work.

First, a description from Wikipedia (in italics) that I’ve read and agree with.

In the late 20th century, the United States and the Soviet Union are competing to launch the first spacecraft into orbit when alien spaceships suddenly position themselves above Earth’s principal cities. After one week, the aliens announce they are assuming supervision of international affairs, to prevent humanity’s extinction. They become known as the Overlords. In general, they let humans go on conducting their affairs in their own way, although some humans are suspicious of the Overlords’ benign intent, as they never allow themselves to be seen.

Yeah, remember the Soviet Union? They were a big deal back then.

The Overlord Karellen, the “Supervisor for Earth”, periodically meets with Rikki Stormgren, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Karellen tells Stormgren that the Overlords will reveal themselves in 50 years, when humanity will have become used to their presence. When the Overlords finally reveal their appearance, they resemble the traditional Christian folk images of demons, with cloven hooves, leathery wings, horns, and barbed tails. Humankind enters a golden age of prosperity at the expense of creativity.

The Overlords are interested in psychic research, which humans suppose is part of their anthropological study. Rupert Boyce, a prolific book collector on the subject, allows one Overlord, Rashaverak, to study these books at his home. To impress his friends with Rashaverak’s presence, Boyce holds a party, during which he makes use of a Ouija board. Jan Rodricks, an astrophysicist and Rupert’s brother-in-law, asks the identity of the Overlords’ home star. The Ouija board reveals a number which Jan recognizes as a star-catalogue number and learns that it is consistent with the direction in which Overlord supply ships appear and disappear. Jan stows away on an Overlord supply ship and travels 40 light years to their home planet.

The story then continues to reveal that humans are about to make a psychic leap, which will elevate humanity to a new level of existence, allowing it to join the Overmind, but also lead to the end of humans as an independent race.

So what did I think? Well, it was interesting what the author conceived a future alien species would be like. There is no advanced robotics, and only a brief mention of computers that can do wondrous things. Although they are still described as mostly mathematical tools.

Credence is given to the supernatural. This is something that the author quasi-believed at the time but later disavowed. Still, it helps the story come along.

The character development and writing are of the highest quality, and it is refreshing to read something from a nineteen-fifties perspective. You should give it a read.

On a more negative level, the passing of time shows. So, you have to put things we know now out of your mind and use some imagination.

Overall, I’d give it four stars out of five.

Remember to subscribe if you like my content, and chat with you all again soon.

My Journey as a Writer: Updates and Goals

Hello, dear readers, I hope you are all doing well. A quick reminder to consider subscribing to the website to be kept fully updated. It really is the best way.

So what have I been up to? Well, not too much in the last day or two (I’m so lazy). Before then, I did make some steady progress.

Wheelchair Wars – The reworking is almost complete of my far future dystopia, where people with disabilities are forced to fight to the death for entertainment. I’m hoping to have it published (probably self-published), but I’ll try to look for an agent in the new year. I joined an online writing group, and I think I have significantly improved my writing skills. Like everything I do, I will always endeavor to improve.

Pegasus – This action-packed story set hundreds of years in the future recently came to an end. Like Wheelchair Wars, it will be reworked and published at a future date.

Distant Love – I only started this recently. It is still easy to find Part 1. This is my latest story – a sci-fi romance. I’m still working this one out in my head, not sure how long it will be.

General Overview:

I am on track to get a record number of views this year. I’m hoping to break the 2,000 mark. From research, to be a professional blogger would need an absolute minimum of 24,000 views per year. I’m a long way off, but not beyond the realms of impossibility to do it in a few years.

I now have 1,400 followers on Bluesky. My plan is to try and get over 2,000 by the end of the year. Then drive that audience towards here, along with my Twitter and Facebook followers.

Please don’t be afraid to comment. It would be great to have some feedback.

Speech at 25-year celebration of Westmeath CIL

Well, readers, this post is slightly different from usual. This is a speech I gave last night at the 25-year celebration for Westmeath CIL for anyone who may have an interest –

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to be here with you for this celebration of Westmeath CIL tonight. I am sure I already know a good number of you here. The first time I heard about the organization was when it was in its infancy. It was based on a revolutionary concept at the time, and it brought me joy to know Westmeath would not be left behind – that people with disabilities should be able to chart their futures, whether it is deciding what education to pursue, where to live, and with whom, and the ability to socialize. It is a concept as critical today as all those years ago. 

The role of Westmeath CIL in my life greatly increased a few months after I completed college with my first Personal Assistant from the service, Patricia Gorman, who ended up doing many years with me.


Her work had a great effect on my life straight away. It increased my independence and gave me a solid basis for planning my future. We got along very well, and I occasionally ring her now,  many years after she stopped working. 

Of course, there were times when she was unwell or on leave, and people like Linda McKinley and Grainne Nea, among others, would step into the breech. Throughout those years, Mary Mooney was there for me to contact if I had difficulties. 

During those years, I first worked in the Mullingar Arts Centre and then joined Westmeath County Council as a Clerical Officer. I still remember my excitement on my first day, not thinking I’d still be there nearly twenty-three years later. 

I now live in my house most days of the week thanks to Westmeath CIL. This involved a large increase in my hours, which were done by Thomas McCormack at the start. In my career, I am currently the Resource Worker with the Westmeath Public Partnership Network. A challenging role that makes use of everything that I’ve learned to date. Hopefully, I’ll still go up the ladder a bit more. Chief Executive has a nice ring to it. 

I know that there are challenges, but this would not have been possible without the independent living movement. Currently, I have three PAs from Westmeath CIL. Gerry Marie, Dermot Smith, and Kathleen Carr. Peter Bradley also fulfills the role from time to time. Westmeath CIL continues to play a vital role in my life, and I hope that it continues to make a huge impact, not only in my life but in the lives of all people with disabilities in the region.

Winding Up a Scammer: My Encounter with Ingrid

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been at it again – winding up a scammer. Should I be wasting their precious time? Of course, I should. Today, I talked to a lovely, scheming, evil woman called Ingrid. Little did I know, there was a massive grant I was missing out on.

M = me I = Ingrid

I: Hello. How are you doing.?

M: I’m good and you?

I: Am doing pretty good

Hey…..I have something important to discuss with you (I knew she was a scammer right about now)

M: You do Ingrid, what is it?

I: I saw your name on the NCG list..did you get anything from them? (Now the fun can begin)

M: That’s really interesting. Is that the Navan Carlow Galway rejuvenation list?

I: No…….this is about the national community grant from (Government) which assisted the employees, Old, retired, workers, non-workers, youth and disabled, did you get yours?

No, I’ve never heard about it. I heard that FG government never do nothing. How much is it Could really do with it. Need money for wheelchair

I: I got a hundred thousand dollars from them I had money delivered to me when I applied, you can get it too…I can give you their contact if you don’t mind

M: Wow, that’s cool. But should it be paid In euros. I’m so silly about these things.

Are you there? I really need this money? I’ll do anything.

I: Yeah… I think (to the euro question, wondering what is a euro?) Wait a minute Let me help you check for their website link and send it to you..

M: Cool

I: Link is forwarded to someone claiming to be an agent. Do that now and keep me posted.

M: Where is he based? How did you meet him?

I: A friend also told me about it like I told you..

I had some financial issues then but I have no hope than to try it because I thought it was a scam so after trying it I was surprised to recieve the money from them. I was surprised when they delivered to me. In front of my doorstep,

M: Where are you based again? Are you in the US?

I: Nope

Crokedwood

But they base in the US through my research

M: Where is Crokedwood? Never heard of it.

You there?

I: Really.

M: yes, honestly. Is it in England?

I: Yeah.

Hey… have you drop a message to them?

M: Where in England? You’re pretty, we might meet up (Is it ok to sexually harass a scammer? I’m probably talking to a guy pretending to be a woman so let’s make him squirm lol)

I: Huh

M: you know get it on.

Alas, the scammer stopped communicating for some reason. Don’t worry I’ll report them and remember – Don’t forget to subscribe! And stay safe too. There are bad people, or at least bad bots out there to get you.

Pegasus (Part 90)

Previously, I read about entering Earth’s atmosphere but to experience it is another. The shaking grew larger, and I could see the heat shield at the front glowing red.

Then, everything was still again. Tabitha shouted out her approval. We were coasting now in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The sky was beautiful blue. The toxic grey clouds that covered most of the planet were like a carpet below us. We were going to try and avoid them altogether.

That carpet gradually faded, then disappeared giving us our first opportunity to see the tainted purple sea. Tabitha was thrilled. “Do you think there is anything alive down there?”

I didn’t want to crush her dreams.

“Yes, I’m sure there must be something. What exactly, I don’t know.”

And maybe there was. I had serious doubts though.

A few minutes later, the sea turned to sand.

“We must be close,” Tabitha said.

“Another ten minutes or so.

The ruins of London were something else. They became visible as jagged pieces sticking out of the land in the distance. They drew closer and what were a few pieces, grew into a sea of its own. Tabitha scanned the vicinity for movement.

“Nothing, apart from some rats.”