Book Review: ‘The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III, 1999-2005’ (Taschen 40 Edition, 2023)


The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III, 1999-2005 – Taschen 40 Edition (2023) By: Paul Duncan, with Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc Publisher: Taschen Books Reviewer’s Note In January of 2021, I purchased, purely on impulse, the original Collector’s Edition of The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III, 1999-2005, a hefty 600-page tome about the makingContinue reading “Book Review: ‘The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III, 1999-2005’ (Taschen 40 Edition, 2023)”

Book Review: ‘Code-Name Downfall: The Secret Plan to Invade Japan-And Why Truman Dropped the Bomb’


Code-Name Downfall: The Secret Plan to Invade Japan-And Why Truman Dropped the Bomb (1995) By: Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar Publisher: Simon & Schuster The Invasion That Never Was In 1995, the Golden Anniversary of the Allied victories in Europe and the Asia-Pacific theaters of World War II, Simon & Schuster published Code-Name Downfall: TheContinue reading “Book Review: ‘Code-Name Downfall: The Secret Plan to Invade Japan-And Why Truman Dropped the Bomb’”

Book Review: ‘The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger’


Reviewer’s Note: Thomas Wikman is one of my long-time online friends from Epinions, a now-defunct review site where we both wrote product reviews. Additionally, I adapted this review from an original version that I wrote on the book’s Amazon product page. “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.Continue reading “Book Review: ‘The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger’”

Book Review: ‘The Third World War: August 1985’


On May 1, 1978, London-based Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd. published The Third World War: August 1985: A Future History, a work of near-future speculative fiction by Sir John Hackett, a retired general in the British Army, and a group of co-authors that, according to the publisher, included an admiral, an economist, and a diplomat, allContinue reading “Book Review: ‘The Third World War: August 1985’”

Musings & Thoughts for Tuesday, September 6, 2022, or: After 11 Years, My Blogger Blog FINALLY Starts Paying Out


Well, it finally happened. Last night, while I was doing my weekly look at the AdSense account of the Blogger precursor to this blog, I noticed that after 11 years and 1,404 blog posts, I finally reached the $100 payment threshold necessary for Google to pay me the ad revenue generated by my content onContinue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Tuesday, September 6, 2022, or: After 11 Years, My Blogger Blog FINALLY Starts Paying Out”

Reunion A Story


Originally posted on Leonberger Life:
This is my fourth book review on my Leonberger blog. However, this time I am reviewing a novella written by an epinions friend of mine, just because I want to spread the word about his great book. It is not a Leonberger book. Epinions was an on-line review site that…

Movie Review: ‘West Side Story’ (2021)


West Side Story (2021) Directed by: Steven Spielberg Written by: Tony Kushner Based on: The Broadway musical West Side Story, conceived, choreographed, and directed by Jerome Robbins. Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Arthur Laurents. Produced for the stage by Robert L. Griffith and Harold Prince. West Side Story itself isContinue reading “Movie Review: ‘West Side Story’ (2021)”

D-Day + 78 Years: Remember. Always Remember


Hi, there, Dear Reader. It’s late morning here in Lithia, Florida, on Monday, June 6, 2022. It is a hot early summer day in the Tampa Bay area. Currently, the temperature is 80°F (27°C) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at 92% and the wind barely blowing from the east-southeast at 1 MPH (4 KM/H)Continue reading “D-Day + 78 Years: Remember. Always Remember”

Old Gamers Never Die, or: Operation Market-Garden, ‘Crusade in Europe,’ and Unexpected Victories


“Many historians, with an ‘if only’ approach to the British defeat, have focused so much on different aspects of Operation Market Garden which went wrong that they have tended to overlook the central element. It was quite simply a very bad plan right from the start and right from the top. Every other problem stemmedContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die, or: Operation Market-Garden, ‘Crusade in Europe,’ and Unexpected Victories”

On the Joys and Pitfalls of Online Shopping: The Saga of the ‘West Side Story’ Steelbook – All’s Well That Ends Well


It’s only just out of reach Down the block, on a beach Under a tree. –  Stephen Sondheim, “Something’s Coming,” West Side Story Well, Dear Reader, after all the angst, all the aggravation, and all the chats with Best Buy customer service reps online, the West Side Story Limited Edition Steelbook incident had a happyContinue reading “On the Joys and Pitfalls of Online Shopping: The Saga of the ‘West Side Story’ Steelbook – All’s Well That Ends Well”