Steven Helmer Publications

It was our fall bulk pickup week so, after spending a chunk of my evening hauling an old couch and some other furniture, we no longer had room for to the curb, I was tired out enough to not want to do much else. As a result, I wound up re-watching Child's Play for the first time in about a year before calling it a night. Here are some of my thoughts from that movie: Why did Chucky ( Brad Dourif ) stay in the box? To recap, murderer Charles Lee Ray, or "Chucky," is shot by Detective Mike Norris ( Chris Sarandon ) inside a toy store and uses a spell to cast his soul into a doll that is later purchased from a homeless guy by Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) for her son, Andy ( Alex Vincent ).  So, with that mouthful out of the way, why not just break out of the box before the homeless guy even came into the picture? Was there a delay on the spell taking effect or did he have another reason for waiting until he was in a child's possession (other than the plot, of course)? ...

I don't know if it's just the time of day or the fact the park has been slightly busier than usual, but I haven't had a lot of success getting photos the past couple days. Everything is either hiding or skittish to the point they flee the second I'm within range.  I did, however, manage to get a couple blue heron photos while I was out today. I'm not completely sure if it is two different herons or the same one in different spots but here they are: ______________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous heron photos: Heron Photos Some Heron Photos Heron With Breakfast

Synopsis: When objects around town become suddenly and inexplicably magnetized, Dr. Jeffrey Stewart and Dr. Dan Forbes of the Office of Scientific Investigation are called in to find out why. They discover a dying scientist carrying an unusual radioactive isotope that was part of an experiment. Stewart and his team take possession of the isotope, learn it is alive, growing and will eventually be so large, it could potentially throw Earth out of orbit. Who's in it? The movie stars Richard Carlson, King Donovan, Jean Byron , Harry Ellerbe and Michael Fox. Review: It's been a while since I had time to watch an early morning movie, so I made sure to correct that today and eventually selected The Magnetic Monster. The movie was not what I was expecting it to be based on its title and unfortunately wasn't one of my favorites. I am always going to give movies points for uniqueness and in this case, the film did offer something somewhat unique by not having the "monster"...

My wife and I have seen the Paul Walker-led thriller  Joy Ride more times than I've been able to keep track of. It is one of those films that becomes our go-to when we can't find something else to watch. However, it had been quite some time since we did last see it, so we ended up picking it last night while waiting for our daughter to get done with work. Here are some of my thoughts from that re-watch: How much did Lewis' (Walker) plane ticket cost? The who premise of the movie only happens because Lewis cashes in his refundable ticket so he can buy a car and pick up his friend/love interest Venna (Leelee Sobieski). I can believe that. However, that car had a price tag of $1100 (I miss used cars being that cheap) and you have to figure there would be taxes, licensing fees, etc. on top of that. I just don't remember plane tickets costing THAT much in the early 2000s. Also, as my wife pointed out, for a couple college kids going home for the summer, they sure didn't ...

Last week's rainy weather kept me from getting out for a walk so, since the sun was out today, I made sure to try to make up for it. It was surprisingly quiet considering I would normally expect the geese to be taking a break there on their way south, but I did still manage to get some photos. Here is a selection of them: ________________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/27/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (8/6/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (8/10/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (9/11/2026)

I hadn't intended on watching Encino Man (or any other movie for that matter) yesterday morning because I had quite a few things I needed to do. However, I came across the film and, after a couple minutes, was hooked enough to re-watch it for the first time in several years. Here are some of my thoughts from that re-visit of this 1990s classic. First, this movie is a great reminder of just how Brendan Fraser became a star. He has few lines and has to rely solely on physical comedy and body language yet pulls it off perfectly. Link is funny, likeable and unpredictable, a great combination for a film like this. There is something seriously wrong when a character named Stoney ( Pauly Shore ) is the voice of reason in a friend duo. I'm not even completely sure what Dave's ( Sean Astin ) plan was because even if Link became popular, it wasn't something that was going to necessarily make him popular too by extension. If anything, having his "exchange student friend...