Steven Helmer Publications

I managed to get out by the lake with my camera for a bit this morning before heading into the office. I didn't get in as much of a walk as I would have preferred though. There was a flock of geese blocking the way and I didn't want to do anything to scare them (or get me attacked) so I turned around. Despite cutting the walk short, I did still manage to get some photos (which is more than I could say about my walk at lunch). Here are a few of them: ________________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous nature photos: Lunchtime Walk Photos (6/4/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/6/2026) Just a Nest Photo Morning and Lunchtime Walk Photos 4/23/2024

Movie character crossovers have entertained audiences almost from the time Hollywood films became a thing. Whether it was Frankenstein's Monster meeting the Wolf Man, King Kong destroying Japan alongside Godzilla, Freddy Krueger taking on Jason Voorhees or Batman feuding with Superman, cinematic worlds colliding has become a movie staple. There are, however, plenty of missed opportunities when it comes to movie crossovers, whether it was pairing action stars with each other or horror film monsters. Here are five movie character pairings I think should have (and some still could be) made. M3GAN ( M3GAN ) versus Chucky ( Child's Play ) - It's probably just my opinion but killer dolls make the best horror movie monsters. In this case, you'd have an AI-powered doll, M3GAN facing the possessed-by-a-psychopath Chucky. While M3GAN is evil but only because she's trying to be good, I'd make her the hero by default, perhaps protecting whatever child she is living with now...

The weather has been a bit iffy the past couple days. If it hasn't been horribly hot/humid, it's been raining. So, when I decided to take a chance and go for a walk today, I didn't go as far, just in case I needed to head back to my car in a hurry. It wasn't terribly hot out when I went and I did manage to avoid rain, though there were some ominous clouds in the sky. I also managed to get some photos while I was out. Here are a few of them. _____________________________________________________________________ Here are some of my previous nature photos: Morning Walk Photos (6/4/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/6/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (10/9/2024) Some Random Outdoor Photos

Synopsis: Homeschooled for "hippie reasons" in the deep south, Felicia Day was a gifted student who was admitted to college at the age of 16 and graduated as valedictorian with a math degree but struggled in social situations unless they were over the internet. After moving to Hollywood to be an actress and struggling to find roles that spoke to her, she with help from friends she met online, decided to create her own web series The Guild, about gaming culture and became an internet star as a result. This memoir tells her story. Review: While not overly familiar with The Guild , other than watching a few episodes, I am a Felicity Day fan from her time on Supernatural and do follow her on social media. I recently read her graphic novel, The Lost Daughter of Sparta and enjoyed it enough to give her memoir You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) a try. I finished reading it this morning and was glad I did. Day's life story is an interesting one. She was a brilli...

The film Die Hard is a staple in my house. I think I put the movie on at least once per month, though by this point it has mostly just been as background noise with me only paying attention during the highlights. However, I put it on again last night and with nothing to distract me, did wind up paying attention to the whole film (or at least most of it). As I did, one thought popped into my head. Who was the inside man working with Hans Gruber ( Alan Rickman ) and his gang of terrorists? While the movie doesn't explicitly state there is someone withing the Nakatomi Corporation that is working with Gruber and his men, the evidence is there if you pay attention. First, the security in Nakatomi Plaza is atrocious, to the point it seems almost by design.  There is a lone security guard who doesn't check identification and a computerized directory that lists the names of everyone in the building. John McClane ( Bruce Willis ) was obviously the good guy in the film but could have ju...

Synopsis: Harry Baldwin takes his wife Ann and two teenagers, Rick and Karen, on a camping trip in Sierra, Nevada. While on they are on the road, nuclear war breaks out, wiping out their home in Los Angeles as well as other major cities and quickly throwing the world into chaos. Determined to keep his family safe, Harry drives them as far from civilization as possible and they take up residence in a cave. However, he soon learns even hiding in the deep wilderness isn't enough to protect them from danger. Who's in it? The movie stars Ray Milland , Jean Hagan , Frankie Avalon , Mary Mitchel and Joan Freeman. Review: I overslept a bit this morning and realizing I couldn't remember the movie I had planned on watching, randomly selected one from my library. This ended up being Panic in Year Zero! I've seen plenty of end-of-the-world movies and some are much better than others. This is one I would describe as one of those better ones. One of the things I liked most about t...