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  • LGBTSR

    ‘I, Warlock: The Warlock Wars Book I’ Now Available on Amazon!

    At last, ‘I, Warlock: The Warlock Wars Book I’ is now available on Amazon in eBook and paperback. CLICK HERE to get your copy!

    When the world’s survival depends on the struggle between good and evil, only one can triumph. The victor will preserve for humankind what makes life worth living, or he will rule atop a mound of skulls, served by the souls he defeated.

    I, Warlock tells the story of Julius Tide, born part-vampire, destined to be all warlock. Follow his journey from a near-innocent, living quietly in the Vermont countryside, to a man whose decisions will determine the fate of the world. Every step of the way he has his beloved Charlotte, whose beauty first stuns him one spring day at a local fair, and continues to comfort him as he undertakes a battle against monumental evil that can have only one winner. Grief, joy, ecstasy, tragedy–it all comes into play as Julius, Charlotte, and a dizzying cast of characters march to their destinies in I, Warlock, The Warlock Wars Book I.

  • An App for That,  LGBTSR

    An App for That: Getting a Bird’s Eye View with a ‘Bird Buddy’ Feeder

    While it’s not technically an app, it plays one on your phone! One of our friends gave us a Bird Buddy for Christmas, and after waiting several months for it to arrive, we finally have it set up. It has a lot in common with a Ring camera, except that the camera is in the bird feeder. It becomes activated whenever a bird hops on for a snack, and it takes short videos of the activity. It can also identify the bird, and save the video in what it calls postcards that you can view later.

    We’re just learning about it, and it can take up to a couple weeks for birds to find it, feel safe with it, and start feeding. You can also do a live view (just like a Ring) and see what the camera sees.

    I’m looking forward to seeing who stops by for a meal, what kinds of birds they are, and just how camera shy a Blue Jay can be, which is probably not at all.

  • LGBTSR

    Steve Hayes’s Tired Old Queen at the Movies: Valley of the Dolls

    From Steve Hayes’s Tired Old Queen at the Movies

    Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, Lee Grant and Susan Hayward ripping the lid off Tinseltown in Mark Robson’s film version of Jacqueline Susann’s blistering bestseller VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (’67). Sex, drugs, booze & ruthless ambition fuel this story of the underside of show business and have made it a cult classic, maybe a camp classic. It’s a wild ride and one you won’t want to miss!

  • LGBTSR

    Gardening for the Mind and Spirit

    By Mark McNease

    One of the things I’ve been proudest of achieving since we moved to our little house in rural New Jersey six years ago is setting up our raised-bed garden. It felt almost like an artwork, but a living one. It’s getting a little worn-down now, but we have at least one more year of a bountiful tomato, squash, zucchini, and (this year) lettuce harvest. I may tear it down and start over next year … or not. I’ll let nature and my own ambition tell me what to do next spring.

  • LGBTSR

    The Twist Podcast #231: SCOTUS Gone Wild, Food Mashups, a Guest Listicle, and an Interview with Actor and Comedian Jason Stuart

    Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as we consider the Supreme Court’s recent flame throwing, debate what to call a ketchup mustard hybrid, and enjoy an interview with actor and comedian Jason Stuart.

    More about Jason Stuart

    JASON STUART is a prolific character actor & stand-up comic. Born in the Bronx and raised in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles, and now residing in Palm Springs and lives next door to his 85 year old Jewish mother Gloria, but does not live with her! Stuart is a self-described insecure Jewish kid who turned to theatre and performing to mask his emerging sexual identity. He confesses, “Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl” saved my life”.

    Hollywood began to take notice by casting him in films like “Kindergarten Cop,” “Vegas Vacation,” and TV shows like “The Closer” and “My Wife & Kids.”  Frustrated by years of living in the closet, Jason chose to come out publicly on an infamous episode of Geraldo Rivera focused on “Unconventional Comedians.” He went on to guesting on shows as “Goliath” opposite J.K. Simmons, “Love” from comedy guru Judd Apatow, and indie films like “Tangerine” from filmmaker Sean Baker and “Love is Strange” opposite John Lithgow and Alfred Molina.

  • LGBTSR

    So What’s All This About AI?

    By Mark McNease

    This seems like a good time to address our most recent bogeyman, or should I say bogeyrobot? AI (artificial intelligence) is all the rage these days, with a great deal of misunderstanding and fear around it. Like every new technology – and AI isn’t really new at all – it can be used for nefarious purposes, such as impersonating people, their voices and images in service to someone’s agenda, and it can be used for the good in innumerable ways.

    When we ask Alexa or Siri or Google to research something, we are essentially using AI. The technologies in our cars are reliant on forms of AI. It is, frankly, already pervasive in our lives and has been for a long time, and it will only increase. Autocorrect. GPS. Word suggestions when we type. Algorithms everywhere. These are all forms of AI, and we’ve gotten used to them. We will get used to its other, newer, forms too. It’s all about adapting and, for me, embracing these new technologies.

  • LGBTSR

    Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast #65: Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery (Chapters 31 – 41)

    Fasten your headphones for the final ten chapters of Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery. This was perhaps the darkest book in the series, in terms of its psychology. Kyle and his friend, retired homicide detective Linda Sikorsky, solve the cold case of a murdered teenage girl. As they reveal the truth, they bring answers to her grieving father, even as they bring down the New York City District Attorney. The shock waves will reverberate in the city for years to come.

  • LGBTSR

    Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast #64: Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery (Chapters 28-30)

    Fasten your headphones for another three chapters of Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery. This was perhaps the darkest book in the series, in terms of its psychology. We have Kyle traumatized and seeing a therapist. We have a cold case involving the brutal, seemingly random murder of a teenage girl. But was it random? Follow along as Kyle and his friend, retired detective Linda Sikorsky, try to solve the case, for Kyle’s own well-being, and to provide answers to a grieving father. The shock waves from what they discover will reverberate all the way to the New York City District Attorney’s office and beyond.