Brendan carves out his space in the jam-packed blogoverse
For me, Christmas officially ends each year with the last scene in A Christmas Story. The parents are sitting by the Christmas tree, enjoying a drink, as the snow flutters down through the window. It's that calming last breath of Christmas before TBS dumps six episodes of Big Bang Theory on us. Television news producers... Continue Reading →
Every December for the past decade or so, I've read, overheard, and even argued in debates about the greatest non-Christmas movies set during Christmas. A few challengers are tossed around, like Gremlins, Harry Potter, and Trading Places. Almost always everyone zeroes-in on Die Hard. It's hard to disagree. Die Hard is a badass movie. It's... Continue Reading →
Kids are a lot of work. This Halloween I saw a mom taking her three kids, who were all under age four, trick-or-treating along Fremont Street in Portland. I nearly passed out in exhaustion from the mere sight of her effort. My wife and I took our daughter out for the same event and the... Continue Reading →
I never ate tomato sauce of any kind as a kid. The reason: Onions are disgusting... and poisonous to my body. They're in everything, including tomato sauces. Just about any sauc-ianado will tell you onions are a key ingredient. I disagree. Because I cannot eat onions, I have spent the last two decades making my... Continue Reading →
The kids are in bed. You opened that bottle of barrel-aged pumpkin ale from your beer cellar. And you're all cozy on the couch with the dog on your lap. Then you spend the next 40 minutes going through apps searching for the right movie before giving up and going to bed. Don't let that... Continue Reading →
Just in time for Halloween, here's my latest entry for HorrorNews.net. I looked into the movie scenes that do more than set a scary tone -- they are terrifying in their own right. You could end the movie right then and there, and be pleasantly chilled. One of my entries is actually not in the... Continue Reading →
Dwight Clark caught “The Catch.” That may not mean something to you, but to San Francisco 49ers fans, it is the height of folk lore. In fact, it’s a beloved football moment known by football fans across the United States—even being named one of the 21 Greatest Sports Moments in History. When Dwight Clark died... Continue Reading →
(Important posts here, as advertised)
My parents named me Brendan Temujin Knapp. People are surprised and curious to wonder what Temujin means. The answer only adds to the surprise and curiosity. Basically my dad was reading this book... ...when I was forming in my mother's womb (yes, this exact book). Mom got to pick my first name. Dad got to... Continue Reading →
Stephen King's work evolves. Constantly. And everything is on the negotiating table, at all times. That's why it's hard to put together a list of his upcoming movie and television projects. I did exactly this for my first writing project at HorrorNews.net. In my mind, this would take about two or three hours. I was... Continue Reading →
Among the Reads 