Tuesday, September 22, 2026
The Empire Strikes Back: Movie Review
Links to stuff mentioned:
The worksheets I used when I showed this movie to my Cambodian students: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-empire-strikes-back-movie-worksheets.html
My thoughts on SFDebris's documentary on the making of The Empire Strikes Back: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2017/08/if-youre-nerd-youll-find-these-video.html
Related Playlists:
* Movie Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6N06WoIoV2fLb6xRYrepTk&si=iWMhXdwlxxKxm6r6
* My Favorite Movies List: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5FrM-RfWQKzIagh6rQjXfG&si=kHLlZniqby0QBgjc
* Movies that I Watched in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4MSFWzU5IicG0H3orcJ1tV&si=7Xu-ASHaL36-7DER
* Star Wars Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7Jm_h-i0bQnQMSWOPCW2Ta&si=e3zVCgCFCy1NNMBF
started: Vergil's Aeneid, Books I-VI (Latin Edition) (Bks. 1-6) by Virgil (Author), Clyde Pharr (Editor), Alexander G. McKay (Contributor)
Monday, September 21, 2026
Came across a couple of interesting links (via Freddie deBoer) and I wanted to bookmark them here so I don't lose them.
...that article also includes another link to another article, which I also found very interesting:
* Reading Comprehension Is Not a Skill
* Reading Comprehension Is Not a Skill
Booster Gold: The Complete 2007 Series Book One: Book Review
Started: August 29, 2026
This video was really hard for me to film, because my brain felt like it was exhausted.
But I filmed it anyway, because I make it a point to review everything I read.
But I filmed it anyway, because I make it a point to review everything I read.
I also try to make it a point to film my review of a book within 48 hours of finishing the book.
I developed this second rule a couple of years ago, when I began to notice that I would sometimes go a week or more between finishing a book and filming the review. I had been trying to wait until I felt like I had enough energy to film the review, but often a whole week would go by, and every day I felt like I was tired. (And quite often I was tired every day--between having 2 young kids, and working every day of the week, I was just exhausted all the time.) So, I decided that if I was going to keep up this project of reviewing everything I read, I would have to be strict with myself. After I finished a book, I would have to film a review within 48 hours, whether I felt like it or not.
But on the night I filmed this review, my brain was just not cooperating.
To start with, I got ten minutes into the review, before my brain blanked out, and I decided to just give up on that whole take. (My normal rule is that once I'm more than 10 minutes in, I don't give up on a video, but just keep going even if I mess up on something. But in this case, my brain just came to a halt, and I had to give up.)
That failed attempt is here: Failed version: Booster Gold: The Complete 2007 Series Book One
...then, after failing with the first video, I was able to get through the 2nd video reasonably well. But then when I tried to film the 3rd video, my brain just gave up, and it ended up being another failure:
...what can I say? I wish I could have made these videos better, but my brain just wasn't cooperating.
I did contemplate trying to refilm these videos the next day, but I was actually still sleep deprived the following day as well, and I wasn't sure it was going to be much better. Plus, I wasn't sure this comic book was worth so many reshoots. It's just a stupid comic book. If I don't have the energy to review it, then I don't have the energy to review it.
While I'm on the topic, a lot of my reviews are not as good as I would like them to be. For various reasons. One reason is often that I'm tired. I wish I wasn't tired, but there it is. I work a lot, I'm busy with my kids, I'm just tired a lot.
(Addendum: I was in the staff lounge at work, and a lot of the other teachers were also talking about how exhausted they are recently--how they come home from work, and just feel exhausted, and collapse in bed by 8 pm, or something like that. Prior to overhearing this, I had been assuming that my brain wasn't functioning because of lack of sleep, but now I'm thinking that in addition to not getting enough sleep, I'm probably just exhausted because teaching is an exhausting job, and doesn't leave you with much energy at the end of the day.)
Related Playlists:
DC Comics Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6kPikhXNalrSh9BnvzZi2f&si=4rAijTT4v9u_06q2
Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY
Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy
Booster Gold: The Complete 2007 Series Book One: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL_FQ1PEG9e8&si=52llG4mOXtzLn-hj
Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 3 by John Byrne, Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway: Book Review
Links to things mentioned:
* SUPERMAN V. BLOODSPORT by JOHN BYRNE: https://youtu.be/ZfXOwYO34T0?si=h2QuOudDpvirFJmK
Related Playlists:
DC Comics Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6kPikhXNalrSh9BnvzZi2f&si=4rAijTT4v9u_06q2
Book Review Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7dao6py7ODX_PkUvrAEch7&si=EJ7CG8iO9IouNaYY
Books I Read in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7YYl7seud9ov0n6dtdHzvj&si=iMERlWtiF0Rq2-uy
Superman: The Man of Steel Series Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFsyxFSUR_9Y&si=mJrKaW9whW7Ofkrc
Superman: The Man of Steel Vol 3 Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdW9k4S6ey4U&si=Tgri3bQVgJmqKUlH
Sunday, September 20, 2026
This Week in Booktube: September 20, 2026
(These are the Booktube videos I watched this week. As always, I encourage you also to check out each of the videos I've linked to down below. Support Booktube. And let me know what you've watched this past week.)
Twelve Months of Christmas Your Next fivestarexperience Starts Here! There's More to love than Meets the Eye. readmorebooks!
William's Library My Very Short "TBR"
Books I'm Not Reading Friday Reads: No Headspace for Books!
Randy Ray Thank you
Arnella Hobler The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Cozy Summary | The Chronicles of Narnia
Randy Ray How Well Read Am I, Actually?
Joseph Francis Burton De Vénérande - writing update
William's Library Bookmarked Books And Life Update
Bucky749 Booktube: graphic novel review : dungeon curler, Carl review volume one .
Randy Ray What Happens if You Become a Booktuber
Star Wars: Movie Review
Admittedly this ended up being more about my reminiscences of watching Star Wars than a review of Star Wars itself. Sorry about that. I just had to get that out of my system, I guess, before I could talk about the objective merits of this film. At some point, I'll have to come back and take another crack at reviewing this movie. Sooner or later, I'm bound to watch it again, and when I do, I'll try to just jump straight into the review next time.
Links to stuff mentioned:
My blog post on the first time I tried to introduce this movie to my kids: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2026/01/star-wars-movies-that-ive-half-watched.html
My Star Wars Worksheets (for ESL classes): https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2015/02/star-wars-movie-worksheets.html
Related Playlists:
* Movie Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6N06WoIoV2fLb6xRYrepTk&si=iWMhXdwlxxKxm6r6
* My Favorite Movies List: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5FrM-RfWQKzIagh6rQjXfG&si=kHLlZniqby0QBgjc
* Movies that I Watched in 2026: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4MSFWzU5IicG0H3orcJ1tV&si=7Xu-ASHaL36-7DER
* Star Wars Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7Jm_h-i0bQnQMSWOPCW2Ta&si=e3zVCgCFCy1NNMBF
A Bridge Too Far: Movie Review
Roger Ebert's review of the movie: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-bridge-too-far-1977
This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost. For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:
In this case, the old blog post is here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-bridge-too-far.html
Related Playlists:
Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6N06WoIoV2fLb6xRYrepTk&si=EDHi2_Y41ACLnCmA
Scripted Movie Reviews playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x49ts8TV1DbXQo8zN_e65us&si=_gzqGAmaz337NVCP
Scripted Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BKcEIufNKlS58JHU_glyL&si=Pje0KQqIqOgWGGUI
3 Stars Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x70ViGYftDcGCPIKZHYqBYd
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Ada Covered Bridge Park, Ada Township: Guide to West Michigan
(Travelogues--West Michigan)
address: 7490 Thornapple River Dr SE, Ada, MI 49301
This is part of my project to document places of interest in West Michigan. For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see the bottom part of this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2026/01/guide-to-west-michigan.html
Related Playlists:
Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9
West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F
Kent County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5EOMa9ZWDBtdpQFwtlk_ev&si=t8952PnDfrJQTvBY
Ada Township Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4wNsw_zHE0L7HrkSYPaBuV&si=7gzHNdFhq6iauNhe
Ada Village Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXuyFLh_bqUI&si=Rv1y9v4-sgArS53x
Cascade Township Cemetery, Cascade Township: Guide to West Michigan
(Travelogues--West Michigan)
Address: 7200 30th St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508
This is part of my project to document places of interest in West Michigan. For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see the bottom part of this blog post here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2026/01/guide-to-west-michigan.html
Related Playlists:
Travelogues Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x71JnPJ1gs_uaswSALX-7V9
West Michigan Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4D-0HPmovcbB6cCqlVVGEL&si=IEFmZ3UMgJxI0F4F
Kent County Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5EOMa9ZWDBtdpQFwtlk_ev&si=t8952PnDfrJQTvBY
Cascade Township Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x4WoaXKD7r7tquq2KUQuBjn&si=Hy0GBuPXCEuoZCJE
Cascade Village Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFMt0bpLEubM&si=skJOs1PGXeWV6OZJ
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