Calvin Heighton (R.I.P.)

If the lights dimmed in your smart home or on your laptop yesterday it is because a source of energy in our little corner of the Internet has left us.

Blogger Calvin Heighton, 61, passed away in a hospice in his home town of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, after a heroic battle against cancer.

He was a bombastic, outspoken, Dune-loving, enthusiastic force of nature, a Proud Canadian and a beacon of devil-may-care passion.

His Canadian Cave of Cool blog, packed to the gills with eye candy and strong opinion pieces, was a must-read site for many people.

When I first started blogging a couple of decades ago, he was one of the earliest geek bloggers I encountered who took a similar "multifaceted approach" and we remained in regular contact.

We talked often online, however I - like many of his virtual fans - never actually met him.

We even, at a time when trans-Atlantic post was still affordable, traded the occasional gift: for instance, he sent me a collection of vintage Valiant comic book trade paperbacks at one point and I sent him a rare, old Dune action figure (from the David Lynch iteration of the movie).

Back in 2022, he was interviewed extensively for the Unfinished Man website, which you can find here. 

Despite his larger-than-life - and sometimes quite brash - online persona, Calvin was quite a shy and reclusive guy.

A former teacher, Cal lived with his mother in Red Deer, Alberta, until she passed the other year, but then about 18 months ago - between moving out of his former home and into a new apartment - he 'disappeared'.

Always prolific and persistent, he had long said, words to the effect of, he wanted to still be blogging when the plug was finally pulled on the Internet.

But his site fell silent on March 23, 2025. His last post on Facebook was March 22.

This seemed totally out of character for Cal not to maintain his online existence, but sadly we now know why.

Through the concerted efforts of a small group of his online friends, led by his former podcasting partner, MD Jackson of Balloon Juice, we eventually learned that Cal was being cared for in the Red Deer hospice.

Hopefully, in the end, he knew he wasn't forgotten and that he had friends all around the globe.

Cal, we already miss you.

To round things off and give you a flavour of the man, here follows a short interview I conducted with Cal on my old blog, in August 2015:

(1) How long have you been blogging, and how’d you get into it in the first place?

About eight years ago I was watching Mongol, the story of Genghis Khan and wanted to talk about it. I had been playing around with Blogger and posted my opinion as a test and it worked. It was thrilling to have my stuff online but that first follower took about a year and a half to arrive. Once I realized that commenting on other sites was the way to get my site noticed I was off and running. Haven't looked back since except to enjoy my archives. I had a website back when that was very much like the one Homer Simpson made when he first got online. No flying toasters though, but lots of GIFs. Thankfully no one can see that first attempt any longer. No comments...EVER on that first blog.

(2) What do you blog about and how frequently do you post?

I post multiple times a day. I am insanely prolific. I type very fast so I usually can do many posts in an hour. The image posts are easy to do in minutes. I blog about popular culture and all the things that I think are cool. I like to give my opinions because I think everything that comes out of my brain is genius. Like a hummingbird I move quickly from one place and thought to another so I can always find something to entertain myself and if I am entertained then it's easy to post about that topic. I love beautiful images no matter the subject.

(3) How does your blog stand out from all the rest?

I think there is a ton of content and things change all the time. There is always something new for followers to see when they log on - sometimes too much stuff. I am sure I could do less but it's not a burden. I think I have a definite POV and a great sense of humor about things I see. I like that I am current with my movie and TV reviews. I think I also attract a more discriminating class of followers.

(4) What’s the best (and worst) thing about blogging?

The best are the comments and the worst are the comments. I love the validation but it drives me insane when I work on a post over several days and it gets ZERO comments. I realize that sometimes people just get tired of telling someone their work is great but the validation is always nice. I admit I need the validation more than I should but that need strongly motivates me to create a good product I am proud of.

Cal is well-known for his 'funny animal' captions

(5) Do you have any self-imposed rules (or guidelines) for your blog?

1. I don't work BLUE because I don't have to. I could show naked women that are beautiful but that gets boring fast. Like working at a strip club. You don't even notice after awhile. I do love a pretty face though.

2. An image must accompany every post.

3. I write every blog myself. Never have had a guest blog but never really asked anyone to do one anyways. I am always afraid that I will have to tell them NO and I don't like to do that. Besides, if they are more popular than me I will go mental.

4. In my image captions, the animal always is speaking even when they are posing with a person.

When Good Guys Go Bad: Epic Conclusion To Dune Trilogy

Dune: Part Three is set nearly two decades after Paul Atreides seized control of the Imperium. Now a ruthless Emperor, Paul must face the consequences of his reign as old allies return, terrifying new threats emerge, and betrayal lurks in every shadow.

Haunted by visions of Imperial collapse and the reappearance of his long-lost love, Paul is drawn into a sweeping conspiracy, with Chani at the heart of its unfolding mystery.

As rebellion brews and enemies close in, Paul must confront the true cost of power and the fate of those he loves the most.

Dune: Part Three lands in cinemas on December 18.

"He's Not The Messiah, He's A Very Naughty Boy!"

Experience the epic conclusion. Dune: Part Three only in cinemas and IMAX December 18.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Villeneuve and Brian K. Vaughan, Dune: Part Three is based on the novel Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert and delivers the epic conclusion to Villeneuve’s trilogy.

The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Isaach De Bankolé, with Charlotte Rampling, with Anya Taylor-Joy, and Robert Pattinson, and Javier Bardem, and features newcomers Nakoa-Wolf Momoa and Ida Brooke.

Books, Books, As Far As The Eye Can See

The shelving is finished, but the "stocking up" remains a work in progress

The highlight of this week has been the magical appearance of my new bookcase. Paid for by Rachel and assembled by her dad, I absolutely love these new shelves to display my stuff on.

For about a year I've been planning for a new book case, but had only pictured it going half-way up the wall - with room for a framed picture above - but then Rachel and her dad said it would be feasible to build one up to the ceiling.

I'm so glad I followed their suggestion, as I think I was very incredibly optimistic over how much I could squeeze into a half-size bookcase!

What you see above is the current state of affairs, and I've promised everyone that I won't fill every single centimetre with weighty tomes (as this is on the first floor and nobody wants to see it drop through to the ground floor!).

Given my current disability, I am unable to reach the top shelves, so managed to persuade Rachel to help fill-up top (and bring boxes of previously hidden books up from the lounge).

The current make-up of my bookcase is a shelf for Westerns, one for Planet of The Apes, three for Judge Dredd -related products (I still need to get a stand for my old Lawgiver Mk2, which used to sit - in its packaging - in a glass cabinet in my original gamesroom in our old house), a couple for Robert E Howard and Conan books, one for Stephen King, one for Dune books (which is shared with a Star Wars Sith holocron), one for my Fantastic Four merch from the cinema, and then a display of Funko Pops along the top, bookended by cat statues painted to resemble my late parents' two cats: Cookie and Rover.

The cat figures were gifts I got my parents decades ago, when I was still working for the newspaper. There was someone at our head office who had access to a variety of blank statutes that he would then paint to resemble people's cats, based on photographs you supplied him.

I'm glad I finally have somewhere to display the pair properly.

Health-wise, it's been an up-and-down week. After a frustrating phone chat with my GP the other week (my doc didn't know why she was ringing, even though it was her who had asked me to book the call), Rachel and I were directed to a self-referral site for NHS physio.

We filled it in, but then a day or so later I got a call to say I had been rejected and was better off going to the falls clinic.

Through gritted teeth I explained I was already going through the falls clinic procedures and was looking for something to supplement that and, hopefully, develop my strength and stability further.

Later that evening I got a text to say I was now being referred and the following day I got an email containing the phone number to arrange my appointment. So, that's a job for this week.

Knock At The Cabin (2023)

While staying at an idyllic, isolated, lakeside cabin, young Wen (Kristen Cui in her feature film debut) and her two dads, Andrew (Pennyworth's Ben Aldridge) and Eric (Hamilton's Jonathan Groff), have their vacation interrupted by the arrival of four strangers at the their door .

This group - Leonard (Guardians of The Galaxy and Dune's Dave Bautista), Sabrina (Avenue 5's Nikki Amuka-Bird), Adriane (Little Women's Abby Quinn) and Redmond (Harry Potter's Rupert Grint) - are the politest, most apologetic home invaders, but they are also quite insistent in their demands.

They explain that, while they were previously unknown to each other, they have been guided to the cabin by identical visions.

These told them that unless unless one of Andrew, Eric, or Wen is sacrificed by the other two, the entire population of the Earth will die in a series of plagues and disasters.

Naturally, Andrew and Eric don't believe this, with Andrew becoming increasingly convinced that this is a targeted, homophobic attack, especially when he thinks he recognises one of the intruders.

The couple are given four chances to choose a sacrifice and if they don't the consequences are - initially - rather unexpected.

However, if the ultimate sacrifice isn't made, only Andrew, Eric, and Wen will survive... to walk the desolate, post-apocalyptic Earth for the rest of their lives.

Straight off the bat, I have to say that I really enjoyed Knock at The Cabin. 

When I sit down to watch a movie where I strongly suspect there will be some kind of major twist, especially if it's an M. Night Shyamalan flick, I like to come to it with as little foreknowledge as possible... so I can be disappointed on my own terms, and not because some doofus has blabbed a key plot development online.

I'm glad that I knew nothing beyond the inciting set-up as Knock at The Cabin certainly delivers. This is a return to classic Shyamalan, with no stupid contrivances to undermine the powerful psychological horror at the heart of this story.

There's a modicum of violence in the film, although most occurs off camera as that's not how Shyamalan wants to unnerve his audience here, rather that's left to audience members contemplating the implications of choices that Andrew and Eric are being told they need to make. It's a more cerebral approach to horror than cheap jump scares, gruesome gore or scary monsters (all of which have their place, but it's nice to mix things up every now and again).

The story alludes to a pseudo-Biblical Apocalypse without being overly religious, drawing upon topical, real world fears, but ramping them up to 11 for the news coverage of the global drama unfolding beyond the confines of the cabin.

Based on Paul Tremblay's award-winning 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World (which is a far better name and I don't know why they didn't use it for the film), Knock At The Cabin could also easily be adapted to a stage play because of its clever and minimal use of locations.

All the core cast are on top form, being wholly convincing in their particular roles during the stressful scenario that kicks off almost immediately after the film begins.

There's no hanging around, the script (by director M. Night Shyamalan, co-written with Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman) throws us in the deep end, with a handful of brief flashbacks during the film's 100-minute runtime to fill in the protagonists' backstory.

The antagonists, however, we - like Andrew, Eric, and Wen - can only judge by their words and deeds.

I kept looking out for obvious, or predictable, grand scale Shyamalan twists, trying to second guess the plot, but I'm delighted to say I failed and got to live the ending as the characters did.

And Now For Something (Almost) Completely Different

My bargain haul

Like a great many geeks of a certain age, I love - and am continually inspired by - Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series of pulp novels.

Way, way back in 2018 Modiphius Entertainment was Kickstarting a John Carter roleplaying game (one of their 'everything at once' splurge releases of multiple books, miniatures, dice, tile sets etc) and, for a minute, I was 'all-in'.

But then, it struck me that (a) I'm not really a fan of their 2d20 house system, (b) releasing everything at once means a LOT of reading (and their books tend towards the tiny text-heavy), and (c) none of my gaming group had ever expressed any interest in Barsoom or John Carter, which would mean having to 'teach' them all about the Martian cultures, language etc on top of a new set of rules.

So, I cancelled my Kickstarter pledge and consigned the game to the dusty halls of my "what could have been" dream storage unit.

As far as I could tell, after the initial gush of books (that were part of the Kickstarter), Modiphius didn't do anything else with the setting and let it fade, with the system only popping up in the occasional sale listing.

Books from Modiphius tend to be beautifully produced, often hardbacks, and sport a heft price tag. 

I've got their Conan The Barbarian core rules book and the more recent Dune one, but mainly to look nice on my shelves. Both of these were acquired via eBay for a fraction of their 'recommended retail price'. 

Conan - like John Carter - is another property that Modiphius no longer supports (although old John Carter books remain available at full retail cost). 

The license for Conan has reverted to Heroic Signatures, who are publishing a fresh roleplaying game through Monolith, which is due out later this year.

Conan RPG from Modiphius

The last, active, mention of John Carter in connection to roleplaying I remember seeing was a 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons supplement as part of a Kickstarter for an audiobook series.

And with that, John Carter - as a roleplaying game - slipped out of my mind.

Until, the other day, when an advert popped up somewhere for a Modiphius "moving warehouse" sale. And I thought: why not take a look?

And I was gobsmacked: the few John Carter items they had listed were going for pennies.

I didn't really need a new game, but how could I resist the core, hardback, rules for £4; tile sets (airships and ruins) for £1.50 each (which have potential utility in a variety of settings); and a player's guide and character cards/tokens set also for £1.50 each?

With postage, I got this lot (see picture at top of article) for under £20, saving almost a hundred quid on their original list price. 

Will I do anything with these rules? Who knows? Or will they just sit prettily on my shelves next to Conan and Dune?

At least, now, seven years later, I actually have the John Carter core books in hand, and I'm sure there are other companies out there manufacturing John Carter-inspired miniatures to sword fight across the deck of my airships!

Of course, I could let this slide on a technicality by reminding you that John Carter himself - before he was transported to Barsoom/Mars - was an American Civil War veteran, a Confederate captain from Virginia, which kinda makes him part of my on-going Western theme.

Reading Goals 2025

I'm reading Westerns again... for the first time in decades

For the last 18 months or so I'd hoped that I could convince myself to do do more 'constructive' things with my free time. 

Ultimately, though, I found myself spending a lot of time watching television. And I mean a LOT.

I've always enjoyed TV and movies at home, but really this got out of hand. 

I certainly wasn't helped by the constantly expanding library of channels available to us, through Sky and various streaming platforms.

So, it wasn't as though I was consuming mental garbage, but still the number of shows I became addicted to ended up eating into my time more than I could really justify.

I also watched a lot of movies (although possibly not as many as usual... for reasons), and was particularly impressed by the second part of the epic Dune adaptation.

This convinced to take another crack (my third or fourth?) at trying to read the book. So I acquired the gorgeous new edition from Gollancz, then got Dune Messiah from Rachel as a Christmas present (see below).

The third of the original trilogy, by Frank Herbert, comes out later this year, so I have set myself the possibly overambitious goal (given how slow I actually read these days) of reading the three books in 2025.

My new editions of the first two Dune novels

However, in recent months I've also discovered a pair of "booktubers" who have inspired me to focus more on reading, beyond my usual "I have to read stuff that informs whatever gaming project I'm thinking about at the time".

Both McNulty's Book Corral and and Michael K Vaughan (who is not the same person as comic book writer Brian K Vaughan, despite what my addled brain kept trying to tell me) love pulp books, horror, old sci-fi, westerns, and vintage comics, which corresponds to my own preferences.

The Book Corral even piqued my interest in reading Westerns again (something I haven't done seriously for decades).

So, following the show's recommendation, I picked up Peter Brandvold's Nordic & Finn, the first book in a new series, as it tells the tale of a rugged mountain man who adopts a stray dog, and the scrapes they get into.

Rather chaotically, as is my wont when I'm suddenly "inspired" in this manner, I've also started listening to an audiobook of another of Brandvold's books, Bloody Joe.

I know it's kind of 'cheating' but I still consume a majority of books via the audio format, which allows me to "hear" a story in the bath or last thing at night, before I grab a few hours of sleep.

This also allows me to revel in the many, many Doctor Who (and Whoniverse-adjacent) audio dramas being produced by Big Finish. Currently this is the best source for new Who material, the present run of televised episodes being very underwhelming.

Comics-wise, my pull-list continues to get whittled down, but, unexpectedly, DC is making a strong comeback these days, which - along with indies such as Mad Cave's excellent Flash Gordon range - are now dominating Marvel.