Many years ago, when I was a manager for EB Games, I told a friend of mine that I did some writing on the side and that someday I hoped to be published. "Do you write under your own name? Or do you use a pseudonym?" he asked. "Under my own name," I said. "I'veContinue reading “On Contemplating Pseudonyms”
Author Archives: Allyn
On Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Songs” Beatles Special
I invariably feel stupid when I spend money on a Rolling Stone publication. Fifteen years ago, even ten years ago, I subscribed to Rolling Stone year in, year out. What changed was that I felt that the magazine was growing increasingly fluffy (when I pick up a music magazine, I want to read about music;Continue reading “On Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Songs” Beatles Special”
On Weekend Writing Plans
This weekend looks like a writing weekend. The main thing on the plate? My self-appraisal for work. The company skipped reviews last year, due to the uncertain economic climate, so this year’s reviews are more thorough than previous years, as this review covers two years of employment. But that’s not the only thing on myContinue reading “On Weekend Writing Plans”
On Rereading Elric
Over the holiday weekend, I reread some of Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné stories. The proximate cause was my recent consumption of The Coming of the Terraphiles, a forthcoming Doctor Who novel by Moorcock. I was given an advance reading copy at work before the holiday; I alternated between reading that and George R.R. Martin’sContinue reading “On Rereading Elric”
On Looking Up Into the Sky
I had to go outside and put the car windows up. So I trodded outside, barefoot as is my wont, and walked around my grandmother’s car and up to mine, avoiding as much as possible the pine needle-infested grass in the dark. Yes, I’m a silly person. There was a light breeze and, despite theContinue reading “On Looking Up Into the Sky”
On NPR’s Lord of the Rings Audio Drama
When I was younger, in those days before the Internet made mail order shopping so ridiculously easy, my family used to receive the NPR Shop catalog. And the Barnes & Noble catalog. I don’t know which catalog I saw it in, but I’m sure it was one of those two — the NPR radio dramatizationContinue reading “On NPR’s Lord of the Rings Audio Drama”
On the Medal of Honor Controversy
We live in an age of artificial controversies and manufactured indignation. How else to explain the kerfuffle over the new Medal of Honor video game? Medal of Honor has, for a decade now, been one of the top military first-person shooters, all set around World War II. The first game was loosely based on SavingContinue reading “On the Medal of Honor Controversy”
On the Sarah Palin/Larry King Interviews
About two months ago, the Internet was abuzz with a computer-generated video of a feline-woman who went into a story to buy an iPhone 4, even though she had no idea what it was. Having worked in retail for more years than I would like to mention, I can tell you that these conversations happenContinue reading “On the Sarah Palin/Larry King Interviews”
On Merlin’s Upcoming Season
The third season of Merlin begins this coming Saturday on BBC1. Here are the BBC’s two teaser trailers: So, the Great Dragon is back. Morgana is back. Morgause is back. And Arthur fights skeleton men! Merlin looks awfully gaunt. They must not be feeding him in the castle. Also, there’s not enough Gwen shown. Actually,Continue reading “On Merlin’s Upcoming Season”
On Economic Choices and Political Outcomes
After two days of political prognostication and analysis, I turn my attention to matters economic. The economy is in pretty dire shape — and has been since mid-2008. In President Obama’s first months in office, an economic stimulus bill was passed to inject some energy back into the economy. At the time, economists believed thatContinue reading “On Economic Choices and Political Outcomes”