Forty years ago, it was “the break-up heard ’round the world.” The Beatles, the world’s greatest rock’n’roll band, the voice of a generation, were no more. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — they appeared on the scene, as if from nowhere in February 1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show, they conqueredContinue reading “On The Beatles: One More Album”
Monthly Archives: February 2010
On Farpoint 2010
This weekend, in gorgeous snow-capped Timonium, science-fiction fans will gather for Farpoint. Headlining guests this year are the winsome Felicia Day (The Guild and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog) and Mira Furlan (Babylon 5). (Matt Frewer, whom I was really excited about, has canceled; actors have to work, after all.) There are going to be lotsContinue reading “On Farpoint 2010”
On Health Care Reform and the Republican Party
Are Republicans genuinely interested in governing? Are they genuinely interested in solving society’s problems? I have to wonder. The Republicans have been saying, all along, that they’ve been frozen out of the health care reform process. That the Democrats are ignoring their ideas. And yet, Ezra Klein of the Washington Post points out that theContinue reading “On Health Care Reform and the Republican Party”
On Blizzardammerung
On Friday, the world knew, an apocalyptic snowstorm was coming. It was coming up the jet stream, from the south. We could see fifteen inches, twenty-four inches, perhaps even forty inches of snow. A winter storm warning was issued from 10 am Friday to 10 pm Saturday. Some thought the office would be closed onContinue reading “On Blizzardammerung”
On Neil Gaiman’s New Gig
Neil Gaiman, long-rumored as penning an episode of Doctor Who, has confirmed at the SFX Weekender Convention that he will, in fact, be writing an episode of Doctor Who. Gaiman announced this first through his Twitter feed, and then spoke at length with SFX magazine: As anyone who’s read my blog knows, I’m a bigContinue reading “On Neil Gaiman’s New Gig”
On Holmesiana
January began and ended with Sherlock Holmes. On New Year’s Day, I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes film. Then, in the mood for more Sherlock Holmes, I read Loren D. Estleman’s Sherlock Holmes Vs. Dracula for perhaps the tenth time. This was followed by reading some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories;Continue reading “On Holmesiana”
On Political Surveys
I receive a lot of political mail. Oftentimes, it’s parties or candidates wanting donations. Last year, during the Presidential primaries, I must’ve received fundraising letters from every major candidate. Most were binned. The letters I enjoy the most? The ones from the Republican Party or its think tanks. Take, for instance, yesterday. I received aContinue reading “On Political Surveys”
On Non-Standard Punctuation
In my quest for new and ever-more-interesting ways to communicate, I have discovered non-standard punctuation. We all know periods and commas. I am particularly fond of the semi-colon, and I make fair use of dashes. (Dashes are the “house style” at work. I am not, actually, a fan of the dash. I find it… sloppy.)Continue reading “On Non-Standard Punctuation”