I have a rule. Some may think it a silly rule, but it’s my rule. If I’m not hooked by a book by page fifty, I abandon the book. I move on. Maybe, if it’s a really long book, I may stretch it out to page 100. Maybe, if it’s a book that comes highlyContinue reading “On Kicking Out of Books”
On Favorite Beatles Songs
This weekend at Shore Leave, on Saturday evening at 5 o’clock, I’ll be moderating a panel on the Beatles. It’s an odd topic for a panel for science-fiction convention, and I admit I put it down on my list of suggested topics as a kind of a lark, and I still have no idea whatContinue reading “On Favorite Beatles Songs”
On My Independence Day Plans
July 4th. Two epochal, world-changing events have fallen on July 4th. The first comes on July 4, 1776. In Kent that day, Horatio Hornblower was born, and he would become one of the Royal Navy’s greatest heroes, distinguishing himself at an early age and playing a significant role in the defeat of Napoleon. The secondContinue reading “On My Independence Day Plans”
On Striking High School Students
On Monday, I’m going to Washington DC for the first time since the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or March to Keep Fear Alive. The reason? The Chicago Cubs (my team) are in DC playing the Washington Nationals (my local team), and then I’m going to stick around in town for A Capitol Fourth, the concert/fireworksContinue reading “On Striking High School Students”
On My 2011 Shore Leave Schedule
We come to it at last, the great battle of our times. No, wait. That’s not right. Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup. No, that’s not it, either. Oh! I’ve got it! Next weekend, July 8th through 10th, in Hunt Valley, Maryland, is Shore Leave, a science-fiction and fantasy convention.Continue reading “On My 2011 Shore Leave Schedule”
On Retail Experiences
I have an account at DailyKos, the progressive online community, though I’ve very rarely used it in the past six or seven years. Maybe I’ll post a diary once a year, maybe I’ll log in and make a comment on a post that interests me. Maybe. This morning I saw a diary entitled “Confessions ofContinue reading “On Retail Experiences”
On Seeing Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Last week at work I won tickets to an advance screening tonight of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third film in Michael Bay’s trilogy of films based on the popular Hasbro toys and the mid-80s cartoon series. Growing up as I did in the 1980s, I watched the cartoon religiously. The Autobots, the Decepticons,Continue reading “On Seeing Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
On Elbow’s St. Paul’s Cathedral Gig
A month ago Elbow performed an interesting concert for Absolute Radio — they did a live acoustic gig in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London which Absolute put live on their website for viewing or listening. Doctor Who fans, of course, know St. Paul’s Cathedral for the iconic image of Cybermen marching aroundContinue reading “On Elbow’s St. Paul’s Cathedral Gig”
On Keeping Calm with Charlie Brown
I have to be honest. I don’t understand the fad over “Keep Calm and Carry On.” I see the phrase all over the place, and I know that it comes from an unused World War II British morale building poster (as I’ve had to write about it at work), and I know that it’s alsoContinue reading “On Keeping Calm with Charlie Brown”
On Wishing I Had More Time for Writing
This is going to sound nonsensical, but I’ll say it all the same. I wish I spent more time writing than I do. It’s nonsensical, in that I spend a lot of time writing. My day job is writing marketing copy; I’ve estimated that I produce between 80,000 and 100,000 words a month, depending onContinue reading “On Wishing I Had More Time for Writing”