It’s been a week. Every month when the catalogs go to press, it’s a rougher week than usual. There’s last minute writing (often late night alcohol-fueled writing), long days at the office, and needless stress. This month, all of that was amped up to eleven. There were also spreadsheets to be entered into the CMS,Continue reading “On the Week That Was”
On Making TrekBBS Readable
TrekBBS is a bulletin board where I’ve been wasting time visiting regularly for over a decade now. This morning I logged in to find that the bulletin board had redesigned with a new white-text-on-black-background design. And because my eyes are not as young as they used to be, I decided to whip together a localContinue reading “On Making TrekBBS Readable”
On Revisiting the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy
Yesterday a package arrived in the mail. It was a book, Douglas Adams’s Starship Titanic by Terry Jones. Hardcover with dust jacket. A first printing, it looks new, even though it was published nearly fifteen years ago. And with that book I am ready. This year — this month, actually — I intend to rereadContinue reading “On Revisiting the Hitchhiker’s Trilogy”
On A Game of Shadows and the Real Holmes
As I mentioned a few days ago, I saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on New Year’s Day. Wonderful film, loved it to bits, yadda yadda yadda. 🙂 Well, I followed some Internet discussion of the film, and there seems to be some debate over whether or not Irene Adler died. It happens offContinue reading “On A Game of Shadows and the Real Holmes”
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
A few weeks ago, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows came out. While it’s not the Sherlock Holmes production most of my friends were anticipating — that would be the second season of the BBC’s Sherlock, which began airing on BBC1 yesterday — it’s the Sherlock Holmes event I was most anticipating. Don’t misunderstand. MuchContinue reading “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
On 2011 In Review
January 1st. The start of a new year. A “turn the page” moment, a time when the slate is wiped clean and one can start fresh. That’s my feeling on every day, that the new day is a blank slate on which anything can be written, so it should be my feeling on the startContinue reading “On 2011 In Review”
On What I’ll Take Away from 2011
A few weeks ago I mailed out Christmas cards. It’s something I’ve done for about a decade now, mailing out cards to close friends and random strangers. (Last year, for instance, Harlan Ellison received a card from me. Since I’m writing this, it clearly didn’t displease him.) I usually have a “main” design that goesContinue reading “On What I’ll Take Away from 2011”
On Widows, Blue Boxes, and Christmas Trees
Saturday night, as I did my last Christmas wrapping, I watched Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. It’s been my Christmas Eve tradition for several years now, though last year, as I was in Raleigh for Christmas, I didn’t have the opportunity to watch the film. As I watched the film this year, I had aContinue reading “On Widows, Blue Boxes, and Christmas Trees”
On Christmas Day Music Musings
Like many atheists, I love Christmas. Richard Dawkins, for instance, says that he’s “culturally Christian” when he’s asked why he does Christmas things — the Christmas celebrations are part of the cultural DNA. Elizabeth Cornwell wrote an essay for the Washington Post about her own “Very Atheist Christmas” and it hits a lot of myContinue reading “On Christmas Day Music Musings”
On the Dark Knight Rises Trailer
Next summer, there’s a new Batman movie coming out. The Dark Knight Rises. The third and final film in the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale trilogy. Also starring Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle and Tom Hardy as Bane. The trailer was released online yesterday: One of the things I want out of this movie is a definitiveContinue reading “On the Dark Knight Rises Trailer”