At times, I miss the smell… Of cow manure. In my childhood years, I lived in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. My elementary school, Linville-Edom, stood on a barely paved road in the midst of the valley's rolling farm country. Across the street was a farm. To either side of the school? Farms. And what was notableContinue reading “On What I Miss About Childhood”
On National Graphic Novel Writing Month
I’ll bet you didn’t know that October is National Graphic Novel Writing Month. 😎 Glenn Hauman of ComicMix describes NaGraNoWriMo thusly: The goal is simple: By October 31st, you write a script for at least a 48 page long graphic novel. Despite my employment by the comics industry, I’ve never really wanted to write forContinue reading “On National Graphic Novel Writing Month”
On Recording a Drabble Podfic
I quite enjoy writing drabbles, short stories of exactly 100 words, and a month ago I walked through my creative process in writing a Merlin drabble. This morning, for no particular reason except that I had a computer microphone handy, I decided to do an audio recording of a different Merlin drabble. It’s a storyContinue reading “On Recording a Drabble Podfic”
On Constitutional Worship and Historical Trends
I have a friend — he and I go back over a decade — who, in the past two years, has turned into a rabid right-winger. He’s always been out there on the right, but ever since Obama was elected, he’s gone off the deep end. Obama is a socialist, a Marxist, a totalitarian fascist,Continue reading “On Constitutional Worship and Historical Trends”
On an Asteroid’s Final Adventure
An asteroid approaches Earth, and then has the adventure of its life. Sascha Geddert’s short animated film, “Fallen”… Fallen from Sascha Geddert on Vimeo. It was sad. I got a little weepy.
On Awkward Subway Encounters
She sat hunched over on the subway car’s bench. It wasn’t the coat she wore that I noticed first — brown, long, heavy, wintry, a fur-lined hood, wholly inappropriate to the day’s weather. Rather, it was the savage odor that permeated the subway car — sweat and grime and soiled clothes. The smells mixed togetherContinue reading “On Awkward Subway Encounters”
On An Awful Beatles Cover
“Let It Be.” As many people know, it’s probably my favorite Beatles song. At least in the top five. The album version, with the blistering guitar solo, is better than the single version, in my not-so-humble opinion. However, you have never heard “Let It Be” until you’ve heard it like this… I have no ideaContinue reading “On An Awful Beatles Cover”
On the Republican Party’s “Pledge to America”
A few days ago, the Republican Party unveiled A Pledge to America, their campaign for this autumn’s Congressional races. I downloaded the PDF. I printed it out. I read it on the train on Friday, only to wish that I were reading Clash of the Geeks instead. I’m a self-admitted policy and politics junkie, butContinue reading “On the Republican Party’s “Pledge to America””
On a Paean to Punctuation
Today, September 24th, is National Punctuation Day. I, who have never seen a comma I didn’t like, wanted to take a moment to encourage each and every one of you, my readers, to revel in your love of and need for punctuation. Whether it is the curiosity inherent in a question mark, the certainty inContinue reading “On a Paean to Punctuation”
On a Helpful Voter’s Guide
Who should you vote for this November? It’s a big election, an important election, and I’ve written about some of the things at stake in November. Fortunately, a voter’s guide is available to help voters on the fence make their decision in the booth: Voting is a sacred duty. Get informed. Be engaged. Vote! :spock: