Oh, Image Comics, you task me. They publish this majestically awesome comic, Phonogram. The first series, which came out a few years ago, is a bit like the love child of High Fidelity and Hellblazer. The second series, Phonogram: The Singles Club, is different — a series of single issue character sketches, all set inContinue reading “On Impatience”
On Veteran’s Day
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie InContinue reading “On Veteran’s Day”
On a Nerdy Quarter
This afternoon I got some quarters in change. I dropped them in my pockets. I tend to play with coins in my pockets. Shove my hands down in the pockets, rub the coins between my forefinger and thumb. I like the feel of some coins more than others. The best tactile experience I get fromContinue reading “On a Nerdy Quarter”
On Carl Sagan’s Birthday
The Writer’s Almanac tells me that today, the 9th of November, is Carl Sagan’s birthday. He would have been seventy-five. Said Garrison Keillor of Sagan this morning: “[He] published a number of books that helped regular people understand ideas about the universe, including Dragons of Eden: Speculations of the Evolution of Human Intelligence (1977), whichContinue reading “On Carl Sagan’s Birthday”
On Allyn’s Crackpot Batman Theory
Bruce Wayne, better known to millions of comics fans as Batman, is dead. Many months ago, in an effort to defeat Batman and sow discord, the Devil himself, in the person of Dr. Hurt, attempted to drive Batman insane. However, Batman had the greatest plan ever, because Batman plans for everything — he had createdContinue reading “On Allyn’s Crackpot Batman Theory”
On Saturday Musings
A telemarketer called. I don’t know what he wanted. I didn’t hang up on him. I just put the phone down, got up, fixed lunch, hung out laundry, and then came back half an hour later. He wasn’t there any more. I put the phone back on the receiver. My grandmother seemed determined to sleepContinue reading “On Saturday Musings”
On the End of the Baseball Season
Anyone can have a bad century. :cubs: Spring training isn’t so far away. There’s always next year. 🙂
On Story Submission
At 11:25 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the short story left the nest. It had grown this morning to 2,296 words. Okay, okay, enough of this faux-baby announcement stuff. I rewrote some of the story on the train this morning. Several new paragraphs were added in the middle. A one-sentence paragraph was expanded into something moreContinue reading “On Story Submission”
On Completion
And at 11:34 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, a short story was born. The short story entered the world at 1,971 words, following a gestation of several weeks filled with false starts and blind alleys. The short story was finished with a final push of 1,498 words. The short story has been put to bed forContinue reading “On Completion”
On Linguistic Oddities
Dear Microsoft, “Peckish” is a word. It means “hungry.” I use it in regular conversation. Okay, maybe twice a month. If I’m lucky. But certainly more than five or six times a year. About “peckish.” Word not only flagged it as a misspelling, but Word also tried to change it to “puckish.” I may useContinue reading “On Linguistic Oddities”