I visited my parents for Father’s Day. I’d been down to Lynchburg in May, I think the weekend before Mother’s Day, but my mom had been agitating me to come for a visit, and my sister was planning on coming up from Raleigh. I didn’t commit to anything — the weather looked a bit dreadful,Continue reading “The View from Afton”
Don’t Be a “Brand”
I have spent more time in the last two months on LinkedIn than the last ten years combined. I’ve come to the conclusion that my brain doesn’t work in the LinkedIn way–the relentless selling, the endless cheeriness, the buzzword-speak, the staccato writing style–and it never will. I saw this post this morning, and it wasContinue reading “Don’t Be a “Brand””
A Hard Week
Last week was a hard week. The July issue of PREVIEWS went to press. #442, my 217th issue. Except. It didn’t go to press. Not really. This issue is PDF-only. We had to buy the paper for the catalog when the sale of Diamond’s assets to Universal and Ad Populum closed, and the decision toContinue reading “A Hard Week”
A New Neighbor
A new neighbor moved in recently. A bunny! A tiny little bunny! I hope bunny hangs around. In 2019, a few days before my vision went permanently wonky, I took a tour of the National Cathedral. Not the usual tour. I took the “Behind the Scenes” tour, which was a lot of fun, very informativeContinue reading “A New Neighbor”
Anniversaries and Endings
Today marks my anniversary date at Diamond Comic Distributors. Eighteen years. Started on May 17, 2007. Yesterday, a number of people I work with were let go due to Diamond’s bankruptcy. I’d seen the news that the sale—Ad Populum, the owners of Graceland, had bought Diamond’s assets—on Facebook. I read the press release, and thereContinue reading “Anniversaries and Endings”
On the Eve of the Sale
Wednesday night, a former Diamond colleague contacted me and asked hpw I was feeling about Diamond and the bankruptcy. I talked her ear off, in the Facebook Messenger sense, for a solid hour. “You know the ‘Five Stages of Grief?’” I said. “I’m permanently living three of them–Anger, Depression, and Acceptance.” I’m angry about theContinue reading “On the Eve of the Sale”
A Baseball Retirement
Jack Dunn has retired from baseball. Dunn played for the Harrisburg Senators in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He was a super-utility player, he played everywhere. I even saw him pitch an inning, giving up a run. The only position I did not see Dunn play was catcher, otherwise I’m pretty sure I saw himContinue reading “A Baseball Retirement”
Too Gorgeous a Day to Spend Inside
It is absolutely criminal to have to work inside today. The Geneva Conventions have never been so violated. Quite honestly, if I didn’t have critical publishing deadlines today, I would have given serious consideration to calling out sick and going to today’s Harrisburg Senators game. (It’s an 11 o’clock day game. An “Education Day.”) OrContinue reading “Too Gorgeous a Day to Spend Inside”
The Strange World of AI Slop
Two weeks ago, the day after Easter, Pope Francis died. Last Saturday, Donald Trump fell asleep at the Pope’s funeral in Rome. In the middle of the week, a reporter threw out a question to Trump at a scrum on the White House lawn about who the next Pope should be, and Trump said heContinue reading “The Strange World of AI Slop”
Scenes of Spring
Some random pictures from the past two weeks. The Lancaster Stormers fan fest… Two weekends ago, the Lancaster Stormers held their annual Fan Fest and exhibition game, playing against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars. York also held their fan fest the same day, and I preferred to go across the Susquehanna for Lancaster’s fan fest thanContinue reading “Scenes of Spring”