Why must it be monsoon season in North Carolina? Every day rain. Heavy rain. Thunder and lightning. And then, with the snap of fingers, it’s over. The sky clears off, takes on a lovely hue, and you’d never even know that we’d been dumped on for two or three inches of hard rain. I hateContinue reading “On Monsoon Season”
On Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings, anchor for ABC’s World News Tonight, died on Sunday. He was 67. Jennings had left the World News Tonight program in April with the announcement that he was fighting lung cancer. I always admired the quiet professionalism Jennings showed. He will be missed.
On Carbon Leaf
Last night Carbon Leaf played a free concert in downtown Raleigh as part of 96 Rock’s FreeFest. When I was a student at the University of Richmond Carbon Leaf would play the Cellar, the campus bar, about once a month. The Cellar was little more than a hole in the wall — very tiny venueContinue reading “On Carbon Leaf”
On Letter Writing
I’m trying to figure out when I became such a letter writer. I’ve sent letters to my Senators. I’ve sent a letter to my Representative. I’ve also written to my state representatives–on a measure allowing higher alcohol content beers to be sold in North Carolina and about a measure to raise the sales tax onContinue reading “On Letter Writing”
On Synchonicity
Last night I wanted to watch a movie. But what? I looked through the DVDs, and settled on A Hard Day’s Night. See, I’ve been thinking about making some changes to the website–maybe it’s time for a Yellow Submarine theme–so I was in a Beatles mood. Guess what? I wrote this, a year ago today:Continue reading “On Synchonicity”
On the Ptolemaic System
I mentioned a week ago, perhaps a little more, that I an idea struck: tell a story set in a universe where the Ptolemaic system were true, where Earth was the center of the universe around which everything–moon, sun, planets, stars–revolved. A silly idea, true. I realized, though, that I really didn’t know quite howContinue reading “On the Ptolemaic System”
On Daylight Savings Time
Yuck! Congress is considering a proposal to extend Daylight Savings Time. Currently it runs from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. The version contemplated by the Senate would move the beginning of DST to the middle of March and extend it to the first Sunday in November, while the HouseContinue reading “On Daylight Savings Time”
On Doctor Who's Second Season
The BBC made a number of announcements about Doctor Who‘s new season. Lis Sladen will be reprising her role as Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah travelled with the third and fourth Doctors in the mid-1970s. Stephen Fry will be writing an episode. Anthony Stewart Head will make an appearance. And somewhere a Cyberman is saying “Excellent.”Continue reading “On Doctor Who's Second Season”
On Kittens and Baths
Cats hate water. Or so I’ve always been told. But Woody loves to drink out of the toilet; in fact, he gets terribly upset if the toilet seat is down, and from time to time he’s been known to pull the lever to watch the water go down. The kittens had been outside playing, andContinue reading “On Kittens and Baths”
On My Day
I felt as though I were spinning my wheels at work today. Friday’s I work a late shift, not coming in until 1. Not thirty seconds after I stepped through the door I received a phone call–today’s conference call is at 3, and call the other stores in the district to pass along the message.Continue reading “On My Day”